WhatsApp Coexistence: Using the Business App and the API on One Number
Coexistence lets you keep using the WhatsApp Business app on your phone while connecting the same number to a platform like MotherBot. Here is what works, what doesn't — including calling — and how to move to Cloud API only.
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 in MotherBot at the same time.
What coexistence gives you
- Keep the app on your phone. Chat with customers from the WhatsApp Business app as you always have.
- Use MotherBot on the same number. Broadcasts, chatbots, a shared team inbox and automation.
- Your history comes with you. Chats from the app appear in Live Chat, and your app contacts can be brought into Contacts.
- Messages you send from the app show in MotherBot too, so your team sees the whole conversation.
What doesn't work on a coexistence number
- WhatsApp calling. Meta only offers business calling on WhatsApp Cloud API numbers. On a coexistence number, calls stay in the WhatsApp Business app — MotherBot can't place or receive them, and call buttons in templates and chats won't ring through MotherBot.
If calling matters to you, connect the number to Cloud API only (below).
What it costs
Messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app on a coexistence number are free. Messages sent through MotherBot follow Meta's normal per-message pricing — see you only pay for delivered WhatsApp messages.
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.
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.
Does WhatsApp calling work with coexistence?
No. Meta only offers business calling on WhatsApp Cloud API numbers. On a coexistence number, calls stay in the WhatsApp Business app.
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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