The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta now calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, is the official way for a company to connect WhatsApp to its own software: a CRM, a chatbot, a shared inbox for several agents, an order system. Messages go through Meta's Cloud API instead of a phone. Unlike the free WhatsApp Business app, the API has no chat screen of its own, so you either build one or use a platform that provides it.
A company in Brazil can get the API in three ways: directly from Meta through the Cloud API, through a Business Solution Provider (BSP) that sells API access, or through an all-in-one platform (inbox, bot, CRM) that connects the number for you. In every case you need a Meta business portfolio, a phone number that can receive an SMS or a call, a display name that matches your brand, and, to grow past the starting limits, a verified business, which for a Brazilian company means documents tied to its CNPJ.
Meta charges per delivered template message. For a Brazilian number today a marketing template costs R$0.3217 and a utility template R$0.0350, and replies inside the 24-hour customer service window, free until now, become paid on 1 October 2026 beyond a monthly free allowance. Platforms add their own subscription, seat or per-message fees on top.
WhatsApp Business app vs WhatsApp Business Platform
Both come from Meta and show your business profile to customers. The difference is who replies and how many people and systems take part.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business Platform (API) | |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | App on a phone, plus up to four linked devices | Through software: your own code or a platform |
| Cost | Free download | Per delivered template message, plus any platform fees |
| Starting a conversation | Any message to your contacts | Only with an approved message template |
| Replying | Free-form, any time | Free-form within 24 hours of the customer's last message |
| Agents and bots | The people using the linked devices | Many agents, bots and AI agents on one number |
| Integrations | Catalog, quick replies and away messages inside the app | Webhooks to a CRM, ERP, payment or order system |
| Broadcasts | Broadcast lists | Template campaigns to opted-in customers, within messaging limits |
Sources: WhatsApp's comparison of the two products and its Help Center page on linked devices.
The app is enough while one or two people answer customers and nothing needs to talk to another system. The API starts to make sense when several agents share a number, when a bot or AI agent should answer first, when order or payment status must reach the customer automatically, or when the conversation history has to live in a CRM.
Three ways to get the official API
Since 23 October 2025 every official connection runs on Meta's servers through the Cloud API. The older On-Premises API, which companies hosted themselves, stopped delivering messages on that date (Meta, On-Premises API sunset). What differs between the three routes is who builds and runs the software around it, and who bills you for Meta's messages.
| Meta Cloud API, direct | Through a BSP / API provider | Through an all-in-one platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | The raw API and WhatsApp Manager | API access, a dashboard, support, often SDKs | Inbox, chatbot builder, campaigns, CRM, AI, with the number connected for you |
| Who builds the inbox and bot | Your developers | Your developers, or a tool on top | The platform |
| Who pays Meta | You, with your own payment method | You or the provider, depending on its model | Usually the platform, then it bills you |
| Typical buyer | Companies with an in-house tech team | Developers, software houses, larger volumes | Sales and support teams without developers |
| Examples in the catalog | Not a catalog entry | 360dialog, Gupshup, Infobip, Sinch, Twilio | Blip Platform, Octadesk, Poli Digital, RD Station Conversas, Umbler Talk, Zenvia |
Directly from Meta
Anyone with a Facebook account can register as a Meta developer, create an app with the WhatsApp use case, and send test messages from a test number that Meta creates automatically (Meta, get started). There is no platform fee, and no screen for agents either: you build the inbox, template management, contact storage, reporting and the webhook server that receives messages. The Cloud API sends up to 80 messages per second per number by default (Meta, Cloud API overview), so the limit is development time, not capacity. The WhatsApp Cloud API guide covers this route in detail.
Through a BSP
Meta splits these providers into Solution Partners and Tech Providers. A Solution Partner has a credit line from Meta, can onboard you without a payment method and invoices you itself; with a Tech Provider you add your own payment method after onboarding and Meta bills you (Meta, solution providers). Both onboard you through Embedded Signup, a Meta login window where you pick or create your business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) and verify the number. Meta states that businesses onboarded this way own all of their WhatsApp assets and keep full access to WhatsApp Manager (Meta, Embedded Signup), and the older model in which a partner owned the WABA on the client's behalf is deprecated (Meta, WhatsApp Business Accounts).
API-first providers differ mostly in billing and support. 360dialog sells per-number licenses in EUR or USD and, per its Brazilian page, passes Meta's rates through at cost, with one documented surcharge for marketing content sent outside Meta's Marketing Messages API. Twilio and Gupshup add their own per-message fee on top of Meta's. Choosing among them is the subject of what a WhatsApp BSP is and how to choose one.
Through an all-in-one platform
Teams without developers usually buy a platform rather than raw API access. The platform is a BSP itself or works with one behind the scenes, and each card in this catalog records which. Umbler Talk's API reference creates templates on Gupshup channels, so its official channel runs through Gupshup. RD Station Conversas's terms let RD act as a BSP or use third-party brokers, and the customer does not choose which. Digisac connects through 360dialog, Gupshup or Meta's Cloud API, with activation done by its analysts.
Whether the platform is a Solution Partner or a Tech Provider changes who invoices Meta's fees. Kommo connects directly to the Cloud API and the customer adds a payment method in Meta; Manychat, Poli Digital and respond.io attach their own credit line to the customer's WABA and pass the charges on.
What a Brazilian company needs
A Meta business portfolio
The business portfolio (formerly Business Manager) holds your WABA, phone numbers, templates and payment settings. The person who connects WhatsApp needs full control of it, and several platforms' help centers list admin access as a requirement. Sort this out before the sign-up: a connection stalls when the only admin is a former employee or the agency that ran your ads.
Business verification and the CNPJ
Meta does not require verification to start sending. It does lift the limits that matter once you grow: an unverified portfolio can register two phone numbers and reach 250 unique customers in a rolling 24 hours outside the service window; a verified one can register up to 20 numbers and moves to 2,000 (Meta, phone numbers; Meta, messaging limits). Moving a number to another provider through Embedded Signup also requires a verified business (Meta, number migration).
Verification runs in Security Center in Meta Business Suite. You enter the legal business name, address, phone and an HTTPS website, and the details must match the legal entity exactly; a decision may take up to 14 business days (Meta Business Help Center). If Meta finds no matching record, it asks for documents such as articles of incorporation, a business registration or a government tax document, and Portuguese is an accepted language (accepted documents). Meta does not name the CNPJ, but in Brazil those records are the contrato social and the CNPJ registration from Receita Federal, so the razão social you type should be the one on the CNPJ card. Verification gives no badge; that is the separate Meta Verified product.
A phone number
The number must be yours, have a country and area code, and be able to receive an SMS or a voice call, so a landline that can take the verification call qualifies. A number active on the regular WhatsApp app has to be deleted there first, unless you keep the app through coexistence (next section). If a platform sells you the number, ask who owns it: on Manychat, a number bought from Manychat must be released by its support before it can move.
A display name
The display name is what customers see instead of your number. You can send messages before it is reviewed; the review starts once the business becomes eligible for higher messaging limits, and a changed name needs a new approval (Meta, display name). The guidelines reject generic terms ("Fashion"), place names, the words "Official" or "Verified", references to WhatsApp or Meta, promotional text and URLs. The name needs a clear link to your legal name or to branding on your website. A bakery whose razão social is "Silva & Souza Alimentos Ltda" can use "Padaria Pão Quente" if its website shows that brand; where the link between brand and company is not obvious, the guidelines ask for "Pão Quente by Silva & Souza".
A payment method, and reais from 2026
If you integrate directly or through a Tech Provider, you add a payment method in Meta. Since July 2026, businesses whose sold-to country in Meta's Billing Hub is Brazil create new WABAs in reais, invoiced by Facebook Brasil; eligible customers must move every WABA to BRL by 30 June 2027, and from 1 July 2027 Meta stops delivering messages from their non-BRL accounts (Meta, pricing). If a Solution Partner pays Meta for you, this is the partner's task, but it is worth asking about.
Opt-in and a way to reach a person
The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy allows messages only to people who gave you their number and agreed to receive your messages, ideally by message category. Automated replies must come with a prompt and clear path to a human: handoff in the chat, phone, e-mail or a web form. A bot with no way out breaks the policy, not only good service.
Keeping the WhatsApp Business app: coexistence
Many small Brazilian businesses already sell through the app and want to keep the number, the history and the phone at the counter. Meta's coexistence lets the same number run on the app and the Cloud API at once, with messages mirrored both ways (Meta, onboarding business app users).
Meta's documentation (updated 26 June 2026) sets these terms:
- The app must be version 2.24.17 or later, and onboarding runs through a Solution Partner's or Tech Provider's Embedded Signup.
- Up to six months of one-to-one chat history can be synced, and the business has 24 hours after onboarding to do it.
- Messages sent from the app stay free; messages sent through the API follow API pricing. Messages from the app do not open or extend the 24-hour service window.
- Group chats are not synced. Broadcast lists become read-only, and disappearing messages, view-once and live location are turned off in one-to-one chats.
- Throughput is fixed at 20 messages per second, against 80 for an API-only number.
Among the cards in this catalog, coexistence is documented by 360dialog, Blip Go, Huggy, Kommo, WATI and Zenvia, among others; Digisac activates it through its analysts. If your team relies on broadcast lists or groups in the app, test that first.
Conversations, the 24-hour window and templates
When a customer writes to you, a 24-hour customer service window opens and resets with each new customer message. Inside it you can reply with any message: text, images, buttons, lists. Outside it, the only thing you can send is an approved message template (WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy).
Templates fall into three categories, which set the price: marketing, utility (order updates, reminders, billing) and authentication (one-time codes). Meta reviews each template when it is created, which can take up to 24 hours, and can pause or disable it later if its quality drops. An unverified portfolio can hold 250 templates per WABA; a verified one with an approved display name up to 6,000 (Meta, message templates). The WhatsApp message templates guide covers categories, the review and the reasons templates get rejected.
Messaging limits cap how many unique customers you can reach outside the window per rolling 24 hours, from 250 for a new portfolio up to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited, shared by every number in the portfolio. Customers who arrive from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad open a 72-hour window in which all messages are free (Meta, pricing).
How the costs work
Three layers make up the monthly bill.
Meta's fees. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered template message, by category and by the customer's country. For Brazil the current rates are R$0.3217 per marketing template, R$0.0350 per utility template and R$0.0350 per authentication template. Replies inside the 24-hour window are free until 30 September 2026. From 1 October 2026 each service message costs R$0.0350 after 1,000 free delivered service messages per business phone number per month, and a utility template sent inside the window costs R$0.0350 (Meta, upcoming pricing updates; Meta, service rates). Zenvia's note on the change describes the same allowance. Meta changes rates only on the first day of a quarter.
The platform's plan. A subscription, often per agent seat, sometimes with a one-time setup fee. The table shows the entry price and setup fee of a few catalog platforms as each vendor publishes them, without Meta's fees:
| Platform | Route | Entry price | Setup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 360dialog | API provider | from €49/month | No setup fee |
| Octadesk | All-in-one | from R$2,499/month | + one-time setup fee on request |
| RD Station Conversas | All-in-one | from R$1,099/month | + R$1,999 one-time setup |
| Twilio | API provider | No monthly fee, pay per message | No setup fee |
| Umbler Talk | All-in-one | from R$249.76/month | No setup fee |
| Zenvia | All-in-one | from R$100/month | + R$649 one-time setup |
The platform's message charges. Some platforms pass Meta's fee through at cost, some add a per-message fee on top, and some sell their own all-in price per message in which Meta's share is not shown. Zenvia publishes all-in rates per channel package, for example, while Kommo leaves Meta to bill you directly. Plans priced in dollars, such as those of respond.io and Treble, also move with the exchange rate (latest PTAX: R$5.1414 (23 September 2026)).
To compare like with like, this catalog prices one fixed scenario for every platform: two agents, one number, 1,000 service replies and 1,000 utility templates a month. The median monthly cost across the platforms where it can be worked out from public prices is R$672.53. The WhatsApp API pricing guide for Brazil breaks down each layer, the October 2026 change and the costs by platform.
What is the cheapest official WhatsApp API provider for a small business in Brazil with two agents?
It depends on what the price has to include. Three answers from the catalog data, as of 24 September 2026:
Lowest monthly total with an inbox for two agents. The catalog prices one scenario for every platform: two agents, one number, 1,000 service replies and 1,000 utility templates a month, adding up the plan, extra seats, Meta's fees and the platform's message charges. On that basis the lowest total is SendPulse, R$146.00 a month. These are all the platforms whose total can be worked out from public prices, cheapest first:
| Platform | Core monthly cost |
|---|---|
| SendPulse | R$146.00 |
| Huggy | R$326.97 |
| Kommo | R$343.48 |
| Gupshup | R$672.53 |
| respond.io | R$1,058.14 |
| Zenvia | R$1,150.00 |
| VTEX CX Platform (Weni) | R$2,013.11 |
No monthly fee. Gupshup and Twilio charge no subscription on their entry plans: you pay a fee per message on top of Meta's rates. What you get is an API, not an inbox, so the two agents need software you build or connect yourself.
Directly from Meta. The Cloud API has no subscription and no provider fee: you pay Meta's rates only, such as R$0.0350 per utility template in Brazil, and run the inbox, routing and template management yourself. The Cloud API guide covers what that involves.
Three things change the comparison. Many platforms quote only through sales, so their total is missing from the table. Several add a one-time setup fee, shown next to each price on the platforms list, which can be sorted by price. And these are monthly-billing prices; annual billing is often cheaper. The pricing guide goes through each cost line.
Official vs unofficial tools
Tools that connect by scanning a QR code, the way WhatsApp Web does, are not the WhatsApp Business Platform. WhatsApp's Help Center says automated or bulk messaging has always violated its Terms of Service, that it bans accounts it detects and that it takes legal action against companies that engage in or assist that abuse (WhatsApp Help Center). The number can be banned, and the provider has no contract with Meta.
Some Brazilian platforms sell both kinds of connection, so check which one a plan includes. Umbler Talk offers an official "API Empresarial" channel and a QR-code "Canal Starter"; BotConversa's Starter plan connects by QR code and its Pro plan through the official API; Digisac's default connection is a QR session, with the official API contracted separately. The official vs unofficial WhatsApp API guide explains the risks and how to spot the difference in a sales pitch.
What to check when choosing a provider in Brazil
The underlying API is the same with every provider, since Meta runs it. What changes is the contract, the invoice and the help you get when a template is rejected at 6 p.m. The table lists the checks that matter most in Brazil and what some catalog cards show; each card records the source and check date.
| Check | Why it matters | What the cards show |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription billed in reais | No exchange-rate swings | In BRL: Blip Platform, Octadesk, RD Station Conversas, Umbler Talk, Zenvia. EUR or USD: 360dialog, respond.io. Twilio offers BRL on request for new accounts |
| Pix or boleto for the plan | Many finance teams avoid cards | Card, Pix or boleto: Umbler Talk. Boleto: Blip Platform, Octadesk. No Pix or boleto option: Manychat, respond.io, WATI |
| Nota fiscal | Needed by your accounting | NFS-e with each invoice since January 2026: RD Station Conversas. NF-e per payment: Umbler Talk. Not found on public pages: 360dialog for direct clients, Twilio, WATI |
| LGPD documents | You answer for customer data | LGPD roles in the DPA or terms: RD Station Conversas, Sinch, Twilio, Zenvia. GDPR-based documents with no LGPD mention found: Treble, WATI |
| Support in Portuguese | Rejections and blocks need fast answers | Stated by 360dialog (best effort, falls back to English), Treble (Spanish, Portuguese, English), Umbler Talk (by WhatsApp only). Language not stated: Infobip, respond.io, Twilio |
| Brazilian entity | A local counterparty and courts | Brazilian companies behind 360dialog, Octadesk, Poli Digital, Twilio (Teravoz), Zenvia. Not found: respond.io, WATI |
| WABA in your name | Leaving without losing the number | All cards record a customer-owned WABA. Check the exit path: respond.io documents moving to another BSP; Octadesk lets you delete the number in your own WhatsApp Manager |
| How Meta's fees are billed | Markups change the real cost | Passed through: 360dialog, Kommo. Meta fee plus the provider's fee, shown separately: Twilio. All-in price: Blip Go, Zenvia |
Three questions do not fit a table. Who is the BSP behind the platform, and can you switch it? Can templates be created and tracked by API, if your developers will automate campaigns? And what happens to the chat history if you cancel, since an export after cancellation depends on the vendor?
LGPD: your role and the provider's
Under the LGPD (Lei 13.709/2018), your company is usually the controlador of customer data in WhatsApp conversations, and the platform is the operador that processes it on your behalf and must follow your instructions (arts. 5 and 39). You must name an encarregado (data protection officer) and publish the contact (art. 41). When a platform processes that data outside Brazil, the transfer needs a legal basis such as the standard contractual clauses set by ANPD Resolution CD/ANPD nº 19 of 23 August 2024, which companies had 12 months from publication to adopt (ANPD). A DPA that mentions only the GDPR is a gap to raise with the vendor, not proof of non-compliance. None of this replaces advice from your own lawyer.
Where to go next
The ranking explainer shows how 23 platforms are scored on the same criteria, with cost in reais, local presence and the official API weighted heavily. The full ranking (ratings date 24 September 2026) and the platforms list let you filter by what you need.
Related guides
- WhatsApp API pricing in Brazil: Meta's rates in reais, the October 2026 change and platform costs
- How the WhatsApp platform ranking for Brazil works
- Official vs unofficial WhatsApp API
- What a WhatsApp BSP is and how to choose one
- WhatsApp Cloud API explained
- WhatsApp message templates: categories and approval
- Choosing a WhatsApp CRM in Brazil
- WhatsApp chatbots for Brazilian companies
- WhatsApp AI agents and MCP servers
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 or for a mention, and no link on the site earns a commission or carries a referral code. A platform is named here only where its catalog card documents the fact next to its name.
Methodology
On 24 September 2026 the editors read Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform documentation (Cloud API, pricing, coexistence, phone numbers, messaging limits, templates, Embedded Signup, number migration), Meta's help articles on business verification and display names, the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy and Help Center, the LGPD text and the ANPD page on international transfers. Each page is linked where it is used.
Facts about platforms come from their cards in this catalog, each with sources and a check date. Meta's rates, platform prices, setup fees, exchange rates and the median monthly cost are rendered from the catalog data, so they change when the data changes. Nothing was tested hands-on and no accounts were opened; the guide describes what vendors and Meta publish.
Last updated
24 September 2026. Checked that day: Meta's pricing page (updated 10 September 2026), with the 1 October 2026 service-message change and billing in reais; the coexistence documentation; verification and display name rules; and the WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (updated 23 September 2026).
FAQ
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
No. Access to the Cloud API has no fee from Meta, but Meta charges per delivered template message, and from 1 October 2026 also per service message beyond a monthly free tier per number. Platforms and BSPs charge on top.
Can I use the API without a CNPJ?
Meta does not ask for a CNPJ by name, and an unverified business portfolio can start sending at low limits. To be verified, and to reach more than 250 customers a day outside the service window, Meta needs documents that prove a registered business, which in Brazil are the CNPJ records. A MEI registration counts: it has a CNPJ too.
Can I keep my current number and the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes, through coexistence: the number keeps working in the app while a platform connects it to the Cloud API. Groups are not synced and broadcast lists become read-only. Without coexistence, the number must be removed from the app before it is registered on the API.
How long does it take to get started?
Connecting a number through a platform's Embedded Signup takes minutes once you have admin access to the business portfolio. Business verification can take up to 14 business days and each template review up to 24 hours, so plan campaigns around those waits.
What happens to my number if I change provider?
If the WABA sits in your own business portfolio, you can move the number to another Solution Partner through Embedded Signup and keep its display name, quality rating and messaging limit; templates are copied over. Two-step verification must be off and the business verified.