Can I use the WhatsApp Business app and the API on the same number?

Yes. Meta's coexistence option lets one number run on the WhatsApp Business app and the Cloud API at the same time. You need app version 2.24.17 or newer and a provider that supports coexistence onboarding. Some app features, such as groups and calls, stay app-only and don't work through the API.

Will I lose my old WhatsApp chats if I turn on coexistence?

No, your chats stay in the app on your phone. Up to the most recent six months of one-to-one chats and your contacts can also be synced to the API side, so your provider's inbox shows recent history. Older chats and group conversations don't sync, but they remain on the phone.

Do WhatsApp groups work with coexistence?

Group chats are not supported through the API, so your provider's inbox won't show them and automation can't use them. You keep handling groups from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. If dealer or customer groups are central to your business, plan for that split before you onboard.

Are messages sent from the app charged after coexistence?

Messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Messages sent through the API are charged at normal API rates: per delivered message by template category, with the first 1,000 service messages each month per number free from 1 October 2026. Check Meta's current rate card before budgeting.

Can I broadcast to all my synced contacts?

Not unless they opted in. Syncing brings contacts across, but WhatsApp's policy says you should only message people who gave you their number and agreed to receive messages from your business. Collect opt-in first, start with a small segment, and respect anyone who asks to stop.

What is the 20 messages per second limit?

It's the fixed sending speed for coexistence numbers. At that speed a broadcast to 2,000 people takes around 100 seconds in theory. It is separate from your messaging limit, which caps how many unique people you can message outside a service window in 24 hours.

WhatsApp Coexistence: Use the App and API on One Number

Key takeaways

Coexistence lets one number work on the WhatsApp Business app and the Cloud API at the same time, set up through a provider.
Up to the most recent six months of one-to-one chats and your contacts can sync to the API side.
Group chats, calls, app broadcast lists, labels, quick replies, greeting messages and the app catalog don't work through the API.
Messages sent from the app stay free, while messages sent through the API are charged at normal API rates.
Coexistence numbers are fixed at 20 messages per second, which is plenty for most small businesses.
Synced contacts are not opted-in contacts, so collect fresh consent before you send any marketing broadcast.

On this page

What is WhatsApp coexistence?
What gets synced when you turn on coexistence?
Which features don't work through the API with coexistence?
How is pricing different on the app and the API?
Is the 20 messages per second limit a problem?
Should you use coexistence or a fresh number?
How do you set up coexistence?
How does this work in ConvoBox?

Yes, you can now use one WhatsApp number on the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business API at the same time. Meta calls this coexistence. You keep chatting from the app on your phone the way you do today, and an API provider's software handles broadcasts, chatbots and a team inbox on that same number.

There are catches. Some app features don't carry over to the API side, messages sent through the API are billed by Meta, and a coexistence number is fixed at 20 messages per second. Below, we cover what syncs, what doesn't, what it costs and when a fresh number is the better choice.

What is WhatsApp coexistence?

Coexistence is Meta's name for connecting a WhatsApp Business app number to the Cloud API without taking it off the app. Before this option existed, moving to the API meant your number left the app. For a shop owner that was a real cost, because the app is where the regulars, the groups and years of chats live.

With coexistence, the phone keeps working as a WhatsApp Business app. At the same time, a provider (Meta calls them Solution Partners or Tech Providers) connects the number to the API, so software can send approved templates, run automated replies and let more than one person answer. If you're new to the API itself, start with the difference between the WhatsApp Business app and the API.

What do you need before you start?

The WhatsApp Business app (not regular WhatsApp) on version 2.24.17 or newer.
A provider that supports coexistence onboarding. You can't switch it on from inside the app yourself.
The phone that has the number, because you'll typically confirm the connection from it.
A Meta business portfolio. The provider's signup flow walks you through creating or choosing one.

One side effect catches people out. Linked devices, such as WhatsApp Web on the shop computer or a second phone, get unlinked during onboarding. You can link them again afterwards, but tell your staff in advance so nobody panics when WhatsApp Web logs out in the middle of a busy afternoon.

Woman taking customer orders on her phone while writing them down in a notebook — Coexistence suits owners who still want to answer regulars from their own phone while software handles the rest.

What gets synced when you turn on coexistence?

Up to the most recent six months of your one-to-one chats, plus your contacts, can be synced to the API side. That means your provider's inbox can show recent history, so whoever picks up a chat can scroll back and see what the customer asked last month.

Keep two limits in mind:

Older chats stay on the phone. Anything older than roughly six months won't appear in the API tools. It isn't deleted from your app. It just doesn't come across.
Only one-to-one chats sync. Group conversations stay in the app and never show up in the API inbox.

How smoothly new messages show on both sides after onboarding can depend on Meta's current setup and your provider. Before you rely on it, send a few test messages from a friend's phone and check where each one appears.

Which features don't work through the API with coexistence?

Several app features don't work on the API side. Your provider's software can't see or use them, so you either keep handling them on the phone or rebuild them in the provider's tools. Here's the split according to Meta's coexistence documentation:

Feature	Works through the API?	What to do instead
One-to-one chats	Yes	Up to the last six months of history syncs, along with contacts.
Group chats	No	Keep handling groups in the app.
Voice and video calls	No	Take calls on the phone.
App broadcast lists	No	Send API broadcasts with approved templates to opted-in contacts.
Disappearing and view-once messages	No	Avoid them for anything your team needs to see later.
Labels, quick replies, greeting messages	No	Rebuild them as tags, saved replies and a welcome workflow in your provider's tools.
Catalog and other app business tools	No	Set up a catalog on the API side if your provider supports it.

Meta can change what the app allows for coexistence numbers, so ask your provider for the latest list before you onboard. And check the phone side after onboarding too. Don't assume every app feature behaves exactly as it did before.

Which of these matters most for a small business?

For many shops it's labels and quick replies. If you've spent two years building a "paid", "pending" and "wholesale" label system on your phone, none of it carries into the API inbox, so expect to spend time recreating it as tags. Groups matter if you run customer or dealer groups, as some wholesalers do. Those stay phone-only.

How is pricing different on the app and the API?

Messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Messages sent through the API are charged at normal API rates, the same per-message pricing every API number pays.

Here's how API pricing works in short:

Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per delivered message. It charges only for messages the business sends, and customers messaging you is free.
Templates are priced by category: marketing, utility and authentication. Free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are service messages.
From 1 October 2026, Meta charges service messages again, along with utility messages sent inside an open window. The first 1,000 service messages each month per business phone number are free.
India billing in rupees started on 1 January 2026.
Several providers report 2026 India rates of about ₹0.86 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility or authentication message, before 18% GST. Check Meta's current rate card or WhatsApp Manager before you budget, because rates change.

Say you run a provision store in Madurai and send 2,000 marketing messages a month through the API to customers who opted in. At the reported rate, that's about ₹1,720 to Meta before GST, plus whatever your provider charges as a subscription. Try your own numbers below.

Some owners keep personal chats with regulars on the phone, where they're free, and use the API only for broadcasts and automation. That's allowed. The trade-off is that work gets split across two places, so you need a clear rule about who replies where. For the full picture, read our guide to WhatsApp Business API pricing in India.

Is the 20 messages per second limit a problem?

For most small and mid-sized businesses, no. Throughput is about speed. At 20 messages per second, a broadcast to 2,000 people would take around 100 seconds if everything ran at full speed, which is fine for a festive offer or a restock alert.

Don't confuse throughput with your messaging limit. The messaging limit caps how many unique people you can message outside a customer service window in a moving 24 hours. It starts at 250 for new accounts and rises to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited, and it's shared by all numbers in your business portfolio. Our guide to messaging limits and quality rating explains how to move up.

Throughput only becomes a real concern if you're a large brand sending time-sensitive messages to lakhs of people at once. A coexistence number can't go faster than 20 per second, so if speed at that scale matters, ask your provider what a standard API number would give you.

Should you use coexistence or a fresh number?

Use coexistence if your current number is valuable to customers and you still want to work from the app. Choose a fresh API number if you're building a team process from scratch or you rely heavily on app-only features that would confuse things. Answer one question to see which fits you.

How does your business use WhatsApp today?

Coexistence is a good fit. Your customers keep the number they know, you keep replying from the app, and you add broadcasts and simple automation through the API. Rebuild your labels as tags and collect fresh opt-ins before your first broadcast.

Coexistence can work, but think about where replies will happen. If three people answer through a shared inbox and the owner also answers from the phone, customers can get two replies or none. It can be simpler to work fully in the API inbox and answer on the go through a mobile app. Either way, set a clear rule.

Be careful. Groups and calls don't work through the API, so they'll stay on the phone. Coexistence still lets you keep them, which is better than a full migration that would take the number off the app. Just accept that the API inbox will only see one-to-one chats.

Coexistence usually suits

A single shop or small brand whose number is printed on bills, boards and Google listings.
Owners who want to try broadcasts and a chatbot without giving up the app.
Businesses with modest volume, where 20 messages per second is plenty.

A fresh API number usually suits

Teams that want every reply in one shared inbox with assignment and notes.
Brands starting a new support or sales line that doesn't need old chat history.
Businesses that want to keep a personal or old number separate from automated messaging.

How do you set up coexistence?

You set it up through a provider's onboarding flow, which can often be done in one sitting if your business details are ready. The exact screens depend on the provider, but the order usually looks like this.

Update and back up the app
Make sure the WhatsApp Business app is on version 2.24.17 or newer, and back up your chats as usual before you change anything.
Confirm your provider supports coexistence
Ask directly, because not every provider supports it. Ask what syncs and how replies from the phone appear in their inbox.
Warn your team about linked devices
WhatsApp Web and other linked devices will be unlinked during onboarding. Pick a quiet hour and tell staff to re-link afterwards.
Run the provider's signup and choose your existing number
Follow the prompts, select your business portfolio, and confirm the connection from the phone when asked. Choose to sync chats and contacts if you want recent history in the inbox.
Rebuild what doesn't carry over
Recreate labels as tags, quick replies as saved replies and your greeting message as a welcome workflow. Submit your first templates for approval.
Test before you broadcast
Message the number from a friend's phone, reply from both the app and the inbox, and check what each side shows. Then send your first broadcast only to contacts who opted in.

If you want the wider picture of signing up, our step-by-step guide on how to get the WhatsApp Business API covers business verification, display names and first templates.

How does this work in ConvoBox?

ConvoBox is an Official Meta Tech Partner and connects new or existing numbers to the official API through Meta's embedded signup. Coexistence onboarding isn't something we list on our features page, so ask our team whether it's available for your number before you plan around it.

Once connected, chats on the API side land in the shared team inbox, where you can assign them, add notes and use saved replies. If the main reason you want to keep the app is to answer from your phone, the ConvoBox Android app gives admins and agents the full shared inbox on a phone. For some businesses that makes a clean API number easier to live with than splitting work between the app and the software.

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WhatsApp coexistence: how to use the Business app and the API on the same number