A WhatsApp BSP (Business Solution Provider) is a company that connects other businesses to Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform and usually bills them for it. Meta's developer documentation calls this role a Solution Partner: a Meta Business Partner that onboards your company, pays Meta for your messages through its own credit line, invoices you and handles support.
You don't need a BSP to use the official API: you can build on Meta's Cloud API yourself, or buy software from a Tech Provider and keep Meta's bill in your own name. Many vendors still call themselves BSPs; the job is the same. For a company selling to customers in Brazil, four questions decide the choice: who pays Meta and in which currency, what the provider adds per message, who owns the WhatsApp Business Account (WABA), and what happens to your number when you leave.
BSP, Tech Provider or the Cloud API on your own
Meta's partner documentation describes three partner types, and billing is what separates them:
| Route | Who pays Meta | Who invoices you | Fits when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solution Partner (BSP) | The partner, through its credit line | The partner, for messages and services | You want one supplier and one invoice |
| Tech Provider or Tech Partner | You, with your own payment method | Meta for messages; the provider for its software | You want Meta's bill in your own name |
| Cloud API directly | You | Meta only | You have developers to run it |
A Tech Partner is a Tech Provider that is, or can become, a Meta Business Partner; billing works the same way. Since Meta retired the On-Premises API on 23 October 2025, every route ends at the Cloud API hosted by Meta. A BSP adds its own layer: 360dialog customers call 360dialog's Messaging API, which sits in front of the Cloud API. The Cloud API guide covers the direct route.
Meta's "Find a partner" page says its list is not exhaustive, so a vendor missing from it proves nothing. The signup is a better test: a Solution Partner shares its credit line during onboarding, while a Tech Provider's customers add their own payment method.
What a BSP does for you
- Onboarding. Most providers use Meta's Embedded Signup: you log in with Facebook, pick or create your business portfolio and WABA, and verify the number. Meta states that businesses onboarded this way own all of their WhatsApp assets.
- Billing. The BSP pays Meta and bills you. Its price list, currency and taxes then apply to every message.
- API layer. A send API, webhooks and template tools; how much works by API differs (see the checklist).
- Support. All three partner types can escalate to Meta's Direct Support, for a restricted number or a rejected display name. The provider's own response time and language differ.
How BSP billing works
Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and recipient country. For Brazilian numbers the rates on 24 September 2026 are R$0.3217 per marketing message, R$0.0350 per utility message and R$0.0350 per authentication message. Two changes start on 1 October 2026: service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window) cost R$0.0350 each after the first 1,000 per business number per month, and utility templates sent inside that window stop being free. The pricing guide explains the categories.
Providers pass these fees on in four ways. The catalog records the model for the plan it scores on each card:
- Meta's rates at cost, no fee per message. You pay a subscription or license. 360dialog's Brazilian page says Meta's rates are charged without additions; Kommo lets Meta bill your own payment method; respond.io has no usage markup but charges a card fee on each top-up.
- Meta's rates plus a provider fee per message. Twilio and Gupshup add a fixed US-dollar fee to every message, sent or received. Meta doesn't charge for incoming messages, so this fee grows with your customers' replies too.
- All-in prices per message. Zenvia, Blip Go, RD Station Conversas, Huggy and VTEX CX Platform (Weni) publish one price that already contains Meta's fee, without breaking out the margin. Compare their marketing price with Meta's rate above.
- Included in the plan. Blip Platform plans include the WhatsApp channel and charge for conversations above the allowance.
Some publish none of this: the Sinch card found no WhatsApp rate, and Infobip lists a processing fee per outbound message but not the channel rates. "At cost" can also carry extras. Poli Digital bills Meta's charges on a separate invoice that, per its terms, includes taxes, currency conversion and spread, and Huggy converts its USD prices to reais at the commercial dollar rate on the invoice date. The Central Bank PTAX rate the catalog uses is R$5.1414 (23 September 2026).
| Platform | Meta's fees | Provider's fee per message | Price from | Setup fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 360dialog | At cost | None, except marketing sent outside Meta's Marketing Messages API | from €49/month | No setup fee |
| Kommo | Billed by Meta to you | None | from $20/month | No setup fee |
| Twilio | At cost | Yes, USD, sent and received | No monthly fee, pay per message | No setup fee |
| Gupshup | At cost | Yes, USD, sent and received | No monthly fee, pay per message | No setup fee |
| Zenvia | In an all-in price | Not broken out | from R$100/month | + R$649 one-time setup |
| RD Station Conversas | In an all-in price | Not broken out; terms mention an RD fee with no published rate | from R$1,099/month | + R$1,999 one-time setup |
Which model costs less depends on your traffic: a fee on incoming messages weighs on a support-heavy number, an all-in price on marketing campaigns, where Meta's rate is highest.
Who owns the WhatsApp Business Account
Meta's Embedded Signup documentation says onboarded businesses own their WhatsApp assets: the business portfolio, the WABA and the number. On 24 September 2026 every card in the catalog recorded the WABA in the customer's own portfolio. Ownership still has edges:
- Be the admin of your own business portfolio. If a provider creates it for you, have it transferred to your company, as Poli Digital's terms describe.
- Use a number you control. The Manychat card records that a number bought from Manychat must be released by its support team before it can move.
- Know the exit path. A number can move from one Solution Partner to another and keep its display name, quality rating, messaging limits, Official Business Account status and approved templates. Two-step verification must be off, and templates can't be sent until they are copied over; their quality ratings restart as unknown.
- Plan the payment switch. Leaving removes the old provider's credit line from your WABA (respond.io documents this in its offboarding), so the new credit line or your own card must be ready first.
Checklist for choosing a WhatsApp BSP in Brazil
- Who signs the contract? A Brazilian entity means Brazilian law, courts and tax documents. Twilio's terms place Brazilian customers with a company registered in Brazil; the respond.io card found only a Hong Kong contracting entity.
- Can you pay in reais and get a nota fiscal? Zenvia, Digisac, Octadesk and Umbler Talk bill in BRL and issue one, per their cards; 360dialog bills its license in EUR or USD and Gupshup's wallet runs in USD. Meta is moving Brazil to reais too: eligible partners and directly integrated businesses billed in Brazil create WABAs in BRL, invoiced by Facebook Brasil, and must migrate every WABA by 30 June 2027; after that, Meta stops delivering messages from their WABAs in other currencies. If you pay Meta directly, that deadline is yours.
- Can you manage templates by API? If orders or Pix charges trigger messages from your own system, templates must be manageable by API. The provider's API covers create, edit and submit on 360dialog, Gupshup, Infobip, Kommo, Sinch, Zenvia and Digisac; Blip Go, Octadesk, Poli Digital, RD Station Conversas and respond.io manage templates in the dashboard only. See the templates guide.
- Is support in Portuguese? 360dialog's docs promise best-effort Portuguese that falls back to English; the Twilio, Gupshup, Infobip and Sinch cards found no page stating the support language. Get it in writing, with hours in Brasília time.
- Which LGPD documents will they sign? Under the LGPD your company is normally the controller and the provider the processor acting on your instructions (Articles 5 and 39). Ask for a data processing agreement that names the LGPD and, if data is processed abroad, uses a transfer mechanism such as ANPD's standard contractual clauses (Resolution 19/2024). Twilio's DPA includes those clauses; the 360dialog DPA the editors read cites the GDPR, not the LGPD.
- What does onboarding cost? Zenvia: + R$649 one-time setup. RD Station Conversas: + R$1,999 one-time setup. Poli Digital: + from R$1,197.90 one-time setup. 360dialog, Twilio and Kommo list no setup fee. Before signing, also ask how a move to another provider works.
Scores and facts: the ranking of WhatsApp platforms for Brazil and each platform card.
Related guides
- WhatsApp Business API in Brazil: the complete guide
- WhatsApp API pricing in Brazil
- WhatsApp Cloud API explained
- Official vs unofficial WhatsApp API
- WhatsApp message templates and approval
About this guide
Written by the editorial team of WABA Index, an independent catalog of WhatsApp Business platforms for companies selling to customers in Brazil. No platform pays for its position, and the page has no affiliate links.
Methodology
On 24 September 2026 we read Meta's documentation on partner types, Embedded Signup, pricing and number migration, the LGPD, ANPD's page on international transfers and the vendor pages under Sources. Billing models, prices, setup fees, Meta rates and exchange rates come from the catalog data. Nothing was tested hands-on; platform statements come from the public pages recorded on each card. Scoring rules are on the methodology page.
Last updated
24 September 2026: checked Meta's partner types, the Brazil rates and the charges starting 1 October 2026, the BRL billing deadline and each named card's billing model.
FAQ
Do I need a BSP to use the WhatsApp Business API?
No. You can integrate with the Cloud API and pay Meta directly, or use a Tech Provider and keep Meta's bill in your name. A BSP suits a company that wants one supplier for onboarding, billing and support.
Do BSPs charge more than Meta?
It depends on the model: Meta's rates at cost plus a subscription, a fixed fee per message, or all-in prices with an undisclosed margin. Compare each category's price with Meta's (R$0.3217 for a marketing message in Brazil).
Can I switch BSP without losing my number?
Yes, if the WABA and number sit in your own business portfolio. Meta's migration keeps the display name, quality rating, messaging limits and approved templates; two-step verification must be off first.
Who pays Meta when I use a Tech Provider?
You do. You add your own payment method, Meta bills you for messages, and the provider invoices its software separately.