Definition
The WhatsApp Business Platform is Meta's umbrella offering for businesses that message customers on WhatsApp through APIs, including the Cloud API, the Business Management API, the Marketing Messages API and related tools such as Flows, catalogs and webhooks.
Meta uses "WhatsApp Business Platform" for the API-based way of using WhatsApp, as distinct from the free WhatsApp Business app that small businesses run on a single phone. The platform is designed for integration with CRMs, contact centres, chatbots and marketing systems.
Its core components are the Cloud API for sending and receiving messages (and, increasingly, calls), the Business Management API for managing phone numbers, templates and analytics, the Marketing Messages API for optimised marketing delivery, and webhooks that report incoming messages and delivery statuses.
Everything on the platform hangs off a WhatsApp Business Account (WABA) owned by a Meta business portfolio. Business verification of that portfolio unlocks higher messaging limits and makes a number eligible for Official Business Account status.
Pricing is per delivered template message by category and recipient country, with rules for free messages inside customer service windows and free entry point windows. Meta updates rates and rules several times a year, so check its pricing page before budgeting.