What Is the WhatsApp Cloud API? Definition and Facts

01 · Glossary

Cloud API vs. On-Premises API

Meta offers two flavors of the Business API.

• Cloud API: Meta hosts everything; you and your provider just use it
• On-Premises API: businesses ran Meta's software on their own servers
• Meta has been steering new connections to the Cloud API
• New numbers, templates, and features land on the Cloud API first

02 · Glossary

What the Cloud API gives a merchant

From your side, the Cloud API is what makes the modern WhatsApp features possible.

• Cloud-hosted number that survives any device
• Message templates with approval status
• Webhooks that deliver incoming messages to your inbox
• Media, catalogs, and flow support
• Per-conversation billing by category and country

03 · Glossary

What the Cloud API does not give you

The Cloud API is an engine, not a dashboard. Raw API access means managing tokens, webhooks, templates, and rate limits yourself. That is the layer a provider covers.

• No shared inbox or team features out of the box
• No CRM, tags, or opt-in records
• No template builder or campaign tools
• No support in your language or timezone

04 · Glossary

How Wutt connects through the Cloud API

Wutt connects your number to the Meta Cloud API — new number or migrated by QR — and builds the merchant layer on top: shared WhatsApp and Telegram inbox, templates, automations, AI chatbot, and commerce tools, with zero markup on Meta's conversation fees.

• New number or existing number migrated by QR
• Shared WhatsApp and Telegram inbox on top
• Zero markup on Meta's conversation fees

Last updated 5 August 2026