# WhatsApp Business App vs WhatsApp Business API vs coexistence in 2026: limits, pricing and when to switch > The WhatsApp Business App is free and made for one small team on a phone. The WhatsApp Business API (the WhatsApp Business Platform) is for automation, integrations and messaging at scale. Coexistence lets one number use both at once. This guide compares limits, 2026 pricing and number migration, and explains when to switch. - Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/blog/whatsapp-business-app-vs-api-coexistence-2026 - Language: en - Last updated: 2026-10-23 - Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me) - Published: 2026-10-23 - Author: BroadNet Editorial Team **Short answer:** the **WhatsApp Business App** is a free app for a small team that chats with customers from one phone and up to four linked devices. The **WhatsApp Business API**, which Meta calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, is a programmable service for businesses that need automation, integrations with their own systems and messages to thousands of customers. Meta charges for API messages by delivered message. **Coexistence** connects an existing Business App number to the API, so the same number works in both and keeps up to six months of chat history. Move to the API when you need templates at scale, chatbots, several agents or a verified Official Business Account. BroadNet is an official Meta Business Solution Provider and can take you there. > Facts checked on 23 October 2026 at Meta's developer documentation, the WhatsApp Help Center, the Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform and the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy. Every source is linked inline. Meta can change prices on the first day of each quarter, so check the linked page before you plan a budget. | Feature | WhatsApp Business App | WhatsApp Business API (Platform) | Coexistence (app and API on one number) | |---|---|---|---| | Who it suits | Small businesses replying by hand | Companies with automation, CRM or high volumes | Businesses that want to keep the app and add the API | | Cost | Free app; paid business broadcasts in some countries | Meta charges per delivered message, by category and country | Messages sent from the app stay free; messages sent through the API are charged | | Devices and agents | One phone plus up to 4 linked devices (more with paid Meta Verified plans) | Any number of agents through software that uses the API | Phone plus up to 4 linked devices, and API access at the same time | | Sending to many people | Broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts who saved your number | Approved templates; daily limit from 250 to unlimited unique users | Broadcast lists are switched off; campaigns go through the API | | Automation | Greeting, away and quick-reply messages | Chatbots, AI agents, webhooks and integrations | API automation for chats you choose; manual replies in the app | | Throughput | Not published | 80 messages per second by default, up to 1,000 | Fixed at 20 messages per second | | Blue checkmark | Meta Verified badge as a paid subscription | Official Business Account, free if eligible | Not available: Meta does not grant Official Business Account status to Business App numbers | ## What is the WhatsApp Business App? The WhatsApp Business App is "a free-to-download app" for Android and iPhone, "built with the small business owner in mind" ([WhatsApp Help Center](https://faq.whatsapp.com/641572844337957/?locale=en_US)). It adds a business profile, a catalog, labels, greeting and away messages and quick replies to the normal WhatsApp experience. You can link up to four devices, such as a computer or tablet, to the main phone ([linked devices](https://faq.whatsapp.com/378279804439436/?locale=en_US)). Paid Meta Verified for Business plans raise that to 6, 8 or 10 devices and add a verified badge ([Meta Verified for Business](https://faq.whatsapp.com/3872729742954601/?locale=en_US)). The app has firm limits for growing teams. Every reply is typed by a person on a device linked to one phone. There are no webhooks or integration with your CRM or order system, and broadcast lists reach only contacts who have saved your number. ## What is the WhatsApp Business API? The WhatsApp Business API is the WhatsApp Business Platform: Meta's Cloud API, used through a [Business Solution Provider](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/what-is-whatsapp-bsp) or your own developers. It has no app of its own. Your messages come from software, such as a shared inbox, a chatbot, a CRM or your own systems, which sends and receives messages over the API. Meta switched off the older On-Premises API on 23 October 2025, so every new integration now uses the Cloud API ([Meta](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/on-premises/sunset)). - **Templates and the 24-hour window.** When a customer messages you, a [24-hour customer service window](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/whatsapp-24-hour-window) opens, and inside it you can reply freely. To start a conversation, or to write after the window has closed, you must use a template that Meta has approved in the marketing, utility or authentication category ([Meta pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing)). - **Messaging limits.** A new business portfolio can start conversations with 250 unique customers in a moving 24-hour period. Verifying your business raises this to 2,000. After that, using at least half of your limit within 7 days raises it automatically to 10,000, then 100,000 and then unlimited. Since 7 October 2025 the limit is shared by all phone numbers in the business portfolio ([Meta messaging limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits)). - **Throughput.** Each number can send up to 80 messages per second by default, rising automatically to 1,000 for eligible numbers, at no extra charge ([Meta throughput](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/throughput)). - **Phone numbers.** A new business portfolio can register two phone numbers. After business verification, or after reaching the 2,000 limit, Meta raises the cap to 20 ([Meta phone numbers](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-phone-numbers/phone-numbers)). - **Official Business Account.** API numbers of verified businesses can apply for the blue checkmark. Meta does not grant this status to Business App numbers ([Meta](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/official-business-accounts)). Our answer on [WhatsApp green tick verification](https://www.broadnet.me/answers/whatsapp-green-tick-verification) explains the process. ## What is WhatsApp coexistence? Coexistence is the name Meta's partners use for onboarding WhatsApp Business App users to the Cloud API. In Meta's words, it lets businesses "onboard using their existing WhatsApp Business app account and phone number". They can still send one-to-one messages from the app, and WhatsApp keeps the history of both in sync ([Meta, onboarding Business App users](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users)). Meta added it on 11 February 2025 and has since extended it to more countries, including India, the UK, the European Union and Türkiye ([Meta changelog](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog)). ### Coexistence onboarding, step by step 1. Update the WhatsApp Business App to version 2.24.17 or later. 2. Start the sign-up flow offered by your Business Solution Provider and choose to connect your existing WhatsApp Business App number. 3. WhatsApp shows a verification code. In the app, open the message from the official Facebook Business account, tap **Connect to the Business Platform** and confirm whether to share your chat history. 4. Paste the verification code into the sign-up flow. Your provider then has 24 hours to synchronise your contacts and chat history, or the onboarding has to be repeated. ### Changes in the app after you connect - **Chat history:** one-to-one chats from the most recent six months can be synchronised to the API. Group chats are not synchronised and cannot be used through the API. - **Switched off in the app:** broadcast lists (existing lists become read-only), disappearing messages, view-once messages and live location in one-to-one chats. - **Still only in the app:** voice and video calls, the catalog, labels, quick replies, greeting and away messages, and Channels. These do not work through the API on a coexistence number. - **Linked devices:** they are disconnected during onboarding, and you can link up to four again. WhatsApp for Windows and WhatsApp for Wear OS are not supported. - **Speed:** a number used in both the app and the API is fixed at 20 messages per second. - **Staying connected:** the connection can drop if the main phone is inactive for about 14 days, so keep the phone in use. Pricing follows the channel. Messages you send from the app stay free, while messages sent through the API are charged at API rates. Messages sent from the app also do not open or extend the API's 24-hour customer service window. ## How do broadcast limits compare? In the Business App, a broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts, and only people who have saved your number in their phone's contacts receive the message ([WhatsApp Help Center](https://faq.whatsapp.com/861663048350950/?locale=en_US)). In some countries the app also offers paid **business broadcasts** (formerly called marketing messages), charged per delivered message. WhatsApp states that the Business Platform does not support this feature ([WhatsApp Help Center](https://faq.whatsapp.com/1655751878365653/?locale=en_US)). On the API there are no broadcast lists. Instead, you send an approved template to each customer who has agreed to hear from you. The messaging limit counts unique customers you contact outside a customer service window in a moving 24 hours, from 250 for a new portfolio up to unlimited. Meta may also limit how many marketing templates one person receives from all businesses, and it does not publish a fixed number for that limit. The API needs opt-in from the customer, but it does not need the customer to have saved your number. ## How much does WhatsApp cost in 2026? The Business App is free to download. API pricing is per delivered message and depends on the message category and the country calling code of the recipient's number. Meta charges only for messages from the business to customers, never for messages customers send to you ([Meta pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing)). | Message type | What Meta charges from 1 October 2026 | |---|---| | Marketing template | Charged per delivered message | | Utility template (order and account updates) | Charged per delivered message, including inside an open customer service window; these were free inside the window from 1 July 2025 to 30 September 2026 | | Authentication template (one-time passcodes) | Charged per delivered message; a higher authentication-international rate applies in some markets to businesses based in another country | | Service message (free-form reply by a person or a third-party AI) | The first 1,000 per business phone number each month are free, then charged at the utility rate of the market | | Meta Business Agent message | $2.00 per million tokens since 1 August 2026 | | Any message inside a free entry point window | Free for up to 7 days after a customer arrives from a Click to WhatsApp ad and you reply in time (Meta Business Agent messages excepted) | Utility and authentication rates fall with monthly volume tiers across the business portfolio. Meta changes prices only on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. Use the [WhatsApp window calculator](https://www.broadnet.me/tools/whatsapp-window-calculator) to check when a customer service window is open. Our guide to [WhatsApp service-message pricing from October 2026](https://www.broadnet.me/blog/whatsapp-service-message-pricing-october-2026) explains the latest change in detail, and our [WhatsApp pricing page](https://www.broadnet.me/pricing/whatsapp) shows how BroadNet passes Meta's rates through. ## How do you move a number from the app to the API? There are three ways, and only one of them keeps your chat history. 1. **Coexistence (keeps history).** Connect the app number through a provider that supports Business App onboarding. You keep using the app, and up to six months of one-to-one chats move to the API. 2. **Delete and re-register (loses history).** Delete the Business App account (Settings > Account > Delete my account), wait a few minutes, then register the number on the API. Meta warns that "your existing messaging history will be lost", and the number cannot return to the app unless you deregister it from the API ([Meta](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/solution-providers/migrate-existing-whatsapp-number-to-a-business-account)). 3. **Use a new number.** Many businesses keep the app number for one-to-one chats with existing customers and register a second number for the API. This avoids any interruption but splits your audience between two numbers. If your number is already on the API with another provider, the rules changed in 2026. Meta's new account model splits the WhatsApp Business account into one account for phone numbers and one for templates and billing. It became generally available on 23 September 2026 and reaches all businesses by mid-October 2026. Under this model you no longer migrate a number between providers. Instead, you share the account that owns the number with an additional partner, and existing conversations continue without interruption ([Meta, account model](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/account-model-evolution)). ## Can you use AI chatbots on the WhatsApp Business API? Yes, for your own customer service. Meta's pricing documentation says service messages "can be powered by a 3rd-party AI solution or people". What changed on 15 January 2026 is narrower: the Meta Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform prohibit "AI Providers" from using the platform when a general-purpose AI assistant is the main product being offered, except where Meta is legally required to allow it ([Meta Terms](https://www.facebook.com/legal/Meta-Terms-for-WhatsApp-Business-Platform), [Meta, AI Providers](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/ai-providers)). The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy also requires a clear path from automation to a human agent ([WhatsApp policy](https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/)). ## When should you move to the WhatsApp Business API? Stay on the Business App while one or two people can answer every chat by hand and your customers come to you. Move to the API, or add it through coexistence, when one of these is true: - You send order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders or one-time passcodes from your own systems (see [WhatsApp for commerce](https://www.broadnet.me/solutions/whatsapp-commerce)). - More than a handful of agents need to answer from one number, with routing, tags and reporting. - You want a chatbot or AI agent to answer common questions and hand over to a person. - You need to reach customers who have not saved your number, with an approved template and their consent. - You want the free Official Business Account checkmark, or a fallback to SMS when a WhatsApp message is not delivered. BroadNet is an official Meta Business Solution Provider. Our [WhatsApp Business API](https://www.broadnet.me/products/whatsapp-business-api) service covers number onboarding, template approval, webhooks and automatic SMS fallback over direct operator routes, and [BroadNet omnichannel](https://www.broadnet.me/products/omnichannel) adds a shared inbox for agents. Tell us how you use your current number and we will recommend whether to connect it or start with a new one. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the WhatsApp Business API free? No. There is no charge to receive messages from customers, and since 1 October 2026 each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. Templates, and service messages beyond the free tier, are charged per delivered message at Meta's rate for the recipient's country, plus any fee from your Business Solution Provider. ### Can I use the same number on the WhatsApp Business App and the API? Yes, with coexistence. A Business Solution Provider that supports Business App onboarding connects your existing number to the Cloud API. You keep chatting in the app, and the API handles automation and templates on the same number. Some app features, such as broadcast lists and disappearing messages, are switched off. ### Do I lose my chat history when I move to the API? Not with coexistence: one-to-one chats from the last six months can be synchronised, although group chats are not. If you delete the Business App account and register the number on the API instead, Meta says the existing message history will be lost. ### How many people can I message with the WhatsApp Business App? A broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts, and only contacts who have saved your number receive it. You can create several lists. Some countries also offer paid business broadcasts in the app, charged per delivered message. ### What is the WhatsApp Business API messaging limit? It is the number of unique customers you can contact outside a customer service window in a moving 24 hours. New business portfolios start at 250. Business verification raises the limit to 2,000, and it then grows automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited each time you use at least half of it within 7 days. ### How fast can I send messages with coexistence? A number used in both the app and the API has a fixed throughput of 20 messages per second. A number used only on the API starts at 80 messages per second and can be upgraded automatically to 1,000. ### How do I get the green tick or blue checkmark on WhatsApp? On the API, apply for an Official Business Account once your number has been registered for at least 30 days, your business is verified, two-step verification is on and your display name is approved. In the Business App, the verified badge comes with a paid Meta Verified for Business subscription where it is available. ### Can I use ChatGPT-style AI chatbots on WhatsApp? You can use AI to answer your own customers, and Meta treats those replies as service messages. Since 15 January 2026, Meta's terms prohibit providers whose main product is a general-purpose AI assistant from offering it through the WhatsApp Business Platform, except where Meta is legally required to allow it. ## Sources - WhatsApp Help Center: [About WhatsApp Business](https://faq.whatsapp.com/641572844337957/?locale=en_US), [linked devices](https://faq.whatsapp.com/378279804439436/?locale=en_US), [broadcast lists](https://faq.whatsapp.com/861663048350950/?locale=en_US), [business broadcasts](https://faq.whatsapp.com/1524953031793983/?locale=en_US) and [Meta Verified for Business](https://faq.whatsapp.com/3872729742954601/?locale=en_US), accessed 23 October 2026. - Meta for Developers: [Pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing), [non-template message pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages), [messaging limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits) and [throughput](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/throughput), accessed 23 October 2026. - Meta for Developers: [Onboarding WhatsApp Business App users (coexistence)](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users), [changelog](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog), [migrating a Business App number](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/solution-providers/migrate-existing-whatsapp-number-to-a-business-account) and [the new account model](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/account-model-evolution), accessed 23 October 2026. - Meta, [Terms for WhatsApp Business Platform](https://www.facebook.com/legal/Meta-Terms-for-WhatsApp-Business-Platform) (last modified 23 September 2026) and [WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy](https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/) (last updated 23 September 2026). Outgrowing the app? [Talk to BroadNet](https://www.broadnet.me/contact) about moving to the WhatsApp Business API with an official Meta Business Solution Provider, and keep the number your customers already know.