Introduction
In today's digital landscape, messaging platforms have become essential tools for businesses to connect with their customers.
WhatsApp, with its extensive user base and widespread popularity, has emerged as a leading platform for business communication.
Leveraging the power of WhatsApp, developers have two primary options: utilizing WhatsApp Cloud API directly or opting for a third-party service like 360dialog.
In this blog, we will compare the WhatsApp Cloud API and 360dialog, highlighting their pros and cons in terms of pricing, onboarding process, support, and features. Let's dive in!
WhatsApp Audience and Usage
WhatsApp boasts an enormous user base, with over 2 billion monthly active users globally.
This vast audience presents businesses with an unparalleled opportunity to connect with customers across diverse demographics and regions.
WhatsApp is especially popular in emerging markets, where it serves as a primary communication tool for personal and professional interactions. With its widespread adoption, integrating WhatsApp into your business strategy can help you tap into a massive pool of potential customers.
The Power of WhatsApp Chatbot Automation
One of the key advantages of utilizing WhatsApp for business communication is the ability to leverage chatbot automation.
Chatbots can streamline customer interactions by providing instant responses, personalized recommendations, and automated workflows.
WhatsApp chatbots can handle a wide range of tasks, such as answering frequently asked questions, processing orders, delivering tailored content, and even conducting surveys or collecting feedback. By implementing chatbot automation, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction, improve response times, and scale their operations efficiently.
Choosing Between WhatsApp Cloud API and 360dialog
Deciding between WhatsApp Cloud API and 360dialog can be a daunting task for businesses. Both options offer distinct advantages and considerations to evaluate, so we will compare both options from the below aspects:
Price
Onboarding
Support
Features
Now, Let's talk about the difference one by one.
Price
The first thing most of user care about is the price. So using WhatsApp offical API will usually include 2 prices. one is the monthly cost of having the WABA number. one is the usage cost of the conversation & template message used.
For the monthly cost:
WhatsApp Cloud API is free to use.
360Dialog(sign up with UChat) cost $20 per month. You can sign up here.
Both solution provide 1000 free user initiated conversations.
For the WhatsApp usage cost:
For the extra usage(more than 1000 user initiate conversations, business initiated conversations, etc), you will be charged by meta offical pricing, you can find the offical pricing list here. No extra markup will be added on top of meta pricing.
In summary, WhatsApp cloud API is good option considering it's free to use.
Onboarding
For anyone who want to quickly set up WhatsApp chatbot, and launched it. The onboarding process would be a key factor to consider.
Especially if you are running digital marketing agencies, you don't want to waste your time just connecting WhatsApp API. You want to quickly set up everything. Hence you need to understand the big difference between the two systems.
For WhatApp Cloud API:
Since meta haven't release any onboarding/signing up APIs, so it's still a complex steps to set up. Even though UChat have the step by step tutorial here. You will still need to at least following below key steps:
Create a private apps in your Facebook Developer account for free
Select WhatsApp service, and set up the webhook URL & Token(both value provided from UChat)
Subscribed to the "Messages" in the managing service
Connect a real number to this private app
Provide privacy URL and push the private app to the live mode
Again, if you don't know how to set up this, you can follow our step by step video tutorial here or check our help documentations here.
For 360Dialog:
Currently it's a manually onboarding. we will improve this onboarding process in the near future.
The onboarding process with 360dialog is super easy compare to cloud API. You don't need to create apps, and make all these settings.
If you are using 360dialog, depending on if you are using new number or you are migrating your number from other BSP.
You need to follow the respected steps below:
If you are using a new number & you don't have 360dialog account:
Subscribe to $20 per month plan here
Send your payment receipt & email used to subscribe to our support email: ticket@uchat.com.au
You will receive a sign up link, so that you can create 360dialog account and connect your number in the account by verifying the number
Send your number after it's verified and connected in your 360dialog account to UChat support email: ticket@uchat.com.au
Receive your API key from UChat support, and connect to UChat with your WABA number & API key.
If you are migrating your existing WABA number from other BSP to UChat 360dialog partner account:
Subscribe to $20 per month plan here
Send your payment receipt & email used to subscribe to our support email: ticket@uchat.com.au
You will receive a migration form to use & UChat partner ID, simply complete the form and submit the migration form
Contact UChat support after you submit the migration form
Once we receive your migration request, we will approve within 1-2 business day. You should be able to use your existing number in UChat.
In summary, 360dialog onboarding is easy and fast. You don't need to create private apps and manage all the settings between UChat & your private app.
UChat would suggest you use 360dialog if you are looking for simplify your onboarding process.
Support
Imaging if your whatsApp suddenly stop working, and your clients is pushing you every minutes to solve the problem. and you are trying everything you can to figure out why.
The timely & professional support would be the best thing you want to right now.
So It's very hard to get support from meta if you are using cloud API. We all know how meta support looks like if you ever run Facebook Ads before.
but 360Dialog on the other hand offer professional and timely support you can count on. They offer easy to use ticketing system. It will make sure you can keep on track of the progress of your ticket.
Also, Cloud API sometimes have the token expire issue, which requires you to refresh your token every 60 days. However, this issue will not happen if you are using 360Dialog.
In Summary, we would suggest you use 360dialog to get timely and professional support.
Features
Both WhatsApp Cloud API & 360dialog have the exactly the same feature.
Currently, WhatsApp templates message(both can create, submit template right inside of UChat), Product catalog message, list message, etc are all supported.
However, 360dialog as one of the biggest BSP from meta do have access to beta/internal features like UPI payment, Stripe built-in payment, etc.
So you will mostly likely see the new feature landed to 360dialog before they release to Cloud API for everyone.
Summary
In summary, consider all the above details, you should already make up your mind, what's the best solution for you.
UChat would recommend you use 360Dialog if you don't mind the extra $20 per month cost. Because it would provide you the smooth onboarding user experience, fast & professional customer support, early access to the new features!
This would be especially good solution if you are running digital marketing agencies. You don't want to spent so much time creating & connecting Cloud API.
However, if you are using for your own business, and you want to control the cost, and you don't mind spend time to learn to set up everything, then you can definitely choose to use WhatsApp Cloud API.