--- title: "WhatsApp Business API for AI Agents — Official Cloud API | WhatsMCP" description: "Connect an official WhatsApp Business API number (Meta Cloud API) with Connect with Facebook, then use it from AI agents over MCP or REST. Templates, webhooks, flat price per number." url: "https://whatsmcp.com/whatsapp-business-api" --- WhatsApp Business API · official # The official WhatsApp Business API, ready for your AI agent. Connect a number on Meta’s WhatsApp Cloud API with Connect with Facebook, then send and receive through one MCP server or a plain REST API. Message templates and the 24-hour window are built in, every inbound message can reach your webhook, and each number has one flat monthly plan. Meta bills its own per-message pricing to your WhatsApp Business Account. [Connect a Business number](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) [See Business plans](#business-plans) - Official: Meta’s WhatsApp Cloud API, within Meta’s terms - 7-day free trial on a number’s first plan - No markup on Meta’s per-message pricing How it works ## From Meta’s dialog to your first message in four steps. Everything is self-serve in the console. Nothing to host, no webhook receiver to build for Meta, no access token to copy around. 1. 01 ### Create an account Sign up for WhatsMCP — self-serve, no sales call. Your workspace holds every number, key and webhook. 2. 02 ### Connect with Facebook In the console choose Add a number, then Connect with Facebook. In Meta’s dialog pick or create your WhatsApp Business Account and the number; it registers on the Cloud API by itself. 3. 03 ### Connect your agent or backend Point an MCP client at one endpoint and sign in with OAuth, or call the REST API with a key. The same connector serves Personal and Business numbers. 4. 04 ### Start with a template Open a conversation with a template Meta has approved. Once the customer writes back, reply freely for 24 hours. [Create an account](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) What you get ## The Cloud API, shaped for agents. Meta’s rules — templates, the 24-hour window, its pricing — stay exactly as Meta sets them. What changes is the work: no token handling, no webhook plumbing, and tools an agent can call. ### Messages and media Send text, images, documents and audio; receive every inbound message and fetch the attachments it carried. ### Message templates List, create and delete the templates Meta approves, and send one with its variables filled in — from your agent, over MCP. ### The 24-hour window, enforced Inside 24 hours of the customer’s last message, reply freely. Outside it a free-form send is refused with a reason, so your agent knows to use a template. ### Webhooks and polling Push each inbound message to your HTTPS endpoint, signed, or read new messages with a cursor — no gaps, no duplicates. ### MCP and REST One MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent, and a REST API with an OpenAPI spec for scripts and CRMs — details below. ### History on your plan Messages a number sends and receives are kept for its plan’s history window and readable in the console and the API. MCP & REST ## Two ways to build on it. One key, one plan. An AI agent works the number through the MCP server; a script, backend or CRM calls the REST API. Both reach the same numbers with the same workspace credentials, and both serve Personal numbers too — a Business number simply answers to the tools and endpoints the Cloud API supports. ### MCP server — for AI agents One endpoint, `https://api.whatsmcp.com/mcp`, over Streamable HTTP. Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and most clients sign in with OAuth; any other sends an API key as `Authorization: Bearer`. A Business number gets 15 tools: Numbers & plan `wa_list_accounts``wa_get_plan``wa_unpair_account` Messages `wa_send_message``wa_list_messages``wa_get_chat``wa_get_message``wa_get_media` Templates `wa_list_templates``wa_create_template``wa_delete_template` Webhooks `wa_set_webhook``wa_get_webhook``wa_enable_webhook``wa_delete_webhook` mcp ``` # Claude Code: add it, then sign in with /mcp claude mcp add --transport http \ wamcp https://api.whatsmcp.com/mcp # then, from the agent wa_send_message({ "account_id": "acct_…", "to": "447700900111", "template": "order_update", "template_language": "en_US", "template_variables": ["Ada", "#1042"] }) → { "status": "sent", "message_id": "…" } ``` A tool only a Personal number supports — groups, contacts, calls — answers with a `backend_capability` refusal, and `wa_list_accounts` shows each number’s features up front. [MCP docs](https://whatsmcp.com/docs/mcp#connect-a-business-number) ### REST API — for backends and CRMs Plain HTTP and JSON at `https://api.whatsmcp.com/v1`, with an API key in `X-API-Key` or `Authorization: Bearer`, an OpenAPI 3.1 spec and an interactive reference. On a Business number: GET /v1/accounts Your numbers, each with its backend and features GET /v1/messages?after\_cursor=… New messages since your cursor — no gaps, no duplicates POST /v1/accounts/{id}/messages Send text, an attachment, or a template GET /v1/accounts/{id}/chats/{chat} Read one conversation GET /v1/accounts/{id}/messages/{message\_id} Fetch one stored message GET /v1/accounts/{id}/messages/{message\_id}/media Download a received attachment rest ``` curl -X POST \ https://api.whatsmcp.com/v1/accounts/$ID/messages \ -H "X-API-Key: $WAMCP_KEY" \ -H "Content-Type: application/json" \ -d '{"to": "447700900111", "template": "order_update", "template_language": "en_US", "template_variables": ["Ada", "#1042"]}' ``` Sending a template works over REST; listing, creating and deleting templates is MCP-only for now. Webhooks are set per workspace, so they fire for REST users too. [REST docs](https://whatsmcp.com/docs/rest#business-official-numbers) Business plans ## A flat plan per number. Meta’s pricing, unmarked. Each Business number is on its own plan, at one flat monthly price, starting with a 7-day free trial. Meta charges for messages under its own pricing and bills your WhatsApp Business Account directly; we add nothing to it. ### Business Starter Tier 0 One official WhatsApp Business number: messages, templates, media, webhooks. $29 /mo 7-day free trial $290/yr · $24.17/mo [Start with Business Starter](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) Messages 1000 / day Messages / hour 200 Messages / day 1000 Message history 30 days Webhooks Included API Included REST API Included MCP tools 15 of 23 Accounts & pairing 3 of 6 Messaging 8 of 13 Webhooks Included ● Most popular ### Business Growth Tier 1 Higher limits and half a year of history for a busy Business number. $79 /mo 7-day free trial $790/yr · $65.83/mo [Start with Business Growth](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) Messages 10000 / day Messages / hour 2000 Messages / day 10000 Message history 180 days Webhooks Included API Included REST API Included MCP tools 15 of 23 Accounts & pairing 3 of 6 Messaging 8 of 13 Webhooks Included ### Business Scale Tier 2 The highest limits and a year of history. $199 /mo 7-day free trial $1990/yr · $165.83/mo [Start with Business Scale](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) Messages 199000 / day Messages / hour 19900 Messages / day 199000 Message history 365 days Webhooks Included API Included REST API Included MCP tools 15 of 23 Accounts & pairing 3 of 6 Messaging 8 of 13 Webhooks Included Yearly billing and the Personal plans are on [the plans page](https://whatsmcp.com/plans). Two ways in ## Connect a Personal or a Business number. | | Personal | Business (official) | | --- | --- | --- | | Setup | Scan a QR code, like WhatsApp Web | Connect with Facebook | | Messaging and media | ✓ | ✓ | | Message templates, 24-hour window | — | ✓ | | Groups, channels, contacts, history import, presence | ✓ | — | | React, edit, delete, block, profile | ✓ | — | | SIP voice | ✓ | Not yet | | Standing with WhatsApp | Outside its terms — a number can be restricted | Official, within Meta’s terms | | Meta’s fees | None | Meta’s per-message pricing, billed by Meta | Limits ## What a Business number does not do here. Need groups, calls or the full address book? That is a [Personal number](https://whatsmcp.com/mcp), linked as a device — and you can run both kinds in one workspace. No calls yet The SIP trunk and AI voice agents carry calls for Personal numbers only. A Business number sends and receives messages. No groups, channels or address book Groups, channels, contacts, presence and history import belong to a Personal number linked as a device; the Cloud API does not offer them. No reactions, edits or deletes Message operations, blocking and profile lookups are Personal-only too. A tool that needs one answers with a backend\_capability refusal naming the feature. Template management over MCP only, for now The REST API reads and sends on Business numbers, including template sends; listing, creating and deleting templates is MCP-only until the REST endpoints ship. Meta’s rules are Meta’s Meta approves templates, sets each number’s messaging limits and quality rating, and requires the opt-in its WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy describes. FAQ ## Common questions. Is this the official WhatsApp Business API? Yes. A Business number connects through Meta’s WhatsApp Cloud API — the official WhatsApp Business Platform — using Connect with Facebook, and runs within Meta’s terms. WhatsMCP is an independent service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta. How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost here? Our side is a flat monthly plan per number, from $29 a month, starting with a 7-day free trial on a number’s first plan. Meta charges for messages under its own per-message pricing and bills those charges to your WhatsApp Business Account directly; we add no markup. How do I connect a number? Create a WhatsMCP account, then in the console choose Add a number and Connect with Facebook. In Meta’s dialog, pick or create your WhatsApp Business Account and the number. The number registers on the Cloud API by itself and appears in your fleet. Meta says my number already has a two-step verification PIN. What now? Registration on the Cloud API fails when the number already has a two-step verification PIN, and the console says so. Turn two-step verification off (or reset its PIN) for that number in WhatsApp Manager, then connect it again. Can my AI agent use it? Yes. Any MCP client — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own agent — connects to one endpoint with OAuth or an API key and works the number with tools: send messages and media, read new messages with a cursor, and manage and send templates. The same endpoint serves Personal numbers too. What are message templates and the 24-hour window? Meta requires a pre-approved template to start a conversation, or to message someone more than 24 hours after they last wrote. Inside those 24 hours you can reply freely. WhatsMCP lists, creates and deletes templates for you, and refuses a free-form send outside the window with a reason, so an agent knows to use a template. Is there a REST API as well as MCP? Yes — plain HTTP and JSON with an API key, for scripts, backends and CRMs: list numbers, read messages and send, including template sends. Listing, creating and deleting templates is MCP-only for now. Can a Business number make WhatsApp calls? Not yet. The SIP trunk and AI voice agents carry calls for Personal numbers only; a Business number sends and receives messages. Can I have Personal and Business numbers in one account? Yes. Each number has its own plan, and the console, the MCP server and the REST API show both kinds side by side. Tools that only a Personal number supports — groups, contacts, calls and the like — answer a Business number with a refusal that names the feature. Is there a free plan for Business numbers? No free tier, but every Business plan starts with a 7-day free trial on a number’s first plan. The free plan is for Personal numbers. ## Put your Business number to work. [Connect a Business number](https://console.whatsmcp.com/register) Self-serve: Connect with Facebook, pick a plan, connect an agent. 7-day free trial.