What it is
Meta's own API, called from your own Meta app. There is no platform fee; Meta charges for each message it delivers [1].
What you build yourself
- Choosing an approved template whenever a customer has not written in the last 24 hours — Meta refuses free-form text then [2].
- Retries that are safe to repeat: Meta's own advice is to “retry only after a confirmed failure, and make retries idempotent” [3].
- A record of every status from Meta's webhooks, which Meta retries for up to 7 days and which “can result in duplicate webhook notifications” [4].
For businesses that meet its prerequisites, Meta's Direct Send turns plain utility text into a template; Meta calls it a premium solution, and it does not cover marketing [5]. walpio does not use Direct Send today.
Where it fits better
You have engineers to build and run those parts, and want no platform fee.
What walpio does differently
Those parts, done: text rules that send your own wording as the approved template you chose, testable before anything is sent; an Idempotency-Key and a duplicate check; signed status reports; a message log with each message's history; and refusals with a code your program can act on.
Platforms that add a markup
What they are
Business messaging platforms that sell a shared inbox, campaigns and chatbots to teams that do not write code, and connect a number in minutes. Many bill Meta's charges through a prepaid wallet with a margin on top.
What it costs (examples)
- AiSensy: plans from $45 a month, and 20% on Meta's rates [8].
- WATI: plans from $69 a month on its Middle East list [9].
- Gallabox: 15% on Meta's rates [10].
- respond.io: Meta's rates, plus a 5.5% fee on wallet top-ups [11].
- Chatwoot passes Meta's price through unchanged [12].
At 100,000 UAE marketing messages a month, Meta's charge is about $5,760 at its rate from 1 October 2026 [1]. A 20% margin adds about $1,150 a month; walpio's Scale plan is $199 a month and adds nothing to Meta's charge. That margin also pays for features walpio does not have.
Where it fits better
Your team wants a shared inbox with assignment, campaigns with segments, chatbots, or no code at all.
What walpio does differently
Meta bills your own account at Meta's price — no wallet to top up. walpio's price is the plan, with the API and signed status reports on every plan.
QR-code gateways
What they are
Services that link to an ordinary WhatsApp account by scanning a QR code, then send through it. They do not use Meta's business platform, so there are no Meta charges and no templates to approve. Pages we read charged about $12 to $39 a month per number [13] [14].
In their own words
- Whapi.Cloud: “There are no guarantees that your number won't be suspended” [15].
- WAHA: using it “shouldn't be considered totally safe” [16].
Where it fits better
Automating an ordinary account, including large groups — Meta's platform limits a group to 8 participants [6].
What walpio does differently
walpio sends only through Meta's official Cloud API, on your own business account, with templates Meta has approved. That is not a promise that a number can never be restricted: Meta applies its Business Messaging Policy to official numbers too [7].