WhatsApp Business API Ultimate Guide: Features, Pricing & Benefits

If you struggle with managing high volumes of WhatsApp messages, you might be considering switching from WhatsApp Business to WhatsApp API. We’ve created this first-hand guide to answer all your WhatsApp Business API questions. Learn how it compares to the WhatsApp Business App, how much it costs, why you need it and how to take advantage of it to boost marketing and sales results.

What is WhatsApp Business API?

WhatsApp Business API, also known as WhatsApp Business Platform, is designed for medium to large companies looking to use WhatsApp for messaging at scale. Unlike the WhatsApp Business App, the API does not have a front-end interface and must be connected to a messaging software to send and receive messages.

This gives businesses the freedom to choose a software solution that fits their business needs and gain access to advanced features, such as automating conversations and appointment booking, AI tools, sending broadcasts and more to create personalized customer journeys.

If you're still deciding between WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Business App, the next section is for you. However, if you've already decided on the API and wish to learn more, feel free to skip ahead.

WhatsApp Business API vs WhatsApp Business App

The WhatsApp Business App is intended for micro to small businesses, as it comes with limited multiuser, broadcast and automation capabilities. This makes it difficult to handle high volumes of messages and contacts.

	WhatsApp Business App	WhatsApp Business API
Best for	Small businesses	Medium to large businesses
Number of Devices	5	Unlimited
Automation Capabilities	Limited	Advanced AI and automation
Broadcast Limit	256 contacts	Unlimited
Supports Integration	No	Yes

The API, on the other hand, supports unlimited users and high volumes of broadcasts. When paired with the right WhatsApp API software, businesses can manage conversations with advanced AI and automation and ensure smooth contact synchronization with e-commerce platforms and CRMs, among other advanced capabilities.

So, if you’re running a medium-to-large business in regions where WhatsApp is popular such as in Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Mexico or the United Kingdom (UK), WhatsApp API enables you to reach customers at the scale required for business growth and success.

Of course, along with the increased scale and features come costs. WhatsApp Business API incurs messaging fees as well as requiring a subscription to the messaging software of your choice. We’ll give you the breakdown so you’ll know what to expect.

WhatsApp Business API Pricing Model

WhatsApp API fees depend on factors like the type of conversation (service- and business-initiated conversations), region, the volume of messages sent and markup on WhatsApp API fees. To get an idea of the fees you’ll need to pay, you can use this WhatsApp API pricing calculator. Here’s how conversations are categorized.

WhatsApp's Conversation-Based Pricing

WhatsApp API allows two types of conversations: user-initiated conversations, also known as service conversations and business-initiated conversations.

Service Conversations: User-Initiated Conversations

Service conversations, which are free of charge, are initiated by customers. When they message you, a 24-hour customer service window will open for you to reply to them. Once the 24-hour window ends, you can no longer reply to customers unless they send you a new message, which will reopen the window.

Businesses can send any type of message during the 24-hour window, provided they abide by WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy. To message customers outside the 24-hour window, they must use message templates, which incur fees.

Business-Initiated Conversations

Business-initiated conversations are any conversation started by the business outside of the 24-hour service window. Note that to prevent spam, WhatsApp only allows businesses to start conversations with customers who have previously messaged them.

After 24 hours from a contact’s last incoming message, the only way businesses can initiate conversations is with message templates. These are pre-approved messages used to reopen the customer service window or start a new conversation.

However, there are limits to how many business-initiated messages you can send. If you just created your WhatsApp API account, you’ll start with 250 business-initiated conversations in a rolling 24-hour period.

All this said, effective July 1, 2025, fees will be charged per template message rather than per conversation. However, utility template messages, including opt-ins, order management, and account updates, will remain free when sent within the service window.

Once you’ve verified your business, it’ll increase to 1,000 and can eventually reach unlimited sending capacity.

WhatsApp Business Solution Provider Costs

You’ll need to choose a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP), a third-party company that helps you get access to WhatsApp API. These are usually subscription based software platforms.

To avoid additional costs on top of WhatsApp’s compulsory charges, choose your BSP wisely. Respond.io offers WhatsApp API without charging any markups or additional fees.

So, now that you know how much it costs, take a look at the features WhatsApp API offers when combined with a conversation management platform like respond.io.

7 Must-Have WhatsApp Business API Features

Your business can use WhatsApp API to chat with leads and turn them into customers. While it doesn’t have these features natively, the software provider you choose should have these features so you can maximize WhatsApp API to increase productivity and revenue.

1. Support for Multiple Agents

The WhatsApp API is designed to support a large number of agents. This means you can manage conversations concurrently to handle high message volumes. It also allows various team members to work on incoming inquiries without delay.

Each agent can view real-time updates, access previous conversations, and maintain continuity, ensuring that customers receive prompt, informed responses. With this multi-agent support, businesses can scale their customer service efforts, keeping up with demand and minimizing response times.

2. Respond at Scale With Automation

If your business faces a large number of inbound messages, your agents might not be able to reply to all of them. To free up their time, you can set up WhatsApp auto reply to instantly respond to lead inquiries. Even better, if you choose a conversation management platform with AI capabilities, you can use AI agents to provide fast, intelligent replies to almost any customer query.

Train your AI agent to answer common questions, automatically qualify leads and route them to the right team when they need to speak to a human.

As a result, agents are free to perform more important tasks like closing sales or following up with prospects.

3. Boost Conversation Power with AI Assist, AI Prompts and Calling Features

And when agents need to have high value conversations, AI features can help them compose polished replies faster. For example, ask AI to draft a reply based on company knowledge sources and edit as needed.

AI prompts instantly polish grammar, check for typos, adjust tone or translate a message into the contact’s native language.

Additionally, it’s sometimes easier to jump into a call to clarify something with a lead or customer rather than texting. Respond.io is an early access beta provider of WhatsApp Business Calling API, so you can take advantage of this feature.

4. Integrate Third-Party Software

WhatsApp API also allows for integration with third-party tools such as CRM systems, e-commerce platforms, and automation software. These integrations can facilitate follow-ups and automate tasks like lead capture.

It fills in the gaps to make your sales and marketing efforts holistic, ensuring that no customer falls through the cracks.

5. Track the Entire Customer Lifecycle

When you use WhatsApp API with respond.io, you can label leads based on their status in the customer lifecycle to gain a full view of the customer journey. This provides context when multiple agents may be handling a conversation so they understand the lead or customer’s background and how to prioritize them.

This is also beneficial when managing contacts on multiple channels. For example, if you label a contact as a Hot Lead when they send you a message on WhatsApp and they later send a message via Facebook Messenger, they’ll be recognized and the lifecycle label will be applied.

6. Gain Enhanced Analytics and Insights

Track metrics like delivery rates, read rates and response times to provide a clear picture of customer engagement. These insights help optimize communication strategies, ensuring messages effectively reach and resonate with the target audience.

More importantly, it allows you to identify underperforming agents or weak processes to improve them. This leads to higher customer satisfaction, better retention rates, and an overall improvement in brand reputation.

7. Ensure Security and Compliance

When handling sensitive customer information, there’s no room for compromise. WhatsApp API is built with strict compliance and security standards, and end-to-end encryption is used on all messages. This ensures only the sender and recipient can read the content.

Furthermore, WhatsApp complies with data privacy regulations such as GDPR, helping businesses meet legal requirements for customer data protection. By maintaining high-security standards, businesses using the WhatsApp API can assure customers that their information is safe, building trust and enhancing the brand’s reputation for secure communication.

If you’re ready to get WhatsApp API and take advantage of these features, here’s what you need to apply for access.

Requirements to Apply for WhatsApp Business API Access

It is compulsory for businesses to have a Meta Business Portfolio (formerly known as Meta Business account) and a phone number. You can either use a free virtual phone number provided by Meta or purchase your own number. Do note that these virtual numbers are given by WhatsApp and are associated with a US country code. They also cannot be used for calling and texting beyond WhatsApp.

If you prefer to use your own number, ensure it is not connected to any existing WhatsApp account before connecting.

Once you have a phone number and a Meta Business Portfolio account, the next step is to choose a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP).

BSPs are approved by WhatsApp and often provide solutions to enable businesses to send messages, manage customer interactions and integrate with other business tools. So, what do you need to know to pick one?

First, consider a BSP that integrates with WhatsApp Cloud API so that you can enjoy the latest WhatsApp API updates. You’ll also avoid expensive set-up, hosting and maintenance fees. Most importantly, choose a WhatsApp partner that doesn't apply markups on messaging.

Respond.io fits these criteria and is the perfect choice as a WhatsApp BSP.

Respond.io is also a badged Meta Business Partner, which means it is recognized by Meta for its expertise in business messaging.

Next, we’ll show you the simple steps to get a WhatsApp API account.

3 Easy Steps to Set Up WhatsApp Business API Account

Now, it’s time to set up a WhatsApp API account. We’ll show you how easy it is to set it up on respond.io.

1. Connect Your Facebook Account and WhatsApp API Account

Start by linking your Facebook account to the WhatsApp API account. Click this link and select Create and connect a NEW WhatsApp Business Platform (API) account. Then, click Get Started.

2. Verify Your Number

If you’re using a phone number with a SIM card, you'll need to verify your phone number via a phone call or text message.

If you sign up for a virtual number, there’s no need for verification.

3. Start Messaging

Once verified, you can begin messaging and responding to customers using the WhatsApp API.

If you need more guidance, explore our dedicated blog that explains the application process step-by-step.

Once you’re set up, here are some practical ways to use WhatsApp to capture, convert and retain customers.

Top 5 Ways to Use WhatsApp Business API to Boost Your Bottom Line

The features that WhatsApp API offers to businesses open up a ton of possibilities. Its versatility allows companies to integrate WhatsApp into their core operations, enhancing everything from sales and marketing to customer support. Let’s look at the five most common WhatsApp API use cases.

1. Lead Generation and Sales Automation

Use WhatsApp Business API to generate leads and automate your sales processes. Gain more leads at the top of your funnel and then efficiently process them to ensure your agents talk to the most promising leads.

WhatsApp can be leveraged to generate leads through tools like chat widgets, click-to-chat ads, and QR codes. These entry points make it easy for potential customers to connect with businesses, starting a conversation that can be guided toward conversion.

Here’s an example of how to use WhatsApp API for click-to-chat ads:

When a lead reaches you, qualify them with AI or chatbots and then lead them via chat routing to your sales team.

2. Appointment Booking and Reminders

You can also nurture leads efficiently to reduce no-shows and increase the number of converted leads. By using scheduled broadcasts, businesses can send appointment reminders and follow-ups to customers.

3. Marketing and Promotions

With a 98% message open rate, WhatsApp messages are an excellent way to market and promote your products. It’s almost certain that your messages will be seen and acted upon, making it a powerful tool for customer engagement and marketing campaigns.

Businesses can achieve this by using broadcasts to send targeted promotional messages to a wide audience. Messages can include rich media such as images, videos, and links, which enhance engagement and make the communication more dynamic and appealing.

Note: WhatsApp broadcast should be sent to customers who have opted-in to receive your marketing messages. Sending cold messages could get your account banned.

Common use cases include announcing product launches, events, or running time-sensitive campaigns.

4. Customer Support and Service

WhatsApp Business API enables businesses to improve customer satisfaction by offering faster response times. 83% of customers expect to interact with someone immediately when they contact a company. Businesses can meet these expectations by leveraging WhatsApp API’s advanced capabilities like WhatsApp Business Calling API.

With features such as message templates, automation, and even AI integration, businesses can streamline processes and handle customer inquiries with greater efficiency.

5. Surveys, Feedback, and Customer Insights

Lastly, you can use WhatsApp API to collect customer feedback to drive continuous business improvement. The feedback collected can be analyzed to uncover actionable insights, helping businesses identify areas for improvement and align their offerings with customer expectations. This proactive approach fosters customer satisfaction and loyalty while supporting long-term growth.

Businesses can collect feedback through surveys sent post-purchase or after customer support interactions. They can also send this data to a CRM using integrations so it’s easy to view in one place and make actionable decisions.

With these powerful use cases, you can see why WhatsApp API is a must-have for medium to large businesses. Now that you’ve equipped yourself with everything that you need to know about WhatsApp API, let’s look at the businesses that won big with it.

WhatsApp Business API Success Stories: Big Wins for Businesses

Using WhatsApp API has tangible benefits for businesses, allowing them to achieve their business goals from increasing conversion rates to improving customer satisfaction.

Find out how these businesses achieved their goals through WhatsApp API.

Qobolak

Qobolak, an education placement company, leveraged the WhatsApp Business API via respond.io to streamline communication and boost student lead conversions.

A key factor in their success was the use of WhatsApp broadcasts to promote events and updates to a wide audience effectively. Over eight months, Qobolak achieved a remarkable 95% increase in lead conversions.

800 Storage

800 Storage, a Dubai-based self-storage company, enhanced its customer engagement and operational efficiency by using WhatsApp API . This integration enabled multi-user access, allowing sales and support teams to manage a high volume of inquiries effectively.

By implementing automated conversation routing and assignment, 800 Storage ensured that customer messages were directed to the appropriate teams promptly, increasing conversions by 30%.

Lamarsa Coffee

Lamarsa Coffee, a leading coffee equipment retailer in Malaysia, significantly enhanced its sales and customer engagement. This integration enabled multi-user access, allowing multiple agents to handle sales conversations simultaneously, thereby improving response times.

It also implemented automated routing to directed customer inquiries to the appropriate teams based on the nature of the request, reducing manual handling and accelerating response times.

Additionally, the company utilized segmentation tools to send targeted bulk messages about promotions and updates, effectively nurturing leads throughout the sales cycle. These strategic initiatives led to a 50% increase in sales across six countries within a year.

Getting Started with Respond.io

Respond.io is an AI-powered customer conversation management software provider that aims to help businesses generate leads and enable sales conversions through conversations. It has enabled businesses worldwide to gain more qualified leads, improve sales conversions and achieve a high degree of customer satisfaction.

It has also developed a conversation-led growth framework to help businesses maximize business results through conversations. Below are some key highlights of how you can use WhatsApp API with respond.io:

• Automate WhatsApp Ads lead qualification

• Reengage with leads and customers with WhatsApp Broadcast

• Automate conversations with an AI Chatbot

• Converse promptly and effectively with AI Assist

• Measure performance with advanced Reports

Interested in experiencing these capabilities firsthand? Try respond.io WhatsApp Business API for free and take your WhatsApp messaging to the next level or contact us for a free consultation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is WhatsApp Business API free?

No, it’s not. These are the costs you can expect: A phone number, a messaging inbox to receive and send messages and WhatsApp’s conversation-based pricing charges.

What is the cheapest WhatsApp Business API Partner?

There are multiple partners in the market, and the count keeps going up. To avoid incurring unnecessary costs, we suggest you work with a BSP that doesn’t add markups per message sent or received. Also, avoid BSPs with account setup or maintenance fees.

Is it hard to get a WhatsApp Business API account?

Fortunately, it is getting easier and easier. Applying for an account through respond.io only takes a few minutes. If you face any blockers, our support team is here to help.

How many agents can share a WhatsApp Business API account?

This depends on your BSP’s plan. If you are a respond.io user, you can choose between four types of plans and pay only for what you need.

Can I use chatbots with WhatsApp Business API?

Indeed! Respond.io users can access Respond AI, which consists of an AI chatbot builder, AI Assist and AI prompts, which are a set of tools to help agents reply promptly, professionally and accurately.

How do I avoid getting banned on WhatsApp API?

Maintaining compliance with WhatsApp’s policies is crucial to avoid your account being suspended or banned. Stay up to date with WhatsApp’s latest policies, and if you are sending broadcasts, ensure that you only send them to leads that have opted in to your messages.

Further Reading

We hope you found this ultimate guide useful. Check out these articles if you want to learn more about business messaging.

• Using WhatsApp Business for Multiple Users

• How to Generate More WhatsApp Leads

• Conversation-Led Growth: Where Conversations Drive Business Results