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Z-API

Brazilian REST API that connects a regular WhatsApp number to your app for a flat monthly fee, outside Meta's official API.

WhatsApp and SMS
Website Official pricing
Price
R$99.99/month per instance (number); R$89.99 each from 10 instances.
Free plan
No
Setup
Needs a developer
Up and running
Same day: no business verification or template approval; the first message goes out in minutes.

What Z-API is for

Z-API connects a regular WhatsApp number to your app by scanning a QR code, the same way WhatsApp Web works. You send free-form messages the same day, with no Meta approval and no per-message fee, for a flat monthly price per number. It is not Meta's official API.

How it plugs into your product

  1. 1Create an account and an instance (one per number); the 2-day trial needs no credit card.
  2. 2Scan the QR code with the phone that has the number, or show that QR code inside your own app.
  3. 3Call the REST API from your server to send messages, and set a webhook to receive replies.

Does it fit your idea?

It fits if

  • An MVP that needs to test a WhatsApp flow with a few dozen customers this week.
  • A small business tool where each customer connects their own number, like a salon that sends booking reminders from its own WhatsApp.
  • Messages only go to people who already talk to you, in low volume, and losing the number for a few days wouldn't sink the business.

Look elsewhere if

  • WhatsApp login codes or payment alerts are core to your product: use Meta's Cloud API, which is the official one.
  • You want to message thousands of people who never wrote to you: that is the profile that gets numbers banned.
  • You need the green verified badge or to sell to big companies that require the official API.

What people only find out after building

Read this before you build on it. Each item links to the official page that says so.

  • WhatsApp's terms forbid using the service through automated or unauthorized means and allow WhatsApp to disable the account. A ban hits your number, not Z-API.

    Official source: whatsapp.com

  • Z-API's own docs say no practice is 100% effective at avoiding bans, and that messaging many different contacts in a short time raises the chance of being flagged as spam.

    Official source: developer.z-api.io

  • Some blocks come with no appeal option at all; Z-API's docs say there is nothing they can do in that case.

    Official source: developer.z-api.io

  • The QR code expires every 20 seconds and some phones ask for an extra passkey check, so letting your customers connect their own number needs a careful screen.

    Official source: developer.z-api.io

Price

R$99.99/month per instance (number); R$89.99 each from 10 instances.

2-day free trial with no credit card; then a monthly fee per number.

Price per message
No per-message fee; R$99.99/month per number
Official WhatsApp API
No, unofficial alternative
Channels
WhatsApp only

Checked on Oct 28, 2026 · official pricing

What it costs in practice

One number for reminders and support: R$99.99/month whatever the volume, or R$1,079.89 paid yearly. A SaaS where 10 customers each connect a number pays 10 × R$89.99 = R$899.90/month, estimated.

Estimate from the official price. Check it before you decide.

At a glance

  • Free plan: no
  • Open source: no

“Not stated” means the official site doesn’t say.

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