WhatsApp Business app vs API
Most businesses should start on the free WhatsApp Business app, and a good number should stay there. This page is about the three specific walls people hit, so you can tell whether you have hit one or just had a busy week.
The device limit.
The app runs on one phone plus a small number of linked devices, five at the time of writing. That is a cap on how many people can answer at once, and it is the wall most teams hit first. The API has no such limit; seats are what you buy.
The broadcast cap.
A broadcast list in the app tops out at 256 recipients, and only reaches people who saved your number. The API sends approved templates to an opted-in list with delivery reported per message.
No record, no roles, no handover.
The app has no assignment, no labels with an owner, no activity log and no way to stop a departing employee walking off with the history on their phone. This is the wall that matters most and the one people notice last.
When to stay on the app.
One or two people answering, no broadcast beyond a couple of hundred contacts, and no need for a record. The app is free and it works. Moving before you need to means paying for a platform and Meta's per-conversation charges to solve a problem you do not have.
Tech specs
Questions
The ones we hear most about WhatsApp Business app vs API. If yours is not here, the answer is a message away.
Usually yes, but a number lives on the app or the API, not both. Once it moves it stops working in the WhatsApp Business app on the phone.
One primary phone plus a small number of linked devices, five at the time of writing. Beyond that you need the API.
Yes. The app is free; the API means a platform subscription and Meta's own per-conversation charges. That is the trade for seats, broadcasts, automation and a record.
After a customer's most recent message you can reply freely for 24 hours. Outside it, business-initiated messages must be approved templates. This applies to the API, and it is Meta's rule rather than a platform's.
Bring the channels you already answer on into one place, and see what the rest of the week looks like.
Not ready to sign up? Join the waitlist and we will come to you.
Oleon