Cloud API vs. On-Premises API

Cloud API is our newest API, launched in April of 2022. Cloud API is the preferred solution, as it significantly simplifies the operational and infrastructure requirements to integrate with the WhatsApp Business Platform. With Cloud API, you don't have to deploy, host, and manage API containers or the resources needed to support them.

On-Premises API is our legacy API, launched in August of 2018. You must host the On-Premises API on your own, which means you also have to deploy, host, and manage containers and any resources they may require.

Architecture Diagram

Feature Comparison

FeatureCloud APIOn-Premises API

Throughput

Up to 1,000 messages per second. See Throughput.

Up to 250 messages per second.

Hosting

Hosted on Meta servers and supported by Meta data centers.

You must host on your own servers and use your own data centers.

Maintenance

All maintenance, scaling, and upgrades are performed automatically by Meta.

You must set up, maintain, update, and scale services on your own.

Costs

You only pay for conversations. See Pricing.

You must pay for conversations and for any costs incurred maintaining your servers.

Certificate Management

Meta manages all certificate authorities, except for your webhook server's certificate authority, which you must manage on your own.

You must manage all certificate authorities.

Single-tenant vs. Multi-tenant

Multi-tenant.

Single-tenant (single phone number per deployment).

Latency

~5s 99th percentile goal. See Latency.

Dependent on distance between your deployment servers and our servers.

Monitoring

Meta monitors all servers and services.

You are responsible for monitoring your servers, services, and containers.

Uptime

99.9% uptime goal.

Depends on your ability to maintain availability of your servers, services, and containers.

Support

7x24 for critical issues. Continuous work until the issue is resolved or mitigated.

7x24 for critical issues on a best effort basis.

Webhook notifications of WhatsApp user reactions to messages

Supported.

Not supported, with no future plans to support.

Static Stickers

Supported.

Not supported.

Animated Stickers

Supported.

Receiving animated stickers from WhatsApp users is supported, but sending animated stickers to WhatsApp users is not.

Stickerpacks

Not supported.

Supported.

Block WhatsApp user phone number

Not supported.

Supported.

Carousel messages

Supported.

Not supported.

Replies to WhatsApp user messages

Supported.

Not supported.

Delivery rate affected by TOS 2021

Yes.

No.