Is WaAPI cheaper than Green API?

On monthly billing, yes: $10 against $12 per number for Green API’s Business plan. Green API gives three months free on annual billing, and its Developer plan is free with 3 chats.

Does WaAPI have quotas per method like Green API?

WaAPI limits new conversations through send protection — 60 a day per number by default. Messages to people you already talk to are not capped.

Can I keep my number when I switch?

Yes. Both services link a number that runs the app, so you unlink it there and scan the QR code of a WaAPI instance.

Does WaAPI support channels?

Yes: create channels, list them, subscribe and search through the API, and send to a channel you manage like to any chat.

Green API vs. WaAPI

Green API alternative: how WaAPI compares

The same kind of service: both link your own number by QR code and charge per instance, not per message. Green API has a free developer plan and quotas per method; WaAPI adds channels and communities to the API.

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$10 per number / month · No per-message fees · Cancel anytime

At a glance

Where the two differ

Same idea, different emphasis: Green API meters methods and keeps a free tier; WaAPI covers more of what the app can do.

	Green API Independent, own number by QR	WaAPI Independent · flat rate
How it connects	A normal account linked by QR code; the phone has to stay online. Green API calls itself an unofficial way	A number that runs the app, linked by QR code or pairing code
Price per instance	Developer $0, Business $12, Ultra $36 a month; Partner $0.40, Partner Ultra $1.20 a day	$10 a month
Free option	Developer plan: 3 chats, 1 instance, monthly quotas per method (for example 100 number checks)	Free test on your own number
Business plan limits	No cap on chats or sending methods; 30,000 number checks and 100 status posts a month	Send protection by default: 20 new conversations an hour, 60 a day; can be switched off
Rate limit	Sending methods: 50 requests per second	Paced at 1–2 s between messages per number by default
Messages	Text, files, polls, location, contacts, buttons; status posts in beta	Text, media, polls, location, contacts, reactions, edits, status posts
Channels, communities, calls	No channel or community methods in the docs. Calls: start, accept, reject and end, one-to-one	Channels (create, list, subscribe, search), communities; calls in beta: start, accept, reject, call links
Notifications	Webhook or polling	Webhook, signed with your secret, retried with backoff
SDKs and tools	Python, Go, Java, PHP, Node.js, C++ and more; Make, n8n, Zapier, Bitrix24; hosted MCP server	PHP, Laravel, Python, Node.js; n8n, Zapier in early access, Checkmk; hosted MCP server with 142 tools

As of October 2026 (plans and calls: November 2026), read on each provider’s own pages. Sources: Green API pricing · Tariff limits · Before you start · API methods · Calling API · Rate limiter · SDKs · Integrations · Ban protection advice

Green API pricing

$12 or $10 a month per number

Green API, per instance

Developer: $0 — 3 chats, one instance, monthly quotas per method.
Business: $12 a month.
Ultra: $36 a month, with no cap on status posts or call recipients.
Business and Ultra: three months free when paid annually.
Partner: $0.40 a day; Partner Ultra $1.20 a day.

WaAPI, per number

$10 a month, monthly billing, cancel anytime.
Every action of the API on every number — channels and communities included, calls in beta.
A free test — no permanent free tier.

As of November 2026, read on each provider’s own pages. Sources: Green API pricing · Tariff limits

Which one fits

Green API or WaAPI?

When Green API is the better choice

A permanently free plan with 3 chats is enough for your tests.
You need an SDK for Go, Java or C++.
You pay annually and want the three free months.

When WaAPI fits better

You need channels or communities through the API.
The monthly price counts: $10 against $12 per number.
You want send protection built in rather than following a pacing guide by hand.

Keeping the number safe

Both say: go slow with new contacts

Green API’s own advice is at most 200 customers a day, 15 seconds between messages and a 10-day warm-up for a new number. It is guidance you implement yourself.

WaAPI enforces its version on the server: by default 20 new conversations an hour and 60 a day per number, with a short pause between messages — switchable per number if you know what you are doing.

Switching

Moving from Green API

1. Unlink the number there, link it here. Both connect the same kind of account, so you keep your number: scan the QR code of a new WaAPI instance.
2. Switch to webhooks. If you polled for notifications, set a webhook URL on the instance instead.
3. Replace the send calls. One POST per message, chat id and text in the body.

curl --request POST \
  --url https://waapi.app/api/v1/instances/123/client/action/send-message \
  --header 'authorization: Bearer your-api-token' \
  --header 'content-type: application/json' \
  --data '{
    "chatId": "[email protected]",
    "message": "Thanks for your message, we will get back to you within the hour."
}'

<?php

$instanceId = 123;
$apiToken = 'your-api-token';

$ch = curl_init("https://waapi.app/api/v1/instances/{$instanceId}/client/action/send-message");
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_POST => true,
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => [
        'authorization: Bearer ' . $apiToken,
        'content-type: application/json',
    ],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => json_encode([
        'chatId' => '[email protected]',
        'message' => 'Thanks for your message, we will get back to you within the hour.',
    ]),
]);

echo curl_exec($ch);

import requests

instance_id = 123
api_token = "your-api-token"

response = requests.post(
    f"https://waapi.app/api/v1/instances/{instance_id}/client/action/send-message",
    headers={"authorization": f"Bearer {api_token}"},
    json={
        "chatId": "[email protected]",
        "message": "Thanks for your message, we will get back to you within the hour.",
    },
)

print(response.json())

const instanceId = 123;
const apiToken = 'your-api-token';

fetch(`https://waapi.app/api/v1/instances/${instanceId}/client/action/send-message`, {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    authorization: `Bearer ${apiToken}`,
    'content-type': 'application/json',
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    "chatId": "[email protected]",
    "message": "Thanks for your message, we will get back to you within the hour.",
  }),
})
  .then((res) => res.json())
  .then(console.log);

Limits

Limits and sending safely

There is no cap on how many messages you send. In our experience, what gets numbers restricted is contacting many people who never wrote to you — so send protection is on by default for every new number.

1–2 s

pause between two messages, per number

new conversations per hour, per number

new conversations per day, per number

What counts as a new conversation: a person who has never written to your number and whom you have not messaged in the last 7 days. Replies to people who wrote to you first and messages to groups and channels never count, and a follow-up within those 7 days doesn’t count twice.

Need more? Spread new contacts across several numbers, or switch send protection off for a number after confirming the warning — at your own risk.

How to avoid restrictions

Your first instance is free

One instance, free for your first month — with code FREEINSTANCE, entered at checkout.

Flat rate

Flat rate, simple

$10 / month, per connected number

No message quota and no per-message fees; new contacts are paced by send protection. Media, groups, channels, SDKs and MCP included. Cancel anytime.

No per-message fees
No per-user fees
No setup fee
Cancel anytime

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Green API vs. WaAPI: questions

Price, quotas and moving a number.

: On monthly billing, yes: $10 against $12 per number for Green API’s Business plan. Green API gives three months free on annual billing, and its Developer plan is free with 3 chats.
: WaAPI limits new conversations through send protection — 60 a day per number by default. Messages to people you already talk to are not capped.
: Yes. Both services link a number that runs the app, so you unlink it there and scan the QR code of a WaAPI instance.
: Yes: create channels, list them, subscribe and search through the API, and send to a channel you manage like to any chat.

Link the same number, get the whole API

Test free for 3 days · No credit card.

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