Pricing
WhatsApp API pricing: pay per number, not per message
No per-message charge: the bill does not grow with sending volume. You pay per active number, not per message. No lock-in, no extra per-message fee, balance that never expires and human support. When you create an account you get welcome credit, subject to the current campaign.
No per-message charges. No lock-in. Add balance, activate the numbers you need and pay only for them.
Create free accountTo try it: create the account, verify your phone and get a welcome credit, no deposit needed. It is one credit per phone, subject to the current campaign.
Everything included in the price
- Send and receive via REST API (text, media, buttons, lists, polls)
- Community-based chip warm-up
- Anti-ban layer (delays, automatic typing, non-standard sending)
- Real-time webhooks per event
- Management panel and status monitoring
- Optional AI per instance
- Groups, sales funnel and automation modules
- Support and documentation
In the first month of each number there's a provisioning fee plus the amount prorated for the remaining days of the month. You see the exact total in the calculator before confirming, with no surprises afterward.
Why pay per number and not per message
Meta's official API charges per delivered message, by category. For anyone sending at volume, that cost grows with the operation and becomes hard to predict. The per-active-number model flips the logic: you know exactly what you'll pay each month, whether you send a hundred or a hundred thousand messages on that number.
That makes the cost predictable and growth healthy. Need more capacity? Add a number. A seasonal operation ended? Deactivate it and stop paying for it. No surprises on the invoice, no hidden per-message fee.
How your bill behaves as volume grows
Same scenario, two models: the same operation with 5,000 delivered messages in a month.
Meta's official API
Grows per message
- Charged per delivered message: the cost rises with volume
- Account and message template approval before you can begin
- Invoice hard to predict as the operation scales
ZapZap API
- Those 5,000 messages (or far more) for the same price
- No Meta approval needed to start sending
- Predictable invoice: you know the total before confirming
Illustrative estimate. The exact cost of the official API varies by message category, country and Meta's current rates. ZapZap's price is fixed per active number, prepaid.
Official WhatsApp API cost per message (Meta, 2026)
Since July 1, 2025, Meta bills per delivered message. The price depends on the category and the recipient's country, and each business number gets 1,000 free service messages per month. From October 1, 2026, service messages above that allowance are charged too (rules read on Meta's official page on October 27, 2026).
Rates in reais from Meta's official rate card for Brazil, effective October 1, 2026 and checked on October 26, 2026. Meta only changes rates on the first day of each quarter, so we recheck every quarter. For your volume, simulate in our calculator.
| Category | Example use | How Meta charges | Rate in Brazil |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotion, offer, re-engagement | Per delivered message, highest rate | R$ 0.3217 |
| Utility | Order confirmation, reminder | Per delivered message, with volume tiers | R$ 0.035 |
| Authentication | Verification code | Per delivered message, with volume tiers | R$ 0.035 |
| Service | Reply to someone who wrote first | 1,000 free per month per number; charged above | R$ 0.035 |
Source: official WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page, read on October 27, 2026.
Meta's official tableAPI cost calculatorWhatsApp Business API
What you really pay
At ZapZap the math is simple: active numbers times R$15 per month, whatever the message volume. Directly on Meta, it is delivered messages times the category rate. Intermediary providers (BSPs) may charge on top, which varies by vendor, so they are left out of this comparison.
| Active numbers | ZapZap per month | Meta direct |
|---|---|---|
| 1 number | R$ 15 | Delivered messages x category rate |
| 5 numbers | R$ 75 | Delivered messages x category rate |
| 20 numbers | R$ 300 | Delivered messages x category rate |
ZapZap: R$15 per active number per month, no per-message fee. In the first month of each number there is a provisioning fee and a prorated amount. Meta: simulate with the calculator using your volume and categories.
ZapZap and Z-API: price per number
Z-API is also an instance-based WhatsApp API and charges per channel. The prices below are the ones published on its official page. The plans deliver different features, so price alone does not decide.
| Numbers | ZapZap | Z-API Omni | Z-API Partner (10+) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | R$ 15 | R$ 99.99 | not applicable |
| 5 | R$ 75 | R$ 499.95 | not applicable |
| 20 | R$ 300 | R$ 1,999.80 | R$ 1,799.80 |
According to Z-API's official page (z-api.io), rechecked on November 11, 2026: Omni R$ 99.99 per channel per month, for up to 9 channels; Partner R$ 89.99 per channel per month for 10 or more channels; 2-day trial. The page charges per channel and does not say whether a channel equals a phone number. Totals computed by multiplication. Third-party prices change: confirm on the vendor's page.
What is not in the price
- A provisioning fee in the first month of each number, shown in the calculator before you confirm.
- No per-message charge and no webhook charge.
- Risk: the unofficial API has a different risk, not only a different price. It goes against WhatsApp's Terms and the number can be limited or banned. See the full answer in the FAQ below and the guide on official vs unofficial APIs.
Updated October 27, 2026
Frequently asked questions
How much does ZapZap's WhatsApp API cost?
R$15 per active number per month, prepaid. You add balance to your account and each active number consumes that monthly amount. There's no charge per message sent and no extra per-message fee. In the first month of each number there is a one-time activation fee of R$3 per number (current value; confirm at GET /instances/cost) plus the prorated amount for the remaining days, which you see in the calculator before confirming.
What is included in the R$15 per number?
Send and receive via REST API (text, media, buttons, lists and polls), webhooks per event, the management panel, community chip warm-up, the anti-ban layer (delays and automatic typing), group, funnel and automation modules, optional AI per instance, and support and documentation in Portuguese. AI usage is billed from your balance separately, according to use.
Is there a per-message charge?
No. Unlike the official API, which charges per delivered message, here you pay per active number. How much volume a number can handle depends on sending behavior and WhatsApp's rules, not on a plan.
Can I try it before paying? How does the welcome credit work?
Yes. When you create the account and verify your phone, you get a welcome credit as balance, with no deposit needed, and you use it like any other balance. It is one credit per phone, and the amount and conditions follow the current campaign, shown at signup.
Is there a contract or cancellation fee?
No. The model is prepaid and lock-in free. You keep active the numbers you want, for as long as you want, and stop paying for a number the moment you deactivate it. The balance in your account does not expire.
Do I have to pay for several numbers at once?
No. You pay only for active numbers. Start with one, validate your operation and scale by adding numbers as you need them.
How and in what currency do I pay?
The balance is prepaid and in reais (BRL). In Brazil, you top up by PIX, boleto or card. From any country, you pay with a Visa or Mastercard credit card, charged in reais. An amount in another currency shown by your bank is just its own conversion.
Does an unofficial API get you banned? What is the risk?
It can. ZapZap is an unofficial, instance-based API, which goes against WhatsApp's Terms, and the number can be limited or banned even with good practices. What lowers the risk: warming up the chip, sending only to people who opted in, varying the text, keeping a human pace and intervals, and watching the replies. That reduces the risk, it does not remove it, and there is no guarantee that the number will never be blocked. If your business cannot take that risk, use the official API.
How is this different from the official WhatsApp API?
The official API (Meta's Cloud API) is the channel inside WhatsApp's terms: it requires business verification and approved message templates, carries the official badge and charges per message. ZapZap connects your number by QR code in minutes, with no templates, at a fixed price per number, but with no badge and with the risk described above. For large-scale marketing with opt-in and a need for an official channel, the official API is the right choice.
What does the official WhatsApp API cost per message?
Since July 1, 2025, Meta bills per delivered message, by category. In its official rate card in reais for Brazil, effective October 1, 2026 and checked on October 26, 2026: marketing R$ 0.3217, utility R$ 0.035, authentication R$ 0.035 and service R$ 0.035. Each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month, and Meta only changes rates on the first day of each quarter. Use the calculator on this page to simulate your volume.
How much does Z-API cost compared with ZapZap?
The comparison table on this page lists Z-API's prices as shown on its official page, read on October 27, 2026, per number and per plan. ZapZap costs R$15 per active number per month. They offer different features, so compare what each plan delivers before you decide.
Start now
Create your account, connect a number in minutes and test the API with warm-up and anti-ban. R$15 per active number/month, prepaid, no lock-in.