WhatsApp Business Calling API: what it is, what Meta allows, and how to answer the calls in your CRM

Q: What is the WhatsApp Business Calling API?

The part of Meta's Cloud API that carries voice calls over a WhatsApp Business API number, over VoIP (WebRTC by default, SIP optional). The same verified number sends messages and takes calls. Two directions: user-initiated calls, which the customer starts from the chat, and business-initiated calls, which need the customer's prior permission. Voice only; Meta lists video and screen sharing as planned.

Q: Can a customer call my WhatsApp Business number?

Yes, once calling is enabled on the number. The customer taps the call icon in the chat, a call button in a message or a deep link, and pays nothing. Incoming calls are free for the business as well. Meta offers business call hours, callback requests and inbound call control as number settings.

Q: Can my business call a customer on WhatsApp?

Only after the customer grants call permission through a request card (one request per customer per 24 hours, two per 7 days; permission permanent or temporary for seven days). After 2 unanswered calls Meta asks the customer to reconsider, after 4 it revokes the permission. Business-initiated calling is not available when the business number is from the United States, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam or Nigeria.

Q: What does the WhatsApp Calling API cost?

Incoming calls started by the customer are free for both sides. Outgoing calls started by the business are billed by Meta, by the customer's country, on the same invoice as messages. In WASync calls are included in the $29 per month Business API connection, with no per-call fee.

Q: What does Meta require before calling works?

The number must run on the Cloud API (not in the WhatsApp Business app, so not in coexistence), calling must be switched on in the number's settings, the business needs a daily messaging limit of at least 2,000 unique recipients, and the provider's app must be subscribed to the calls webhook. One agent per call, no conference calls.

Q: How do WhatsApp calls work inside Bitrix24 with WASync?

Incoming calls ring in Bitrix24's own call card with Answer and Ignore, a timer, Mute and End, and the WASync tab shows the chat during the call; the call is saved in Bitrix24. The responsible person rings first (or the deal's responsible, or both, by setting); after 8 seconds everyone online who handles the number is rung, up to five people. Outgoing calls start from the Call button in the CRM widget and are saved with their talk time or, if unanswered, with the reason. Call permission is requested from the chat or together with a template and recorded on the contact.

Q: Is the Calling API a replacement for a phone line?

For customers already chatting with you, yes: the call is free for them, needs no number exchange and stays in the same thread. For outbound campaigns, no: every outgoing call needs prior permission and Meta revokes it after four unanswered calls. Keep a PBX for cold outreach and use WhatsApp calls inside existing conversations.

Meta's WhatsApp Business Calling API lets a business number make and receive voice calls. Here is what it allows, what it costs, and how the calls land in your CRM.

Since July 2025 a WhatsApp Business API number can take and place voice calls, not only messages. Most pages about it are written by telephony vendors for developers who will build the WebRTC side themselves. This one is written for a company that wants the calls to ring where its team already works, in the CRM, and that wants to know the rules Meta attaches to them before switching anything on.

By Denis Tabac, founder of WASync. We run WhatsApp inside Bitrix24 and Pipedrive for companies in 20+ countries and shipped WhatsApp calls in Bitrix24's own call card in October 2026. Facts below come from Meta's Cloud API Calling documentation (updated 26 June 2026) and from our own release notes. Last reviewed 12 October 2026.

What is the WhatsApp Business Calling API?

It is the part of Meta's Cloud API that carries voice calls over a WhatsApp Business API number, using VoIP: WebRTC by default, or SIP for call centres that already have a PBX. The same verified number is used for messages and calls, and the customer sees both in one WhatsApp thread.

Two directions exist:

User-initiated calls. The customer taps the call icon in your chat, a call button inside a message, or a call deep link, and your business answers.
Business-initiated calls. Your business calls the customer. This is only possible after the customer has granted call permission inside WhatsApp.

Voice only. Meta lists video calls and screen sharing as planned, not available.

Can a customer call my WhatsApp Business number?

Yes, once calling is enabled on the number. The customer sees a call icon in the chat and pays nothing. Meta gives the business a few controls: business call hours, so the icon leads to a message outside opening times; callback requests, when nobody answers; and inbound call control, to hide the icon entirely or only in some countries. Call buttons in messages and deep links on your website can carry a tag, so you know which campaign the call came from.

Incoming calls are free for the business too.

Can my business call a customer on WhatsApp?

Only with permission, and Meta enforces it.

The business sends a call-permission request, a card the customer answers with Allow or Decline. One request per customer every 24 hours, two every 7 days.
Permission can be permanent or temporary; a temporary grant lasts seven days.
If the customer does not answer, Meta reacts: after 2 unanswered calls it asks the customer to reconsider the permission, after 4 it revokes it. Up to 100 business-initiated calls per customer per day are allowed in practice.
Business-initiated calling is not available when the business number is from the United States, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam or Nigeria. The customer can be anywhere Cloud API is available.

Cold calling through WhatsApp is not possible by design: no permission, no call.

What does the WhatsApp Calling API cost?

Call	Who pays
Incoming, started by the customer	Free, for both sides
Outgoing, started by the business	Billed by Meta, by the customer's country, on the same Meta invoice as your messages
The number in WASync	$29 per month per Business API connection, calls included, no per-call fee from us

Meta publishes its calling rates next to the message rates. See what the WhatsApp Business API costs for the message side.

What does Meta require before calling works?

From Meta's documentation:

The number runs on the Cloud API, not in the WhatsApp Business app. A number kept in the app through coexistence cannot call.
Calling is switched on in the number's settings.
The business has a daily messaging limit of at least 2,000 unique recipients. A brand-new number starts lower and grows with use.
The provider's app is subscribed to the calls webhook. With WASync this is done for you.

Also from Meta: one agent per call, no conference calls.

How do WhatsApp calls work inside Bitrix24 with WASync?

Incoming calls ring in Bitrix24's own call card, the same card the team uses for any phone call: the customer's name and number as the title, "WhatsApp" and the line under it, Answer and Ignore. Answer takes the call in the browser tab; the timer, Mute and End work from the card. The card's WASync tab shows the WhatsApp conversation with the caller, so the operator reads the history and writes while the phone rings or during the call. When the call ends it is saved in Bitrix24 like any other call.

Who is rung is a setting. By default the customer's responsible person rings first, if online and allowed to handle the number; you can choose the responsible of the most recent open deal or lead instead, or both. After 8 seconds without an answer, everyone online who handles the number is rung at once, up to five people, and the first to answer takes the call. If nobody is online the call is saved as missed on the responsible person.

Outgoing calls start from the Call button in the CRM widget, on the lead, deal or contact. The window shows "Ringing…" and switches to "In call" when the customer picks up, so the saved duration is talk time. A call that is not answered is saved as an unanswered outgoing call with the reason: no answer, declined, or busy.

Call permission is handled in the chat. The phone icon turns green while a customer's permission is active and a chip reads "Calls allowed" or "Calls declined". You ask for permission from the chat, or tick "Also ask permission to call after sending" when you send a template; after the 24-hour window has closed, a template can carry Meta's permission card itself. The customer's answer is recorded on the contact and in the CRM timeline. The request goes out in the operator's language, twenty of them.

What you need: a WhatsApp Business API connection in WASync, calling switched on for the number, and a desktop browser such as Chrome or Edge, or Bitrix24 Desktop. QR-paired numbers have no calls; that is a WhatsApp limit, not ours.

Is the Calling API a replacement for a phone line?

Not for everything. It replaces the "call me back" ping-pong with customers who already write to you on WhatsApp: the call is free for them, needs no phone number exchange, and sits in the same thread as the chat. It does not replace a PBX for outbound campaigns, because every outbound call needs a prior permission and Meta cuts the permission after four unanswered calls. Companies that need both keep their telephony for cold outreach and use WhatsApp calls for customers who are already in a conversation.

How do I start?

Connect the number as a WhatsApp Business API connection in WASync, or move it from another provider.
Switch calling on for the number in its settings.
In Settings, choose who is rung first for incoming calls.
Ask permission before the first outgoing call: from the chat, or with the checkbox when sending a template.

The step-by-step connection guide is at how to connect WhatsApp to Bitrix24.