The official WhatsApp Business API, ready to use

WhatsApp Business app or the Business API?

The free WhatsApp Business app suits a shop owner who answers chats on one phone. Growing teams outgrow it when several people need to reply, when campaigns go to thousands of customers, or when orders and bookings should trigger messages automatically.

How to get WhatsApp Business API access with Botmust

You don’t need a developer or a separate Meta partner account. Botmust uses Meta’s embedded signup, so the WhatsApp Business Account is created in your own Meta business portfolio and stays yours.

1. Create a Botmust workspace and choose the plan that fits your team.
2. Open Channels → WhatsApp and continue with Facebook. Sign in with the Facebook account that manages your business, then pick or create your business portfolio and WhatsApp Business Account.
3. Add your phone number and display name. Meta verifies the number with a code by SMS or voice call. If the number is already in use on WhatsApp, Meta’s signup screens explain the options for moving it.
4. Add a payment method in Meta. Meta bills message charges to your WhatsApp Business Account directly.
5. Create your first templates. Write them in Botmust (BotMust AI can draft them), submit them to Meta and track approval in the Templates page.

Most businesses can send their first approved template the same day. Completing Meta business verification is optional at the start but raises your limits and is required for a green tick.

What does the WhatsApp Business API cost?

There are two separate costs. Keeping them apart makes budgeting simple.

• Meta’s message charges. Meta charges per delivered message, with different rates for marketing, utility and authentication templates and for each recipient country. Since 1 October 2026, replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free for the first 1,000 each month per phone number and charged after that, and utility templates are charged even while that window is open. Chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on a phone are free for up to 7 days. Meta publishes current rates on its pricing page.
• The Botmust subscription. Plans start at ₹1,499 a month and include unlimited campaigns, the shared inbox, CRM, flows and BotMust AI within your monthly allowance. See the full plan comparison.

Because Meta bills your own account, Botmust adds no markup to WhatsApp messages and needs no prepaid wallet. Many providers resell messages with a margin of roughly 10% to 40% over Meta’s rate, so compare the per-message price as well as the monthly fee; our comparison of WhatsApp marketing software lists them.

Templates, opt-in and messaging limits

To message a customer first, or more than 24 hours after their last message, you send a template that Meta has approved. Templates can carry the customer’s name, an image or document, and buttons for quick replies, website links or a phone call. Botmust shows each template’s status and the reason when Meta rejects one.

Customers must have agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, and they must be able to opt out. Botmust records consent and opt-outs on the contact and leaves opted-out people out of later campaigns. Meta’s Business Messaging Policy sets the rules.

New numbers start with a limit on how many people they can message first in 24 hours. Meta raises the limit as you send messages that customers want and complete business verification. Low-quality campaigns that people block or report can lower your quality rating, so start with your most engaged customers.

Cloud API or QR connection?

Botmust also offers a QR connection, which links a number by scanning a code like WhatsApp Web. It suits a small team that wants an existing number in the shared inbox for one-to-one chats. It isn’t part of the official Business Platform, so it has no template approval or green tick. Bulk messages to people who haven’t chosen to hear from you can get the number restricted by WhatsApp.

For campaigns, automation at volume and a number that is safe to grow, use the official Cloud API.