How to Choose a WhatsApp Gateway: A Buyer's Checklist

Every WhatsApp gateway demo looks good for about ten minutes. A message goes out, a tick turns blue, someone nods. The differences show up in month three, when a number drops, a campaign gets reported or your developer tries to do something the dashboard doesn't allow.

We build one of these, so take everything below with that in mind. We've still tried to write the checklist we'd use if we were buying, and a few of the questions would make us uncomfortable too.

Start with how it connects to WhatsApp

This is the most important question and some vendors would rather you didn't ask. There are two broad routes. One links a number by scanning a QR code, the way WhatsApp Web works. The other uses the official Meta Cloud API.

QR-based sessions are quick and need no approvals, but they're an unofficial route and carry a real risk of the number being restricted, especially for marketing at volume. The official route is safer for scale, but needs a business set-up and approved templates for business-initiated messages. Our honest comparison goes through both.

A vendor who says QR sessions are completely safe is wrong. A vendor who only offers one route should tell you which kind of messaging it suits and which it doesn't.

The checklist

1. 1Connection type: QR, official Meta Cloud API or both. Which one matches your volume and risk?
2. 2API quality: is there a documented REST API with API keys, and can you test it before paying?
3. 3Opt-in and opt-out: can you track consent per contact, and is STOP handled automatically on the official route?
4. 4Templates: can you sync and send approved templates from the same place?
5. 5Pacing: does sending go through a queue with controlled pace, or does it fire everything at once?
6. 6Delivery results: can you see what happened to each recipient in a broadcast, not just a total?
7. 7Team access: can several people work in it with their own logins?
8. 8Plan limits: what is capped, numbers, messages per month or something else, and what happens when you reach the cap?
9. 9Data handling: where do media files go, and how long are they kept?
10. 10Support: who answers when something breaks, and how fast?

WA Getway covers most of these: multiple numbers by QR or Meta Cloud API, a separate Meta CRM with inbox, contacts, stages, tags and opt-in tracking, template sync, campaigns to opted-in contacts, a REST API, a paced send queue and usage-based plans. Check anything we've claimed against a demo, which is the whole point of a checklist.

Ask the awkward questions

• What happens to my number if it's restricted? Who tells me and what can I do?
• Can I take my contacts and message history with me if I leave?
• What is not included in the plan price? Meta charges its own fees for some messaging, so ask how those are billed and check Meta's current pricing.
• If my developer finds a bug in your API, who do they talk to?
• Do you resell someone else's gateway, or run your own?

The answer to 'can I take my data with me' tells you a lot about a vendor's attitude. A good one answers without hesitation.

Match the product to your actual use

A clinic sending appointment reminders to a few hundred patients needs reliability and consent records. A store sending order updates needs a solid API. A business running broadcast campaigns needs templates, opt-in tracking and good pacing. A support team needs a shared inbox. Few buyers need all four.

Write down your first three use cases before any demo. Judge each vendor on those, not on the longest feature list. Our posts on appointment reminders and broadcast campaigns show the kind of requirements these use cases generate.

Self-hosted or hosted, and what it costs

Some buyers want to run the software on their own servers. That raises its own trade-offs around maintenance, updates and responsibility, which we discuss in self-hosted vs hosted gateways.

On cost, don't compare headline prices. Compare what you'll actually use: the number of WhatsApp numbers, monthly message volume, team size. Our guide to choosing plan limits helps you estimate that honestly.

If you've gone through this list and nothing fits your situation, that's a reasonable moment to consider something built to your needs. We take on integration and custom work through our services page, and we'll tell you if an off-the-shelf option is the better answer.