WhatsApp Cloud API explained
The WhatsApp Cloud API is the version of the WhatsApp Business Platform API that Meta hosts for you. Your software sends messages with HTTPS requests and receives replies and delivery statuses by webhook. Meta ended the older On-Premises API on 23 October 2025, so businesses that use the API now use the Cloud API.
By Mousa Alhelo, founder, E-SAFQA · Updated · 7 min read · How we write and test these guides
What is the WhatsApp Cloud API?
The WhatsApp Cloud API is Meta's hosted interface to the WhatsApp Business Platform. A developer, or a provider that builds the integration for you, calls it over HTTPS through Meta's Graph API to send text, media and interactive messages from a business phone number. Replies and message status updates come back to a webhook URL that you control. You do not run any WhatsApp server yourself, which is why Meta's developer blog describes it as the Cloud API, hosted by Meta.
It is a developer product, not an app. There is no inbox or dashboard until you or a provider builds one, which is why many stores meet the Cloud API through a Business Solution Provider or through an app that is built on top of it.
What happened to the On-Premises API?
Before the Cloud API, a business could host WhatsApp's On-Premises client on its own servers. Meta retired it in steps, and its sunset page gives the dates below (checked in October 2026).
- If a provider or an old integration still talks about On-Premises hosting, ask whether it has been migrated to the Cloud API.
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 9 January 2024 | New features ship only to the Cloud API. The On-Premises client gets bug and security fixes only. |
| 1 July 2024 | New business phone numbers can be registered only for the Cloud API. Trying to register one for On-Premises returns error code 1005. |
| 23 October 2025 | The last On-Premises version expired. It can no longer send messages, and messages to or from numbers still registered on it are not delivered. |
What do you need to start using the Cloud API?
Meta's Get started guide lists the prerequisites as of October 2026: a Facebook or managed Meta account, developer registration, a business portfolio, and a WhatsApp-enabled device for test messages. The main steps follow.
- Create a Meta app with the WhatsApp use case in the Meta App Dashboard and attach your business portfolio.
- Connect a WhatsApp account and a Messaging account. Meta's newer documentation uses these two terms; the Messaging account holds your message templates and billing details, and your older WABA ID now identifies it.
- Send a test message from the test number with a temporary access token.
- Set up a webhook so that status updates and customer replies reach your server.
- Create a system user and a permanent access token with the whatsapp_business_messaging and whatsapp_business_management permissions.
- Register your own business phone number and give it a display name. A number that is already in use on WhatsApp must be deleted first, unless you onboard it through Meta's coexistence feature for WhatsApp Business app users.
How do messages and limits work on the Cloud API?
Meta lists three ways to raise the starting limit from 250 to 2,000: verify your business, have a partner verify it, or deliver 2,000 high-quality template messages within 30 days. Higher tiers of 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited unlock automatically as your quality and usage grow.
| Rule | What Meta documents |
|---|---|
| Opt-in | You can only message people who have opted in to hear from your business. |
| Customer service window | When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens and resets with every new customer message. Inside it you can send free-form service messages. |
| Template messages | Outside the window you can only send pre-approved templates in the marketing, utility or authentication categories. |
| Messaging limit | The number of unique customers you can message outside a service window in a rolling 24 hours is set per business portfolio. New portfolios start at 250. |
| Throughput | A business phone number sends up to 80 messages per second by default, and you can request more. |
How much does the WhatsApp Cloud API cost?
Meta charges per delivered message. Since 1 July 2025 pricing is per message rather than per conversation, and the rate depends on the message category (marketing, utility, authentication or service) and on the recipient's country calling code. Saudi Arabia is one of the markets named on Meta's rate card, so messages to +966 numbers are charged at its own rate (see /blog/whatsapp-api-saudi-arabia-pricing). Meta does not charge for messages that customers send to a business.
Since 1 October 2026 service replies inside the 24-hour window are charged as well. Meta's pricing page lists a free tier of 1,000 service messages per business phone number each month. Providers add their own platform fees on top, and those are not in Meta's rate card. For current rates and a worked example, see our pricing guide at /blog/whatsapp-business-api-pricing-explained.
Cloud API, WhatsApp Business app or a linked-device app?
| Cloud API | WhatsApp Business app | Linked-device app (WhatsApp Pilot) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who builds the experience | A developer or a provider | WhatsApp, as a free app | WhatsApp Pilot, a Shopify app by E-SAFQA |
| Number | A business phone number registered to the API | Your number in the app | Your own number, connected by QR code |
| Meta per-message fees | Yes, per delivered message | None | None |
| Templates | Required outside the 24-hour window | Not used | Free text that you edit in the app |
| Delivered and read status | Reported by webhook | Shown in the app | Not available with a linked device |
| Best for | High volume, campaigns, several agents, chatbots | One person answering chats | One store that sends order messages from its own number |
Does a Shopify store need the Cloud API?
Not always. If you need high volume, approved templates, delivery and read status, or a chatbot, the Cloud API is the right foundation, usually through a provider. If one store mainly wants order confirmations, shipping notices and consent-based reminders from the WhatsApp number customers already know, a linked-device app is simpler.
WhatsApp Pilot, a Shopify app by E-SAFQA, connects your own WhatsApp number as a linked device by scanning a QR code. There is no WhatsApp Business API and no Meta per-message fee; Pro costs USD 15 every 30 days. The trade-off is that delivered and read receipts are not available. The details are at /how-it-works/whatsapp-connection.
Frequently asked questions
What is the WhatsApp Cloud API?
It is Meta's hosted API for the WhatsApp Business Platform. Software sends messages to it over HTTPS and receives replies and status updates by webhook, without running its own WhatsApp servers.
Is the WhatsApp Cloud API free?
No. Meta charges per delivered message by category and country, and providers add platform fees. Since 1 October 2026 service replies are charged too, after a free tier of 1,000 per phone number each month.
What happened to the On-Premises API?
Meta stopped adding features in January 2024, closed new registrations on 1 July 2024 and ended support on 23 October 2025. Business numbers now run on the Cloud API.
Can I use the Cloud API and the WhatsApp Business app on one number?
Only through Meta's coexistence feature, which is set up during onboarding. Otherwise a number already in use on WhatsApp must be deleted before it can be registered for the Cloud API.
Do I need business verification to use the Cloud API?
You can start without it. Meta lists verification as one way to raise your messaging limit from 250 to 2,000 customers a day, and Official Business Account status requires it.
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