The WhatsApp Business API, explained.

What the API is, how it differs from the WhatsApp Business app, what Meta charges and how to get access, in plain English. Then what Flowella adds on top.

Read the guide Estimate Meta’s fees
Flo, the Flowella mascot, presenting a diagram on an easel
Run by
Meta
Charged
Per delivered message
To start a chat
An approved template
Free replies
1,000 a month per number

What the WhatsApp Business API is.

Meta’s official way for businesses to send and receive WhatsApp messages from software instead of a phone. Meta calls it the WhatsApp Business Platform, and runs it as the Cloud API.

  • Your own business number

    Messages come from your business number and display name, on the WhatsApp your customers already use.

  • Hosted by Meta

    Meta runs the Cloud API, so there are no servers to manage. You reach it through a platform like Flowella, or by building your own integration.

  • Templates to start a chat

    To message someone first, or more than 24 hours after their last message, you send a template Meta has approved.

  • Forms inside the chat

    WhatsApp Flows show forms with lists, dates and choices inside the chat, so customers answer without leaving WhatsApp.

  • A whole team on one number

    Many people can answer from the same number, with a shared inbox, automation and your CRM connected through a platform.

  • Encrypted on the way

    Messages are encrypted between your customer’s WhatsApp and Meta, and Meta keeps Cloud API message data for up to 30 days.

The WhatsApp Business app or the API?

Both use a business number and both are free to set up. The difference is scale: the app is for one person on a phone, the API is for teams and software.

  • For one person on a phone

    The WhatsApp Business app.

    Meta’s free app for small businesses, on a phone and its linked devices.

    • One-to-one chats, labels and quick replies
    • Broadcast lists to contacts who saved your number
    • No charge for the messages you send
  • For teams and software

    The WhatsApp Business Platform (API).

    Meta’s API for sending and receiving messages from software, priced per delivered message.

    • A shared inbox, automation and CRM integration
    • Approved templates, bulk sends and WhatsApp Flows
    • Meta charges per template delivered, and for service replies after 1,000 a month
    Estimate Meta’s fees

Side by side

Side by side
Business appAPI
Who sendsYou, from the appYour team and your software
Starting a conversationAny messageAn approved template
AutomationGreeting and away messagesWorkflows and CRM sync through a platform
Forms inside the chat (WhatsApp Flows)NoYes
Sending to many peopleBroadcast lists, to contacts who saved your numberTemplates to opted-in contacts, within your messaging limit
CostFreePer delivered message, at Meta’s rates

With coexistence, one number can use the Business app and the API together, with chats kept in sync. A few app features, such as broadcast lists, switch off when you connect. How coexistence works

Get access in three steps.

Meta gives access through a platform or your own app. With Flowella it takes about 30 minutes, and the account stays yours.

  1. Step 1: Connect your Meta business portfolio

    Sign in with Facebook during Flowella’s set-up and choose your business portfolio, or create one. Your WhatsApp Business Account is created inside it, and it belongs to you.

    Meta sign-upSample data
    Business portfolio
    Acme Homes Ltd
    WhatsApp Business Account
    Created
    Connected
    How connecting to Meta works

  2. Step 2: Add and verify your number

    Add a number that can receive a text or a call, or connect the one you already use in the WhatsApp Business app. Then set the display name your customers will see.

    Phone numberSample data
    Number
    +44 20 7946 0000
    Display name
    Acme Homes
    Verified
    Keep using the Business app

  3. Step 3: Send your first template

    Write a template, or copy one from our library, submit it to Meta and send it once it is approved. Replies arrive in your inbox.

    Message templateSample data
    Name
    viewing_reminder
    Category
    Utility
    Status
    Approved
    Ready to send
    Browse the template library

What Flowella adds to the API.

The API carries the messages. Flowella gives your team what it needs to use it well, built around HubSpot.

Already using the WhatsApp Business app? Keep it: with coexistence, Flowella runs on the same number.

Flowella on top of the API

  • Forms

    Turn a HubSpot form you already use into a WhatsApp Flow, with its fields, validation and labels.

    Flows guide

  • Answers

    Every answer arrives as a native HubSpot form submission, so your workflows just run.

    How Flowella works

  • Inbox

    One shared inbox for every WhatsApp conversation, with read receipts and template sends.

    Inbox guide

  • Templates

    Create, test and bulk send templates, and see delivery and read rates for each one.

    Templates guide

  • Consent

    STOP and similar replies opt a contact out automatically, and every send respects it.

    Opt-outs guide

  • Meta’s fees

    Billed by Meta to your WhatsApp Business Account at Meta’s rates. Flowella doesn’t mark them up.

    Plans, limits and billing

WhatsApp Business API questions.

More detail in our guide to pricing and message categories.

Read the pricing guide
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?

Access is free, and so is every message your customers send you. Meta charges for each template it delivers, by category and by the recipient’s country, and for service replies after the first 1,000 each month on each business number. Messages in a free entry point window, which opens when you reply within 24 hours to someone who messaged you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, are free for up to 7 days. Our pricing calculator estimates the fees from Meta’s rate cards.

What is the 24-hour customer service window?

When a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to reply with ordinary messages, without a template. Each new message from them restarts the clock. Outside the window, you need an approved template.

How many people can I message?

Meta sets a messaging limit: how many different people your business can start conversations with in a rolling 24 hours. New business portfolios start at 250. Verifying your business, or delivering 2,000 high-quality template messages to different people in 30 days, raises it to 2,000. From there it rises automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited, each time you use at least half of your limit in a week with good quality.

Do I need to verify my business?

Not to start. Verifying your business with Meta is one way to raise your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000 people in 24 hours.

Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app?

Yes. With coexistence you connect the number you already use in the app, keep chatting from your phone and send at scale through Flowella. Chats from the last six months sync across. A few app features, such as broadcast lists, switch off when you connect.

Who owns the WhatsApp Business Account?

You do. It sits in your own Meta business portfolio and you connect it to Flowella, so your number and your templates stay yours if you ever change provider.

Can I send marketing messages to US numbers?

Not at the moment. WhatsApp does not deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers, and Meta doesn’t charge for messages it doesn’t deliver.

Flo jumping for joy with her fist in the air and a phone in her hand

Start on the WhatsApp Business API today.

Connect your number, send your first approved template and see the answers land in HubSpot, in about 30 minutes. Free for 14 days, with no card.

Get started free Try on WhatsApp (opens in a new tab)
Or book a demo · 30 minutes on Teams