WhatsApp Coexistence: Business App + API on One Number
Use the WhatsApp Business app and the API on the same number: what you gain, what stops working (calls, broadcast lists, groups), what it costs and how to connect.
Many businesses already run on the WhatsApp Business app. With coexistence, you don't have to give it up to use a platform like MotherBot: the same number works in the app on your phone and on the WhatsApp Business API at the same time.
This guide explains what coexistence is, what you gain, what stops working, what it costs, and how to move the number fully to the API later if you want calling.
What is WhatsApp coexistence?
Coexistence is Meta's name for using one phone number in two places: the WhatsApp Business app, and the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) through a provider like MotherBot. Until it arrived, a number lived in one or the other — moving to the API meant giving up the app.
With coexistence:
- You keep chatting from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, as before.
- Your team uses the same number in MotherBot: a shared inbox, chatbots, broadcasts and automation.
- Messages sent from either side appear on both, so nobody replies twice.
What you get
- Keep the app on your phone. Nothing changes for the person who already answers customers from it.
- A shared team inbox on the same number. Several people can answer at once, with chats assigned and nothing lost.
- Chatbots and broadcasts. Answer common questions automatically and send approved templates to opted-in customers, well beyond the app's 256-contact broadcast lists.
- Your history comes with you. Up to six months of one-to-one chats from the app are copied into MotherBot when you connect, and your app contacts can be brought into Contacts.
- Both sides stay in step. A reply typed in the app shows in MotherBot's Live Chat, marked as sent from the app, so your team sees the whole conversation.
What changes, and what doesn't work
Meta sets these rules for every provider, not just MotherBot:
| Area | On a coexistence number |
|---|---|
| WhatsApp calls through the API | Not available. Calls stay in the app — MotherBot can't place or receive them on this number. |
| Group chats | Not copied into MotherBot. Group messages stay in the app. |
| Broadcast lists in the app | You can't create new ones, and existing lists become read-only. Use broadcasts in MotherBot instead. |
| Disappearing messages, view once and live location | Turned off for one-to-one chats. |
| Sending speed | Fixed at 20 messages a second (numbers on the API alone can go faster). |
| Linked devices | Connecting unlinks your existing linked devices; you can link up to four again afterwards (not WhatsApp for Windows). |
| Staying connected | Open the WhatsApp Business app on the main phone at least every two weeks. After about 14 days of no activity, Meta disconnects the number from the API. |
You need WhatsApp Business app version 2.24.17 or newer.
If calling matters to you, connect the number to the WhatsApp Cloud API only (steps below). Calling customers from your inbox, and from tools like Zoho CRM, needs it.
What it costs
- Messages you send from the WhatsApp Business app are free, as they always were.
- Messages sent through MotherBot follow Meta's normal pricing. Meta charges for each template message delivered, and — since 1 October 2026 — for replies after the first 1,000 a month on each number. See you only pay for delivered WhatsApp messages and current WhatsApp rates.
- Messages sent from the app don't open or change the API's 24-hour reply window.
- Meta bills your WhatsApp Business Account directly. MotherBot charges for its plan only.
How to connect your app number with coexistence
- In MotherBot, open WhatsApp Accounts, click Connect Account, then Use my WhatsApp Business app number.
- Enter the number. A message from Meta's official business account arrives in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone.
- In the app, tap Connect, then confirm that you want to share your chat history.
- Keep the app open on your phone while the history copies across. Meta only allows this copy in the first 24 hours after connecting.
If Meta offers to send a code by SMS or a phone call instead, stop — that is the ordinary API flow, and finishing it moves the number off the app. Go back and choose "Use my WhatsApp Business app number" again.
Moving a number to WhatsApp Cloud API only
If you want WhatsApp calling, or simply prefer to run everything from MotherBot, you can move the number across. Your chats and contacts already in MotherBot stay where they are.
- Back up the app first. The chats on your phone are removed from the app in step 3. Export any you want to keep.
- Disconnect the app from MotherBot. In the WhatsApp Business app, open Settings → Account → Business Platform and tap Disconnect. Until step 4, nothing can be sent or received in MotherBot.
- Take the number off the app. In the WhatsApp Business app, open Settings → Account → Delete account for this number. This only removes the number from the app on your phone. Your WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Suite — which holds your templates — stays. Don't delete that account.
- Connect it again the normal way. In MotherBot, open WhatsApp Accounts, click Connect Account, then Continue with Facebook — not "Use my WhatsApp Business app number". Use the same Meta business and WhatsApp Business Account, and enter the code Meta sends you.
Using the same WhatsApp Business Account keeps your templates, contacts and chat history on the same number in MotherBot. The full steps are in our Getting Started guide.
Coexistence or API only?
| Coexistence | API only | |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the WhatsApp Business app | Yes | No |
| Shared inbox, chatbots, broadcasts | Yes | Yes |
| WhatsApp calls from MotherBot | No | Yes |
| Sending speed | 20 messages a second | Higher |
| Must open the app every two weeks | Yes | No |
If you are still deciding whether you need the API at all, read WhatsApp Business app vs API.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use the WhatsApp Business app and the API on the same number?
Yes. That is what coexistence is. You keep the app on your phone and use MotherBot on the same number, and messages sent from either side show on both.
Does WhatsApp calling work with coexistence?
No. Meta only offers business calling through the API on numbers connected to the WhatsApp Cloud API alone. On a coexistence number, calls stay in the WhatsApp Business app.
How much chat history is copied with coexistence?
Up to six months of one-to-one chats. Group chats are not copied. Meta only allows the copy within 24 hours of connecting, so keep the app open on your phone while it runs.
Why did my coexistence number disconnect?
Meta disconnects a coexistence number when the WhatsApp Business app on the main phone hasn't been used for about 14 days. Open the app at least every two weeks.
Will I lose my templates if I move to Cloud API?
Not if you reconnect to the same WhatsApp Business Account. Templates belong to that account in Meta Business Suite, not to the app — so don't delete the account, only the number from the app.
Are messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app charged?
No. Messages sent from the app on a coexistence number are free. Messages sent through MotherBot follow Meta's per-message pricing.
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