Evolution API or ZapClaw: which one should I use for WhatsApp?
In short: Evolution API is open-source software you run on your own server, connected through WhatsApp Web (Baileys) or through Meta's official Cloud API with a Meta app of your own. ZapClaw is a hosted gateway on Meta's official Cloud API: you connect in Meta's Embedded Signup window with no Meta app of your own, and the number keeps working in the WhatsApp Business app. Choose Evolution API for full control of the code on your servers, and ZapClaw to skip the server and the Meta app setup.
ZapClaw connects your number to Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API through Coexistence. No server to run and no Meta app of your own.
Start for freeTwo products from the Evolution Foundation
Evolution API is open-source software you install on your own server. Its README says it supports “both the Baileys-based WhatsApp Web API and the official WhatsApp Cloud API”, and you choose one per instance:
- Baileys mode connects through WhatsApp Web: Evolution's quick start creates the instance and you scan a QR code with WhatsApp on your phone. The README warns that this method “relies on the web version of WhatsApp”.
- Cloud API mode calls Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API. Evolution's guide asks you to create your own app on Facebook Developers, have a Business Manager (approved, in the guide's words), generate a permanent token and set up the webhook in your Meta app yourself.
Evo Hub is a separate, hosted product the Foundation sells. Its site describes it as a proxy between you and Meta's API, for the WhatsApp Cloud API, Instagram and Messenger. It is priced per channel, each connection counting as one, from R$ 97 a month for 3 channels, and every plan lists both a Meta app of your own and a shared one. Its page does not say whether it supports Coexistence, so ask Evo Hub before you count on it. The table below compares the self-hosted Evolution API in its two modes.
Side by side
| Evolution API, Baileys mode | Evolution API, Cloud API mode | ZapClaw | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How it connects | WhatsApp Web, through the Baileys library. You scan a QR code with your phone. | Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API, with a permanent token from your own Meta app. | Meta's WhatsApp Cloud API, through Coexistence. You connect in Meta's Embedded Signup window. |
| Meta's official API | No: it relies on WhatsApp Web. | Yes. | Yes. |
| Number stays in the WhatsApp Business app | The phone keeps WhatsApp: the session is a linked device, like WhatsApp Web. | Evolution's documentation does not mention Coexistence. | Yes, through Coexistence. |
| Who runs it | You do, on your own server: Node.js 20 or newer, PostgreSQL or MySQL, and Redis. Its docs recommend Docker for production. | ZapClaw hosts the gateway. You run only the system that receives your webhook. | |
| Meta app and App Review | No Meta app is involved. | Your own Meta app, Business Manager and permanent token. The guide does not mention App Review. | None on your side: you connect through ZapClaw's Meta app, and ZapClaw is a Meta Tech Provider. |
| Numbers and price | No license fee: the Foundation's licensing page says it stays free, self-hosted and without usage limits. You pay for your server, and in Cloud API mode the README notes it “may incur per-message costs”. | Free plan: 1 number and 500 messages a month, no card. Business: US$ 29 a month per account, unlimited numbers, 20,000 messages included. Meta bills its own fees to you directly, with no markup. | |
| Receiving messages | Webhooks, plus event integrations such as RabbitMQ, Apache Kafka, Amazon SQS and Socket.io. We did not verify its retry policy, so retries are not compared here. | Your webhook, signed with HMAC-SHA256. Up to 3 attempts (right away, then 30 and 120 seconds later), each one logged, and missed events kept for replay. | |
| Sending messages | REST API. | REST API, with your key in the X-API-Key header. |
|
| Chatwoot | Native Chatwoot integration, per its README. | Compatibility mode: Chatwoot's own WhatsApp Cloud channel talks to ZapClaw instead of Meta. | |
| Groups | Its documentation lists endpoints for groups. | Not supported: groups keep working in the WhatsApp Business app, but Meta's Cloud API does not support them under Coexistence. | |
| Code and license | Open source, Apache 2.0 with added brand conditions. From version 2.4.0, still a release candidate when we checked, it asks for a free license activation on first access. | A hosted service you use through its API and dashboard. | |
When Evolution API is the better choice
- You want everything on your own servers. The code is open, there is no license fee, and the Foundation's licensing page says it stays free and without usage limits.
- You already have your own approved Meta app. Evolution's Cloud API mode works with your app, your token and your number, with no gateway in between.
- You depend on WhatsApp groups. Evolution API's documentation lists endpoints for groups. ZapClaw connects through Coexistence, where groups keep working in the WhatsApp Business app, but Meta's Cloud API does not support them.
- You want its built-in integrations. Its README lists Typebot, Dify, OpenAI, RabbitMQ, Apache Kafka, Amazon SQS and S3 storage, among others.
When ZapClaw is the better choice
- You want Meta's official API without running a server. No install, no database and no updates on your side, and no Meta app, token or webhook to set up at Meta.
- The number has to stay in the WhatsApp Business app. Meta opens Coexistence only to Solution Partners and Tech Providers, and becoming a Tech Provider takes business verification and App Review. ZapClaw is a Meta Tech Provider, so you do not have to become one.
- You run many numbers or clients. Paid plans connect unlimited numbers for one price per account, and the Agency plan keeps each client's numbers, contacts, templates, API keys and webhook separate.
- You want deliveries you can check. Every webhook call is signed, retried and logged, and an event your server missed can be sent again from the dashboard.
- You run a self-hosted Chatwoot. Its native WhatsApp Cloud channel connects to ZapClaw with one environment variable and one API call per number.
ZapClaw is not the tool for bulk broadcasting, for more than 20 messages per second, or for groups, voice and video calls or the Official Business Account checkmark, which Meta does not offer under Coexistence.
Moving from Evolution API to ZapClaw
Your customers keep writing to the same number. What changes depends on the mode you used:
- From Baileys mode. The number has to be in the WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or newer (all the requirements). When it connects to ZapClaw, Meta unlinks every linked device, the Evolution session included. Meta lets you link supported devices again afterwards.
- From Cloud API mode. If the number works on the API only, it has to come back to the WhatsApp Business app first: see how to move a number from another provider.
- Your integration. ZapClaw's webhook payload is not Evolution's, so the code that reads incoming events changes, and sending becomes a call to ZapClaw's REST API with your API key. Both are in the docs.
- Chatwoot. If you used Evolution's Chatwoot integration, Chatwoot's own WhatsApp Cloud channel can talk to ZapClaw instead: see Chatwoot on the official WhatsApp API.
The whole move, step by step, with the main send and webhook fields mapped to ZapClaw's: migrating from Evolution API to the official WhatsApp API.
Frequently asked questions
Is Evolution API official?
It depends on the mode. Evolution API is an open-source project of the Evolution Foundation. In Cloud API mode it calls Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API through your own Meta app. In Baileys mode it connects through WhatsApp Web, and the Baileys README says the library is “not affiliated, associated, authorized, endorsed by” WhatsApp.
Can I keep using the same number in the WhatsApp Business app?
With ZapClaw, yes. It connects through Coexistence, which Meta's documentation describes as putting a WhatsApp Business app number on the Cloud API while the business keeps replying one to one in the app. Evolution API's documentation does not mention Coexistence (checked on 14 October 2026). In Baileys mode the session is a linked device of the WhatsApp on your phone, like WhatsApp Web.
Do I need a server?
For Evolution API, yes: you install it with Node.js 20 or newer, PostgreSQL or MySQL and Redis, and its docs recommend Docker for production. For ZapClaw, no: ZapClaw runs the gateway, and you only need whatever receives your webhook, such as your bot, your app or a self-hosted Chatwoot.
Is Evo Hub the same as Evolution API?
No. Evo Hub is a hosted product of the Evolution Foundation on Meta's official APIs, priced per channel. Evolution API is the open-source software you host yourself, and Evo Hub's own FAQ says Evolution API focuses on integrations for WhatsApp Web instances.
Can my number be banned?
WhatsApp's Help Center says that linking your account to unofficial versions of WhatsApp violates its Terms of Service and that the account “might also be temporarily or permanently banned”. It names apps such as GB WhatsApp, not Evolution API or Baileys. On Meta's official Cloud API, which ZapClaw and Evolution's Cloud API mode both use, Meta's messaging policies still apply: Meta can restrict or disable an account that breaks them, and ZapClaw's docs show the error your API calls get when it does.
Sources
Checked on 14 October 2026. Prices, versions and features change, so check each source before you decide.
- Evolution API README on GitHub: connection types, integrations, prerequisites and license.
- Evolution API documentation, overview (in Portuguese): the two connection types, webhooks, events and groups.
- Evolution API installation guide (in Portuguese): Docker and the QR code connection.
- Evolution API, WhatsApp Cloud API guide (in Portuguese): Meta app, Business Manager, permanent token and webhook.
- Evolution Foundation licensing (in Portuguese) and the LICENSE file.
- Evolution API releases on GitHub: 2.3.7 is the latest stable release (5 December 2025), and 2.4.0 had two release candidates in May 2026.
- Evolution Foundation documentation, full text, searched for Coexistence.
- Evo Hub (in Portuguese): plans, channels and FAQ.
- Meta, onboarding WhatsApp Business app users: Coexistence, its requirements and linked devices.
- Meta, get started as a Tech Provider: business verification and App Review.
- WhatsApp Help Center, About unofficial apps.
- Baileys README on GitHub: disclaimer.
- ZapClaw: pricing, webhooks and Chatwoot in the docs, and what you need to connect.
Also compare ZapClaw and Z-API, or read how the official WhatsApp API compares with unofficial libraries.