# WhatsApp Business API explained for developers > What the WhatsApp Business API is, how Meta prices it in India, how BSPs and Tech Providers differ, and where to start building on the Cloud API. Source: https://whabuzz.com/whatsapp-api/ The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta now runs as the Cloud API, is the HTTP interface businesses use to send and receive WhatsApp messages from their own software, billed per delivered message by Meta. This page collects the WhaBuzz guides and comparisons on it in one place, starting from the basics. All Meta figures below come from Meta's developer documentation, checked 16 Oct 2026. ## What is the WhatsApp Cloud API? The Cloud API is Meta's hosted version of the WhatsApp Business Platform. You call Meta's Graph API endpoints with a business access token, and Meta posts webhooks to you for inbound messages and delivery statuses. Per Meta's throughput documentation, each registered business phone number supports up to 80 messages per second by default, and up to 1,000 by automatic upgrade. A provider such as WhaBuzz sits in front of that API. WhaBuzz passes Meta's own request and response bodies through unchanged and adds signed webhooks with retries and replay, request lookup by `request_id`, and a console. See the [getting started guide](https://docs.whabuzz.com/getting-started/). ## How does Meta price WhatsApp messages in India? Meta charges per delivered message, by category and market. According to Meta's India rate card effective 1 October 2026, a marketing message costs ₹0.8631, and utility, authentication and service messages cost ₹0.115 each. Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month. > Meta charges by category–market, and only for messages from businesses to users. Meta does not charge for messages from users to businesses. > > Source: [Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing) ## Which is better: a BSP, a Tech Provider or going direct? It depends on who you want to pay Meta. A Solution Partner (often called a BSP) can extend its credit line and invoice you for Meta's charges. A Tech Provider has no credit line, so you add your own payment method and Meta bills you. Going direct means building Meta's signup, webhooks and token handling yourself. WhaBuzz is a Tech Provider. The [comparison pages](https://whabuzz.com/compare/) go provider by provider. ## When should you use templates? Outside the 24-hour customer service window you can only send pre-approved templates. Meta's three template categories are marketing, utility and authentication, and the category decides the price. The [templates guide](https://docs.whabuzz.com/guides/templates/) shows the API calls. ## What are the WhatsApp API options for Indian businesses? Indian providers range from API gateways to full UI platforms with inboxes and campaign tools. Meta lists India as a supported local storage region for Cloud API message data at rest. WhaBuzz stores its own data in Cloudflare's Asia-Pacific region and bills in rupees. ## Guides and posts - [WhatsApp Business API pricing in India](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-business-api-pricing-india/): What the WhatsApp Business API costs in India from 1 Oct 2026: Meta's per-message rates, what a provider adds, and a worked monthly example. - [BSP vs Tech Provider vs Cloud API](https://whabuzz.com/blog/bsp-vs-tech-provider-vs-cloud-api/): What a WhatsApp BSP (Solution Partner), a Tech Provider and a direct Cloud API integration mean, who bills what, and when going direct is better. - [WhatsApp webhooks that never lose an event](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-webhook-reliability/): How to receive WhatsApp Cloud API webhooks without losing or double-processing events: signatures, retries, dedupe_key, seq and replay. - [Stop Duplicate WhatsApp API Messages](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-api-idempotency/): Why WhatsApp API sends get duplicated by timeouts and retries, and how WhaBuzz's Idempotency-Key header and webhook dedupe_key prevent double sends. - [WhatsApp template approval and rejections](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-template-approval/): How Meta reviews WhatsApp message templates, the three categories, why templates get rejected, and how to catch the result through the API. - [The WhatsApp 24-hour window explained](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-24-hour-window/): How the WhatsApp customer service window works, the free entry point window, template rules, error 131047, and the 1 Oct 2026 billing changes. - [Move from WATI to your own Meta account](https://whabuzz.com/blog/migrate-from-wati/): How to move a WhatsApp number from a BSP such as WATI to a Tech Provider setup on your own Meta account: ownership, templates, webhooks and cutover order. - [Move WhatsApp sending from Plivo to WhaBuzz](https://whabuzz.com/blog/migrate-from-plivo-whatsapp/): How to move WhatsApp sending from Plivo's API to WhaBuzz: request shapes, webhooks, number migration and a safe cutover order. - [WhatsApp API error codes and what to do](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-api-error-codes/): The WhatsApp Cloud API error codes you will actually hit, Meta's meaning for each, whether to retry, and how WhaBuzz returns them verbatim. - [Send WhatsApp Messages from Node.js](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-api-nodejs/): Send a WhatsApp template and a text message from Node.js with the whabuzz npm package, verify signed webhooks and handle errors, with working code. - [Send WhatsApp Messages from Python](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-api-python/): Send WhatsApp template and text messages from Python with plain requests against the WhaBuzz REST API, handle errors and verify webhooks with hmac. - [WhatsApp API for multi-tenant SaaS platforms](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-api-multi-tenant-saas/): How a SaaS sends WhatsApp for many client businesses: one tenant per customer, Embedded Signup per number, separate webhooks and per-number billing. - [WhatsApp API data residency in India](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-data-residency-india/): What Meta says about Cloud API local storage in India, what it does not publish, where WhaBuzz stores data and how long each kind of data is kept. - [WhatsApp messaging limits and quality rating](https://whabuzz.com/blog/whatsapp-quality-rating-messaging-limits/): Meta's WhatsApp messaging limit tiers, throughput, the 131056 pair rate limit and quality rating, and how to pace sends so you stay inside them. ## Comparisons and alternatives - [WhaBuzz vs Meta Cloud API direct](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-meta-cloud-api/): WhaBuzz compared with calling Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API directly: fees, webhooks, replay, sandbox and tenants, with Meta's own pages as sources. - [WhaBuzz vs Twilio](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-twilio/): WhaBuzz vs Twilio for the WhatsApp API: fees, who bills Meta, API shape and webhooks. Twilio wins on reach and channels; WhaBuzz on a flat fee. - [WhaBuzz vs Plivo](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-plivo/): WhaBuzz vs Plivo for the WhatsApp API: Plivo's new platform and WABA fees, API shape, webhooks and when each fits. Facts checked 16 Oct 2026. - [WhaBuzz vs Gupshup](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-gupshup/): WhaBuzz is a flat-fee WhatsApp API with Meta's own bodies. Gupshup is a conversational platform with a per-message fee, AI agents and campaigns. Compared. - [WhaBuzz vs WATI](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-wati/): WhaBuzz is a flat-fee WhatsApp API for developers. WATI is a team inbox, campaign and chatbot platform with plans from ₹2,999 a month. Compared. - [WhaBuzz vs AiSensy](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-aisensy/): WhaBuzz is a flat-fee WhatsApp API with Meta's own bodies. AiSensy is a no-code chatbot and campaign platform with per-message rates. Compared. - [WhaBuzz vs Interakt](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-interakt/): WhaBuzz is a flat-fee WhatsApp API for developers. Interakt is a shared inbox, campaign and chatbot platform from ₹2,799 a month. Compared with sources. - [WhaBuzz vs 360dialog](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-360dialog/): WhaBuzz and 360dialog both stay close to Meta's Cloud API. Compare fees in rupees and euros, API headers, webhook retries and scope. - [WhaBuzz vs MSG91](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-msg91/): MSG91 is a multichannel messaging platform with a WhatsApp inbox and chatbots. WhaBuzz is a WhatsApp-only API. Fees, webhooks and scope compared. - [WhaBuzz vs Kaleyra](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-kaleyra/): WhaBuzz vs Kaleyra for the WhatsApp API. Kaleyra now sits under Tata Communications and publishes no prices or public API docs. Short, honest comparison. - [WhaBuzz vs Infobip](https://whabuzz.com/compare/whabuzz-vs-infobip/): WhaBuzz vs Infobip for the WhatsApp API: pricing, webhooks, data locations and scope. Infobip is a full omnichannel platform; WhaBuzz is API only. ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the WhatsApp Business API free? No. Meta charges per delivered message by category. Inbound messages are free, and each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. Providers charge their own fees on top. ### Do I need a provider to use the Cloud API? No. You can integrate with Meta directly. A provider saves you building signup, webhook handling, retries and token storage yourself. ### What does WhaBuzz cost? ₹500 a month for the first WhatsApp number and ₹250 for each after, excluding 18% GST. Nothing per message. Meta's charges are paid to Meta at Meta's rate.