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, communities and calls to the API.
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, Chatbot $24 a month, Partner $0.40 a day | $10 a month |
| Free option | Developer plan: 3 chats, 1 instance, monthly quotas per method (for example 100 number checks) | Free trial on your own number |
| Business plan limits | Unlimited chats and 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 methods in the docs; communities and calls not listed | Channels (create, list, subscribe, search), communities, calls in beta |
| 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 139 tools |
As of October 2026, read on each provider’s own pages. Sources: Green API pricing · Tariff limits · Before you start · API methods · 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; three months free when paid annually.
- Chatbot: $24 a month.
- Partner: $0.40 a day.
WaAPI, per number
- $10 a month, monthly billing, cancel anytime.
- Every action of the API on every number — channels, communities and calls included.
- A free trial instead of a permanent free tier.
As of October 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, communities or calls 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. What gets numbers restricted is contacting many people who never wrote to you — so send protection is on by default for every new 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.
Flat rate, simple
Unlimited messages. Media, groups, channels, SDKs and MCP included. Cancel anytime.
- No per-message fees
- No per-user fees
- No setup fee
- Cancel anytime
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
3-day free trial · No credit card · Cancel anytime.