> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gallabox.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Choosing Between Coexistence and Cloud API
> Compare WhatsApp Coexistence and a Cloud API number side by side, including the WhatsApp Business App, chat history, sending speed and calling, to decide how to connect your number to Gallabox.
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.
## 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.
## Side-by-side comparison
| | Coexistence | Cloud API |
| :- | :- | :- |
| WhatsApp Business App on your phone | Keeps working on the same number | Not used for this number |
| Gallabox shared inbox, bots, AI agents, broadcasts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Past 1:1 chats brought into Gallabox | Up to 180 days, if you approve history sharing | — New conversations only |
| Phone contacts brought into Gallabox | ✓ Synced, and kept in sync | — |
| Messages sent from the phone appear in Gallabox | ✓ | Not applicable |
| Sending speed | Fixed at 20 messages per second | 80 messages per second by default, up to 1,000 depending on your plan |
| WhatsApp Calling from Gallabox | — | ✓ On eligible plans and numbers |
| Delivered and Read ticks for messages sent from the phone | Don't update in real time | Not applicable |
| Setup | Ask Gallabox support to turn it on first | Connect directly from **Channels** |
## 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:
| Feature | With Coexistence |
| :- | :- |
| 1:1 chats | Keep working. Messages, edits and deletes appear in Gallabox too |
| Disappearing messages | Turned off for all 1:1 chats |
| View once photos and videos | Turned off for all 1:1 chats |
| Live location | Turned off for all 1:1 chats |
| Broadcast lists | Existing lists become read-only, and you can't create new ones. Use [Gallabox broadcasts](/whatsapp/broadcasts/create-broadcast) instead |
| Group chats | Keep working in the app, but never appear in Gallabox |
| Voice and video calls | Keep working in the app, but can't be made or answered from Gallabox |
| Catalog, orders, Status, Channels, quick replies, labels, greeting and away messages, business profile | Keep working in the app, but aren't available in Gallabox |
| WhatsApp for Windows and WearOS | Not supported. Use WhatsApp Web instead |
For the full details, see [What Changes on Your Number](/whatsapp/coexistence/what-changes).
## Things to weigh up
### 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.
### 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](/whatsapp/coexistence/what-changes#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.
### 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](/whatsapp/coexistence/set-up-coexistence#back-up-your-chats-first).
### 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](/whatsapp/calling/overview).
## 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](/pricing-and-billing/whatsapp-pricing/overview).
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](/whatsapp/coexistence/troubleshooting).
## Related articles
* [WhatsApp Coexistence](/whatsapp/coexistence/overview): what Coexistence is and how it works
* [Set Up Coexistence](/whatsapp/coexistence/set-up-coexistence): requirements and the connection flow
* [What Changes on Your Number](/whatsapp/coexistence/what-changes): the full list of changes and limits
* [Connect Your WhatsApp](/whatsapp/connect-your-whatsapp): standard Cloud API setup
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