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There are two ways to connect your WhatsApp number to Gallabox. Coexistence lets you keep using the WhatsApp Business App on your phone, alongside Gallabox, on the same number. Cloud API moves the number fully onto Gallabox, so it’s no longer used in the app. This guide compares the two so you can choose before you connect.

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The short answer

  • Choose Coexistence if you or your team still want to chat with customers from the WhatsApp Business App on your phone, and you want your recent chats and contacts brought into Gallabox.
  • Choose Cloud API if you send large broadcasts, want WhatsApp Calling in Gallabox, or don’t need the WhatsApp Business App on that number.
You can move a number from Coexistence to Cloud API later, but you can’t move a Cloud API number to Coexistence. If you’re unsure, start with Coexistence.

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Side-by-side comparison

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What changes in the WhatsApp Business App

With Coexistence, a few features in the WhatsApp Business App are switched off or limited for your number, because Meta needs every 1:1 chat to stay in sync with Gallabox: For the full details, see What Changes on Your Number.

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Things to weigh up

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How much you send

Coexistence numbers send at a fixed 20 messages per second, and this limit can’t be raised. Broadcasts still go out in full, but large ones take longer. A broadcast to 50,000 contacts takes about 45 minutes to leave the queue. Cloud API numbers send at 80 messages per second by default, and can go up to 1,000 per second depending on your plan. If you regularly send large, time-sensitive broadcasts, such as flash sales, choose Cloud API.

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Who replies, and from where

With Coexistence, a message sent from the phone counts as a reply in Gallabox. You can choose which user or team a conversation moves to when someone replies from the app. See Bots and AI agents when you reply from the app. Replies sent from the WhatsApp Business App don’t open or extend the 24-hour customer service window in Gallabox, and aren’t charged.

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Your chat history

Coexistence can bring in your 1:1 chats from the 180 days before you connect, and files from the last 14 days. You choose this once, while connecting, and the import must finish within 24 hours. With Cloud API, your Gallabox inbox starts empty. Back up your chats on the phone before connecting either way. See Back up your chats first.

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Calling

On a Coexistence number, voice and video calls keep landing in the WhatsApp Business App on your phone. They can’t be made or answered from Gallabox, so your team doesn’t see them. If you want your team to take calls in Gallabox, use a Cloud API number with WhatsApp Calling.

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FAQs

Messages sent from Gallabox are charged at WhatsApp Cloud API rates either way. With Coexistence, messages you send from the WhatsApp Business App stay free, just as they are in the app today. See WhatsApp Pricing.
Yes. You can move a Coexistence number to Cloud API. You can’t go the other way, so a Cloud API number can’t be moved to Coexistence.
Yes. Everything in the Gallabox inbox works the same way. The differences are in the WhatsApp Business App, sending speed and calling.
The app runs on one phone, with up to four linked devices such as WhatsApp Web. Your wider team works from the Gallabox inbox. All linked devices are unlinked when you connect, and you can link them again once setup is complete.
Meta decides which numbers can use Coexistence, partly based on how actively the number is used in the WhatsApp Business App. See Coexistence Troubleshooting.