WhatsApp Business API in India: setup, pricing and approval (2026 guide)

What is the WhatsApp Business API, and how is it different from the app?

There are two WhatsApp products for businesses. The WhatsApp Business app is free and runs on a phone. It is fine for one person replying by hand, but it has no real team inbox, no automation beyond simple greeting and away messages, and no way for your own software to send messages.

The WhatsApp Business Platform, usually called the WhatsApp Business API, is Meta's interface for software. Meta hosts it as the Cloud API. Businesses rarely call it directly; they use a platform such as Aethenox AI, which is a Meta Tech Provider, to get a shared inbox, templates, campaigns, automation and AI agents on top of it. You keep ownership of your WhatsApp Business Account inside your own Meta business portfolio.

What do you need before you apply?

• A Meta Business Account (business portfolio) at business.facebook.com, and admin access to it.
• A phone number you can verify by SMS or call. It can be a new number, or, with coexistence, one that already runs on the WhatsApp Business app (version 2.24.17 or later).
• A display name that matches your business. Meta reviews it, and a name that has nothing to do with your brand is a common reason for rejection.
• A website or listing that shows who you are helps with verification and with name approval.
• Business verification documents are optional at the start but worth preparing. In India, Meta commonly accepts a GST certificate, Certificate of Incorporation, Shops & Establishment licence or Udyam registration, showing your legal name and address.

How do you set up the WhatsApp Business API in India?

With Aethenox AI the whole setup happens inside Meta's Embedded Signup window, so there is no separate application form and no waiting for a reseller to create your account.

1. Create an Aethenox AI account. The 7-day free trial needs no card.
2. In the dashboard, open WhatsApp → Channels and start a connection.
3. Choose Connect with Facebook for a standard connection, or Use my WhatsApp Business app for coexistence.
4. In Meta's window, pick your business portfolio, choose or create a WhatsApp Business Account, and verify the number.
5. Aethenox AI registers the webhook and activates the number. It shows as Active on the Channels page, and you can send a first message from the inbox to confirm.

Standard connection or coexistence?

A standard connection moves the number fully onto the Cloud API. It can no longer be used in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app on a phone at the same time, so it suits new numbers.

Coexistence keeps the number working in the WhatsApp Business app. You approve the connection from the app itself, choose whether to share chat history, and carry on replying from the phone. Messages you send from the phone also appear in the Aethenox AI inbox, and your contacts are brought across. The AI agent stays quiet on a coexistence number until you switch on AI replies for it, so customers never get two answers. A few WhatsApp limits apply: group chats don't sync, and some regions and number types aren't eligible yet.

The screen-by-screen steps are in the Connect WhatsApp docs.

How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in India?

Your cost has two parts: what Meta charges for messages, and what your platform charges for the software.

Meta's per-message pricing

Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per template message, and the rate depends on the template's category:

• Marketing: promotions, offers, announcements, re-engagement. Usually the highest rate.
• Utility: updates on something the customer asked for, such as an order, booking, payment or account change.
• Authentication: one-time passcodes.
• Service: free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message.

Service messages are free. Utility templates are also free when sent while a customer-service window is open. That makes a big difference in practice: a business that mostly answers customers who message first pays very little to Meta, while a business that sends lots of promotions pays mostly marketing rates. Rates differ by the recipient's country and Meta revises them, so check current figures rather than relying on an old price list.

Platform pricing on Aethenox AI

Aethenox AI plans are ₹1,999, ₹4,999 and ₹9,999 per month, with Enterprise on a quote. Plans include your AI replies. WhatsApp messages are billed per send from a prepaid rupee wallet, so each campaign's cost is visible before and after you send. Prices exclude 18% GST. See the pricing page for current plan limits and message rates.

How does WhatsApp template approval work?

To message someone who hasn't written to you in the last 24 hours, you must use a message template that Meta has approved. You create a template with a category, language and body, add variables such as {{1}} for a name or order number, and submit it. Meta usually decides within minutes, and at most within about 24 hours. On a brand-new number the first templates are often reviewed by hand, so submit them a few days before a launch.

Common reasons for rejection:

• Promotional wording inside a utility template.
• Marketing templates without a clear way to opt out.
• Content so generic that Meta can't tell what it is for.

In Aethenox AI you create, preview and submit templates from the dashboard, and fix and resubmit a rejected one. See the templates docs.

How many people can you message per day?

Meta limits how many different people a business can start conversations with in 24 hours. Every business starts at 250 unique contacts, then moves to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited. The limit counts people, not messages, and it is shared across all numbers in the same business portfolio, so adding numbers does not raise it.

There are two ways to move up:

• Send well. Reach more unique contacts over a rolling 30 days while keeping a good quality rating, and Meta raises the limit on its own.
• Verify your business. A verified business with an approved display name starts higher. Verification is done in your own Meta Business Manager under Security Center and takes days, not minutes.

No platform setting can lift this limit, so plan big campaigns around it. A number connected today cannot reach a few thousand people tomorrow.

How do you stay compliant on WhatsApp?

• Get opt-in. Message people who agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, for example through a website form, at checkout, or because they messaged you first.
• Respect opt-outs. Aethenox AI records contacts who reply STOP and leaves them out of future marketing campaigns.
• Watch quality. Blocks and reports lower your quality rating, which can stall or reverse your messaging limit. Space out marketing sends and keep them relevant.
• Remember that accepted is not delivered. Meta can accept a message and still fail to deliver it, for example when a daily marketing cap applies to that user. Check delivered and read counts in your campaign reports, not just “sent”.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Meta's WhatsApp Business policies are the final word on what you may send.

What can you build once you're connected?

Most Indian businesses start with a shared inbox for enquiries, then add an AI agent that answers from their own knowledge base, routing rules and business hours, and finally scheduled broadcasts to tagged contacts. Aethenox AI also includes AI voice agents that answer phone calls with the same knowledge. Read more on the WhatsApp Business API page, or see our AI voice agent guide.