Meta Cloud API
Meta WhatsApp API (Cloud API): what it is and what it costs
Quick answer
What is Meta's Cloud API?
The Cloud API is the official WhatsApp API, hosted on Meta's own servers. It is how a program, such as an AI agent, sends and receives messages on the business's number. Meta charges no monthly fee: in Brazil, it charges R$ 0.3217 per marketing message and R$ 0.035 per notice or access code delivered.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent
The Meta WhatsApp API, which Meta calls the Cloud API, is the official door that lets a program, such as an AI agent, send and receive messages on your business's WhatsApp, running on Meta's own computers. Meta charges no monthly fee for it: it charges per message delivered, and the amount changes with the message type and the recipient's country.
Create my agentNo lock-in contract and no setup fee. You connect the number you already use.
Summary in 7 facts
- The Meta WhatsApp API, which Meta calls the Cloud API, is the official door that lets a program, such as an AI agent, send and receive messages on your business's WhatsApp, running on Meta's own computers.
- Meta charges no monthly fee for it: it charges per message delivered, and the amount changes with the message type and the recipient's country.
- The Cloud API is the official WhatsApp API, hosted on Meta's own servers.
- It is how a program, such as an AI agent, sends and receives messages on the business's number.
- Mixing the three up is what causes unexpected charges and wrong expectations.
- Meta only charges when a message is delivered, so setting up the account does not generate a charge from Meta.
- The list of different names for the same thing is long, and it is what makes the research look confusing.
By the numbers
| Number | What it means |
|---|---|
| 250 people | Verify the business It is not required to start, but it is what takes you off the initial limit of 250 people per day. |
| 14 days | The answer can take up to 14 business days. |
| 24 hours | Every Meta charge revolves around the 24-hour window. |
| 2,000 people | It goes up to 2,000 when you verify the business, or when you deliver messages to 2,000 different people in 30 days with good-quality templates. |
| After that, Meta raises it automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and then no limit, as long as quality stays high and you have used at least half the limit in the last 7 days. | |
| 6 hours | Each step goes up within 6 hours. |
| 2 numbers | And a new portfolio registers up to 2 numbers; with the business verified or with the limit at 2,000, it goes up to 20. |
| US$ 2 | Since August 1, 2026, Meta charges for these replies by the amount of text the AI processes, at US$ 2 per million tokens (pieces of text), and says a message usually comes out between 4 and 5… |
Who does what in the Cloud API
There are three roles, from different companies. Mixing the three up is what causes unexpected charges and wrong expectations.
Meta hosts it and charges for use
It writes the rules, keeps the Cloud API running and charges per message delivered. The table is the same with any provider, because this money belongs to Meta, not to the vendor.
The provider connects and delivers the screen
It is the one that does the signup, connects your number, creates the message templates and delivers the dashboard where you work. The API alone has no screen at all: it is just the door.
Two types of authorized provider
A Solution Partner can pay Meta for you and bill everything together. With a Tech Provider, Meta bills your business directly, on your card. CertuAI is a Meta Tech Provider.
The number and the content are yours
You connect the number you already have: the plan gives you a number connection, not a new number. And what the AI answers about price, hours and rules comes from the Brain, the knowledge base you build.
How to get access to Meta's Cloud API
The path is the same with any provider. Meta only charges when a message is delivered, so setting up the account does not generate a charge from Meta.
Have a business portfolio on Meta
It is the business's space on business.facebook.com, which many people still call Business Manager. To create one, a Facebook account or a managed Meta account is enough. This is where the WhatsApp Business account, the number and the payment method live.
Choose the number
It must be yours, have a country code and an area code, and be able to receive a call or text message, because that is how the confirmation code arrives. A number that is already on regular WhatsApp must be deleted from there first. The exception is the WhatsApp Business app: through a provider's signup, the same number can stay on the app and on the API at the same time.
Create the WhatsApp Business account and the display name
The display name is what the customer sees on your profile. With a provider, everything happens in a signup window from Meta itself, opened inside the provider's site. Without a provider, the path is to create an app in Meta's developer dashboard.
Add a payment method
With a Tech Provider, Meta bills your business directly and asks for the card in the Billing Center. Meta asks that it be there by September 30, 2026: starting October 1, with no payment method, replies stop going out when the 1,000 free ones for the month run out.
Verify the business
It is not required to start, but it is what takes you off the initial limit of 250 people per day. You provide the legal business name, address, phone and website in the Security Center of Meta Business Suite, and Meta may ask for documents such as a business license or articles of incorporation. The answer can take up to 14 business days. This does not give you the blue badge, which is a different product.
Turn on the agent
With the number connected, what's missing is the software that replies. In CertuAI, the AI replies using what's in the Brain, the knowledge base with your business's prices, hours and rules, and you can take over the conversation whenever you want.
Every name you've seen, and what it means
The list of different names for the same thing is long, and it is what makes the research look confusing.
| Name you see | What it is | Still in use? |
|---|---|---|
| Official WhatsApp API | Meta's path for a program to talk over WhatsApp | Yes, it's the common name |
| WhatsApp Business Platform | The formal name for the whole set, at Meta | Yes, it's the official name |
| Cloud API, or “API de Nuvem” in Portuguese | The version hosted by Meta | Yes, it's the standard today |
| Meta API, or Meta WhatsApp API | A nickname for the same Cloud API | Yes |
| Marketing Messages API | Part of the same platform, made only for advertising | Yes |
| On-Premises API, or local API | The version installed on the company's own server | No, shut down on October 23, 2025 |
| Unofficial API | Software that connects the number through WhatsApp Web, by scanning a QR code, outside Meta's platform | It exists, but Meta does not support it |
| WhatsApp Business (app) | The free phone app | Yes, but it is not an API |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
What Meta charges on the Cloud API, and what changes on October 1, 2026
The bill has two parts, from two companies. Meta charges for using the platform, per message delivered (not per message sent). The provider charges for the software that runs on top. Adding the two up as one thing is the most common mistake of people researching prices.
Every Meta charge revolves around the 24-hour window. When the customer writes, it opens a 24-hour window in which the business replies with free text. Outside it, the business can only write with a message template, which is a ready-made text approved by Meta beforehand, in one of three categories: marketing (advertising), utility (order notice, appointment reminder) and authentication (access code).
Through September 30, 2026, replying inside the window is free. Starting October 1, 2026, Meta begins charging for these replies, which it calls service messages, at the same rate as utility: R$ 0.035 in Brazil, after 1,000 free per month on each number. The utility notice sent inside the window, free since July 2025, is also charged. What changes for those who only reply is covered in WhatsApp will charge per message.
Two rules still apply. Someone who arrives through a click-to-WhatsApp ad opens a free window, and Meta says that window "can stay open for up to 7 days" (Meta's pricing page, read on October 9, 2026). And Meta only changes the table on the first day of each quarter (January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1), with at least one month's notice.
Since July 1, 2026, businesses in Brazil can open the messaging account in reais, billed by Facebook Brasil, Meta's local company. Those still paying in dollars must switch to reais by June 30, 2027. The math with usage examples is in how much the official WhatsApp Business API costs.
What Meta charges per message in Brazil
Amounts per message delivered to a Brazilian number, from Meta's own table in reais. This money goes to Meta: CertuAI does not charge for these messages and adds nothing on top.
The full math, including the provider's part, is in how much the official WhatsApp API costs.
| Message type | Through Sep 30, 2026 | From Oct 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing: promotion, offer, list campaign | R$ 0,3217 | R$ 0,3217 |
| Utility outside the 24-hour window: order notice, reminder | R$ 0,035 | R$ 0,035 |
| Authentication: access code | R$ 0,035 | R$ 0,035 |
| Utility inside the 24-hour window | Free | R$ 0,035 |
| Reply with free text inside the window (service) | Free | 1,000 free per number per month, then R$ 0.035 |
| Any message in the window of up to 7 days after a click-to-WhatsApp ad | Free | Free |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
Source: Meta's rate sheets in reais, the one in effect since July 1, 2026 and the one that applies from October 1, 2026, Brazil row, on Meta's pricing page, read on September 24, 2026. Utility and authentication get cheaper with large monthly volume; the service reply has no volume discount.
Cloud API limits: how many people you can contact per day
Meta's limit applies to conversations the business starts, outside the 24-hour window: it is the number of different people you can contact in a rolling 24 hours. Replying to someone who contacted you does not count toward it.
Every new portfolio starts at 250 people per day. It goes up to 2,000 when you verify the business, or when you deliver messages to 2,000 different people in 30 days with good-quality templates. After that, Meta raises it automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and then no limit, as long as quality stays high and you have used at least half the limit in the last 7 days. Each step goes up within 6 hours.
The limit applies to the whole portfolio, not to each number. And a new portfolio registers up to 2 numbers; with the business verified or with the limit at 2,000, it goes up to 20. Sources: messaging limits and business phone numbers, in Meta's documentation, read on September 24, 2026.
Official or unofficial API: what's the difference
The official API is the Cloud API: the number is registered on Meta's platform, the messages pass through its servers, and Meta charges per message and sets the rules. The programs that connect the number through WhatsApp Web, by scanning a QR code, without going through Meta's platform, are called the unofficial API.
The difference that weighs the most is the rules. The WhatsApp Help Center says that unauthorized automated or bulk sending violates the Terms of Service, and that linking the account to unofficial apps can lead to a temporary or permanent ban. That is why list campaigns, reminders in volume and any conversation the business starts are work for the official API, with an approved template.
In CertuAI, the number comes in through Meta's official signup or by QR code. For campaigns and for messages the business starts, the official path is the way to go.
Tech Provider or Solution Partner: what changes for you
Meta authorizes two types of company to connect other businesses to the Cloud API. Both offer the full service; what changes is who pays Meta for the messages.
CertuAI is a Tech Provider: Meta charges for the messages on your card, and CertuAI charges only for the software. This way the message is not resold with a markup on top, and the two bills stay separate and visible.
| What changes | Solution Partner | Tech Provider |
|---|---|---|
| Who Meta charges for the messages | The partner, who may charge you for it | Your business, directly |
| Do you add a card on Meta? | No, the partner uses its own credit line | Yes, the payment method is yours |
| Has direct support from Meta | Yes | Yes |
| Is a Meta Business Partner | Yes | No, unless it moves up to Tech Partner |
Swipe the table sideways to see all the columns.
Source: comparison from Meta's partners page, read on September 24, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Are the Cloud API and the official API the same thing?
Yes. The Cloud API is the version of the official API hosted by Meta. Since October 23, 2025, when Meta shut down the version installed on your own server, it has been the standard way to use the official WhatsApp API.
Does Meta charge a monthly fee for the API?
No. Meta does not charge for access. It charges per message delivered, using the table it publishes by country and message type. A monthly fee, when there is one, comes from the provider, for the software that runs on top.
Do I need a Facebook account to use it?
You need a Facebook account or a managed Meta account to create the business portfolio, which is where the number and the payment method live. CertuAI walks you through that signup.
Do I need to have the business verified to get started?
No. You can start without verification, but the limit is 250 people per day for conversations the business starts, and 2 numbers. Meta's review can take up to 14 business days.
Can I use the same number in the WhatsApp Business app and on the API?
Yes, if the signup is done by an authorized provider with the option to use the app's number, which Meta calls coexistence. The app must be version 2.24.17 or newer. What you send from the app stays free; what goes out through the API follows Meta's table. Broadcast lists become read-only and groups are not synced.
Can I use the Cloud API without a provider?
You can, if you have someone who programs: you need to create an app in Meta's developer dashboard, generate a permanent access token and set up an internet address that receives the messages. The API has no screen and no customer service logic: someone has to build everything the customer sees.
What happens if I don't add a payment method by September 30, 2026?
Starting October 1, 2026, Meta delivers service replies only until that number's 1,000 free replies for the month run out. After that, they stop going out until there is a payment method in the Billing Center.
Does Meta have its own AI that replies through the API?
It does, the Meta Business Agent. Since August 1, 2026, Meta charges for these replies by the amount of text the AI processes, at US$ 2 per million tokens (pieces of text), and says a message usually comes out between 4 and 5 US cents. Whoever uses another company's AI, such as CertuAI, pays Meta for the service message and pays the vendor for the software.
Do I need to know which version I have today?
No. If you only use the phone app, you don't have the API yet. If you use a platform connected through Meta's official signup, it is on the Cloud API, because the old version was shut down. If the platform asked you to scan a QR code, it does not use the official API.
Does Meta read my business's conversations?
The messages pass through its platform, which is what makes delivery possible. The handling rules are Meta's and apply to any provider, including CertuAI.
Where to go next?
The technical part doesn't have to be yours
Signup, verification, connection and message templates are the job of people who do this every day. You build your business's Brain and CertuAI takes care of the rest.
From US$ 75 per month, connecting by code or QR code. Meta's official API comes with Pro, at US$ 120 per month, or with Start plus the R$ 50 (Brazilian reais) per month add-on.
Create my agentIn short
What is Meta's Cloud API? The Cloud API is the official WhatsApp API, hosted on Meta's own servers. It is how a program, such as an AI agent, sends and receives messages on the business's number. Meta charges no monthly fee: in Brazil, it charges R$ 0.3217 per marketing message and R$ 0.035 per notice or access code delivered.
About CertuAI: CertuAI is the AI that answers a small business's WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger 24/7, with a built-in CRM, and is a Tech Provider on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform. Paid plans start at US$ 75 a month, with no lock-in. Create my agent