What is the WhatsApp Business API?
Updated 30 September 2026
The WhatsApp Business API is the version of WhatsApp that software can run for you, hosted by Meta. A restaurant usually gets it through a provider to send menus, take orders and send updates automatically.
- The free Business app is for chatting by hand from a single device. The API handles high volumes of chats through software.
- Software connected to it can send and receive messages, so menus, order bots and order updates run without anyone typing.
- If you are not a developer, you get it through a Business Solution Provider.
- Meta charges per delivered message, with 1,000 free replies a month per number from 1 October 2026. Messages customers send you are free.
Use the WhatsApp API without building anything
Menuthere puts the WhatsApp Business API on your own number with ordering built in: a customer sends “Hi”, gets an Order Now button that opens your menu, then gets order-status updates in the same chat.
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Sources (4)
- About the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers, updated 4 August 2026
- WhatsApp Business app and Platform, WhatsApp Help Center, read 30 September 2026
- About Business Solution Providers, WhatsApp Help Center, read 30 September 2026
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers, updated 28 September 2026