WhatsApp Cloud API vs On-Premises API: what the 2025 shutdown means for you now

For years, businesses comparing WhatsApp Cloud API vs On-Premises had a real decision to make: let Meta host the API, or run Meta's API client in their own data centre. That decision no longer exists. Meta retired the On-Premises API on 23 October 2025, and the Cloud API is now the only way to use the WhatsApp Business Platform. This article explains the shutdown timeline, how the two options differed, what it means for businesses and agencies in India today, and what to check if you still have an old setup or hear an "on-premise" sales pitch. Dates and figures come from Meta's sunset and throughput pages, checked on 12 Oct 2026.

The sunset timeline

Meta's sunset page says plainly that the On-Premises API can't be used to send messages to WhatsApp users any more and points everyone to the Cloud API.

How the two options differed

The comparison below is now historical, but it explains why some older integrations and vendor contracts look the way they do.

Throughput on the Cloud API

Each registered number on the Cloud API supports up to 80 messages per second by default, counting inbound and outbound traffic. Meta upgrades a number automatically to up to 1,000 messages per second when the business portfolio has an unlimited messaging limit, the number reaches at least 100,000 unique customers outside the customer service window in 24 hours, and its quality rating is Medium or better. The upgrade takes up to a minute, during which sends return error 131057. Numbers shared with the WhatsApp Business app through coexistence are fixed at 20 messages per second.

Throughput is rarely the bottleneck for Indian SMEs. The messaging limit, which caps how many unique customers your portfolio can reach outside the 24-hour window each day, usually is. Our article on messaging limit tiers explains how that limit grows.

Where data is stored

One reason some banks, insurers and large enterprises chose On-Premises was control over where message data lived. Meta's sunset page says the Cloud API now offers a local storage option that lets businesses control where message data is stored at rest. Check Meta's local storage documentation for the countries it currently covers before relying on it for a compliance requirement, and speak to your compliance team about obligations under India's Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

What it means for you now

If you are starting today

Nothing to decide. Every provider connects your number to the Cloud API, usually through Meta's Embedded Signup window. Choose a provider for its software (inbox, campaigns, chatbots, integrations, billing in INR), not for its "hosting model". Our plain-English guide to the WhatsApp Business API covers what you need.

If you had an old On-Premises integration

A number that was still on On-Premises after 23 Oct 2025 stopped sending and receiving. If you inherited such a setup, for example a bank's or a large retailer's in-house integration that nobody has touched since 2023, work through this list:

1. Check where the number is registered in WhatsApp Manager under the phone numbers list. If it is not connected, it must be registered on the Cloud API.
2. Rewrite the sending code to call the Cloud API messages endpoint. Message payloads are similar, but requests go to Meta's Graph API and are authenticated with access tokens from your Meta app or provider.
3. Move webhooks to an HTTPS endpoint subscribed through your Meta app, and make it fast: Meta asks for a median response under 250 ms.
4. Re-upload media to Meta and send by media ID, or use links Meta can fetch; files stored on your old On-Premises database are not available to the Cloud API.
5. Check templates and the display name in WhatsApp Manager. They belong to your WhatsApp Business account, not to the old servers.
6. Retire the servers and any monitoring that still expects the old containers.

If you would rather not maintain the integration yourself, a hosted platform does steps 2 to 4 for you, and you keep the same number.

If a vendor still sells a self-hosted WhatsApp API

Some sellers in India still advertise an "on-premise", "self-hosted" or "own server" WhatsApp API. Since the official On-Premises client no longer delivers messages, such a product is one of two things:

• Software you host that calls the Cloud API. That is legitimate. The software runs on your server, but Meta's Cloud API still carries the messages, Meta's per-message charges still apply, and you still need a Meta business portfolio, approved templates and opt-in.
• Something that is not the WhatsApp Business Platform at all, such as tools that automate the consumer or Business app through a browser or a phone. These are not official, ignore template and opt-in rules, and put the number at risk of being banned.

Ask the vendor three questions: Does the number connect through Meta's Embedded Signup? Will I see the WhatsApp Business account in my own Meta business portfolio? Are templates approved by Meta? If the answer to any of them is no, it is not the Cloud API.

Common questions from developers

• Error 1005 on registration: you tried to register a number for On-Premises, which has not been possible since 1 Jul 2024. Register it on the Cloud API.
• Display name certificate: Meta's help centre says only On-Premises businesses needed to download the certificate. On the Cloud API you call the registration endpoint after a display name change; no certificate is needed.
• Throughput upgrade: if a number briefly returns 131057 (account in maintenance mode), it may be in the middle of an automatic throughput upgrade; retry after a minute.
• Error references: our WhatsApp API error codes cheat-sheet lists the Cloud API codes you are most likely to meet.

How Broadchat fits

Broadchat is built on the official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API); it never ran on the On-Premises client. Numbers connect through Meta's Embedded Signup under Channels → All Channels, and the platform handles webhooks, media, template sync, campaign pacing within your messaging limit and throughput, and retries, so you do not run any WhatsApp infrastructure yourself. Developers who want their own integration can use the channel access token with Broadchat's Graph-compatible proxy API, and agencies can resell the whole platform under their own brand through the partner program. The steps to connect a number are in Connect your WhatsApp number.