WaSparks WhatsApp Business app or the API? Or both.
The free app is built for one phone. The API is built for a team. Since 2025 you don’t always have to choose: link your app number to the API and keep using both.
Which setup fits you?
Four questions. Your answer appears as you go.
Answer the questions to see a recommendation.
Stay on the WhatsApp Business app for now.
One person, saved contacts and no other software: the free app covers it. Come back when a second person starts answering.
Link your app number to the API, and keep the app.
Your team works in WaSparks while you keep the app on your phone. Your last 6 months of chats and your contacts come along.
Use a dedicated number on the API.
A number just for WaSparks, with every feature of the platform, including product-catalog sending.
The differences that matter.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business API | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it’s for | One phone, with a few linked devices | A team, working from one inbox |
| Devices or people | Up to 4 linked devices free; up to 10 with a paid Meta Verified tier | Everyone on your plan, in WaSparks: 3 seats on the trial, unlimited on Spark and Blaze |
| Messaging customers who haven’t saved you | No: broadcast lists only reach people who saved your number | Yes, with approved templates to people who opted in |
| How many at once | Broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts | Messaging limits that grow with you: 250, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000, then unlimited people a day |
| Other software | No API | Public API and webhooks (WaSparks: from Spark) |
| Verified badge | Meta Verified, a paid subscription | Official Business Account blue checkmark, if your business is eligible |
| Cost | Free | Meta charges per message, billed to your WhatsApp account; plus your WaSparks plan |
What the API costs in India.
Meta charges per delivered message, by category. These are Meta’s India rates from its card effective 1 July 2026; Meta bills them to your WhatsApp account. Estimate your month.
| Per message | Used for | |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹0.8631 | Offers, launches, reminders to come back |
| Utility | ₹0.115 | Order and booking updates. Free inside the 24-hour customer service window |
| Authentication | ₹0.115 | One-time passwords |
| Service | Free | Your replies inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes |
Or use both on one number.
Meta’s coexistence lets one number work in the WhatsApp Business app and on the API at the same time. It’s been available in India since May 2025.
- What comes alongYour last 6 months of chats and your contacts.
- What changes in the appBroadcast lists become read-only. Disappearing messages, view-once and live location are turned off.
- What you needWhatsApp Business app version 2.24.17 or newer, with the phone in hand. Open the app at least every 14 days to stay linked.
- What isn’t availableProduct-catalog sending on app-linked numbers. Everything else works.
App or API: common questions.
Straight answers, from Meta’s own rules.
Can I use the same number I use on the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes, two ways. Link it, and keep using the app alongside WaSparks: your last 6 months of chats and your contacts come along. Or move it fully to the API, and it stops working in the app.
How many people can use the API on one number?
As many as your plan includes. On WaSparks that’s 3 seats on the 30-day trial and unlimited seats on Spark and Blaze.
Do customers need to save my number to get messages?
Not on the API. Approved templates reach people who opted in to hear from you, whether or not they saved your number.
Can a number on the API still get blocked?
Yes. Meta can limit or block numbers that break its policies or get too much negative feedback. The API doesn’t change the rules; it gives you templates, opt-in and quality tracking to stay within them.
Sources
Meta’s documentation, checked on 15 October 2026.
Try the API free for 30 days.
Connect your number, linked or dedicated, and send your first template. No card needed to start.