WhatsApp Business API vs. WhatsApp Cloud API
WhatsApp Business API and WhatsApp Cloud API are both used by small businesses to enterprises that want to scale their customer communications. They have many similarities and differences in terms of features and functionalities. Knowing how they compare could help you choose the right one for your business needs.
The table below summarizes the key feature and functionality differences and similarities between the two API.
WhatsApp Business API | WhatsApp Cloud API | |
---|---|---|
Who hosts it | Business Solution Providers (BSPs) | Meta |
Where is your data hosted | Regionally hosted by BSPs | North America |
Price of getting access to it* | Cost that each BSP decides | Free** |
How to access it | From BSPs | Directly from Meta |
How long it takes to access it | A few minutes to weeks depending on your BSP | A few minutes |
Has an inbox? | No | No |
Message types supported | ||
Text | Yes | Yes |
Image | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Videos | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Audio | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Document | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Voice message | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Gif | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Contact Cards | ||
Location | ||
StickerPack | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
List Messages | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Reply Button Messages | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Single-product messages | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Multi-product message | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Text-based message templates | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Media-based message template (Images, videos and documents) | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Interactive message templates | Depends on the BSP | Yes |
Support you receive | ||
SLA | Depends on the BSP | No |
Disaster Recovery | Depends on the BSP | No |
Personalized support | Depends on the BSP | No |
How long it takes to get access to new features and functionalities of the API | Depends on the BSP | Instantly |
* This is the price for getting access to the API only. Businesses must pay for WhatsApp conversation-based pricing and inbox separately.
** Your access to the API is free but to get access to it you need someone with programming knowledge to do it. If you don’t have a technical person on your team, you need to find someone who can do it for you at a cost. Some BSPs provide assistance in getting access to the Cloud API.