Comparison
WhaBuzz vs Meta Cloud API direct
Calling Meta's Cloud API directly is the reference option: Meta bills you at its own rate, and the pricing page lists no provider fee. WhaBuzz is a layer on top of that same API. It adds signed and retried webhooks, replay, a push stream, request lookup, a sandbox and tenants, for ₹500 a month for the first number and ₹250 for each after, ex-GST.
How do WhaBuzz and Meta Cloud API direct compare?
| WhaBuzz | Meta Cloud API direct | |
|---|---|---|
| Who bills Meta's charges | Meta, to your own Meta account | Meta, to your own Meta account |
| Markup on Meta's rate | None | None |
| Provider's own fee | ₹500 a month first number, ₹250 each after, ex-GST; nothing per message | None listed; Meta's pricing page shows per-message charges only |
| API shape | Meta's request and response bodies unchanged; Meta's errors verbatim in error, with source: "meta"; a request_id on every response | Meta's own |
| Webhook signing and retries | HMAC-SHA256 in X-WhaBuzz-Signature; retries for 24 hours, then dead with an email; replay within retention of 30, 90, 180 or 365 days | X-Hub-Signature-256 signing; retries for up to 7 days per Meta; no replay feature documented on the pages checked |
| Scope | API only: no inbox, campaign builder or chatbot builder | API only |
| Region and data residency | Cloudflare Asia-Pacific region, Workers pinned to Mumbai | Local storage option, India (IN) supported; default location not published |
| Pricing transparency | Published on whabuzz.com and in the docs | Rate cards published by Meta, updated quarterly |
According to Meta's pricing page, rates are charged per delivered message by category and market, and Meta may update pricing only on the first day of a quarter. For India, Meta's rate card effective 1 Oct 2026 lists marketing at ₹0.8631 and utility at ₹0.115 a message. Both options pay exactly that.
When should you pick Meta Cloud API direct?
Pick direct when a single team runs one number, has engineers with time, and is comfortable owning the plumbing. You pay no provider fee, you talk to the reference API with no layer in between, and every Meta feature arrives the day Meta ships it.
Meta's own webhook delivery is also more patient than WhaBuzz's. According to Meta's webhook documentation, failed deliveries are retried with decreasing frequency for up to 7 days.
Unacknowledged responses will be dropped after 7 days.
If your handler already verifies X-Hub-Signature-256, deduplicates by message id and stores events before processing, you have most of what WhaBuzz adds for one number. A team with one number and time to build its own webhook handling may not need WhaBuzz.
When should you pick WhaBuzz?
Pick WhaBuzz when you do not want to build and operate the delivery layer yourself:
- Webhook handling. Events are stored before Meta is acknowledged, then delivered with signature, retries, a
dedupe_keyand aseqon every envelope. See WhatsApp webhooks that never lose an event. - Replay and the stream. Re-deliver a range after a bug, or consume events over
wss://api.whabuzz.com/v1/streamand resume from aseq. - Debugging. Every response has a
request_id, andGET /v1/requests/{request_id}looks the request up. - Sandbox. Test keys keep staging credentials apart from live ones.
- Many businesses. One app key, a tenant per customer, hosted Embedded Signup and a bill per tenant. See building for many businesses.
Things WhaBuzz does not do: it has no inbox, campaign builder or chatbot builder, and it does not manage opt-in lists. WhaBuzz went live on 16 Oct 2026, and its 99.9% delivery figure on the reliability page is a target, not a track record.
How do you move from Meta Cloud API direct to WhaBuzz?
Your WABA and numbers stay yours. WhaBuzz connects to the WABA through Meta's Embedded Signup popup or with an existing system-user token, and does not take ownership.
- Connect the number: Numbers guide.
- Sync approved templates.
- Add a webhook endpoint and verify it. Keep your direct webhook until you cut over.
- Change the base URL and key. Bodies stay Meta's own, so most send code changes little.
See the migration guide, which is written for moves from other providers but applies the same steps. For who bills what, read BSP vs Tech Provider vs Cloud API.
Frequently asked questions
Does WhaBuzz change what I pay Meta?
No. Meta bills your own Meta account at Meta's rate. WhaBuzz does not mark it up or see it on an invoice.
Is calling Meta directly cheaper?
On fees, yes: Meta's pricing page lists per-message charges only, so there is no provider fee. WhaBuzz costs ₹500 a month for the first number and ₹250 for each after, ex-GST.
Who owns the WhatsApp number?
You do. The number sits on your WABA at Meta, and WhaBuzz is connected to it.
Sources
- Meta: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Meta: Create a webhook endpoint, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Meta: Webhooks overview, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Meta: Solution Providers overview, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Meta: Local storage, checked 16 Oct 2026
- WhaBuzz docs: Pricing, checked 16 Oct 2026
- WhaBuzz docs: Webhooks, checked 16 Oct 2026
- WhaBuzz docs: Reliability, checked 16 Oct 2026
Corrections: if a figure here is out of date or wrong, email support@whabuzz.com with the source and we will fix the page.