WhatsApp Business API
The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta now calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, is the programmatic way to send and receive WhatsApp messages from your own systems rather than from a phone.
The three ways to be on WhatsApp
There is the normal WhatsApp app. There is the free WhatsApp Business app, which adds a business profile, labels and quick replies, and runs on one phone. Then there is the WhatsApp Business Platform, the API. It has no phone and no screen. It connects your number to software, so an order lookup, a booking or a payment link can happen without someone typing.
The dividing line is volume and connection. One person answering thirty messages a day on a phone doesn’t need the API. A business whose answers depend on checking an order, a calendar or stock does, because a phone can’t read your systems.
What you get
- Several people answering the same number at once.
- Message templates for anything you send outside a conversation the customer started.
- Webhooks, so your software knows the moment a message arrives.
- Automation that reads your order, booking or stock data and acts on it.
What it costs, as of October 2026
Meta charges per message. The rate depends on the message category and the recipient’s country. Meta lists five categories: marketing, utility, authentication, service and Meta Business Agent.
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| 1 July 2025 | Per-message pricing replaced the per-conversation model |
| 1 October 2026 | Service messages (free-text replies inside the 24-hour window a customer’s message opens) became chargeable, with 1,000 free per business phone number per month and no rollover |
| 1 October 2026 | Utility templates sent inside an open customer service window, free since July 2025, became chargeable |
| Ongoing | Chats started from a click-to-WhatsApp ad open a free entry point window, up to 7 days, in which marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are not charged |
| Ongoing | Lower utility and authentication rates apply as monthly volume grows, by market |
Source: Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing documentation, checked October 2026.
Since these changes, the number of messages it takes to finish a conversation is a cost as well as a service measure. See conversation-based pricing.
How big business messaging is
On its Q3 2025 earnings call, Meta said people have more than 1 billion active threads with business accounts every day across its messaging apps (Meta Q3 2025 earnings call transcript).
Getting on it
Most businesses don’t connect to Meta directly. They go through a provider that holds the connection and gives them an interface. You need a phone number that isn’t active on the normal WhatsApp app, a Meta Business account and business verification. Merchants describe this step as the hard part. One line from our review reading: “Meta’s onboarding is the biggest hurdle.” AeroChat uses Meta’s embedded signup, so you connect your number from inside AeroChat.
The API only sends and receives. What it does for you depends on the software on your side. The green tick is not required, and you can send everything without one.
Related terms
Read next
Related guides
- WhatsApp Business API: What It Is and How to Get It
- WhatsApp Business API Pricing in 2026, With the 1 October Changes
Connect your WhatsApp number
Start your 7-day free trial. No credit card needed. Connect your number through Meta’s signup inside AeroChat, then let it answer from your orders, bookings and policies while your team takes the rest.
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