Uazapi or ZapClaw: which one should I use for WhatsApp?

In short: Uazapi connects a WhatsApp number by QR code or pairing code and runs it as a WhatsApp session on Uazapi's servers, priced per device, with unlimited sending advertised and group management. ZapClaw connects the number to Meta's official Cloud API through Coexistence, so it keeps working in the WhatsApp Business app, with the message templates and Meta fees that come with the official API. For one number Uazapi costs less than ZapClaw's paid plans, and its users pay no Meta fees, so what sets the two apart is how the number connects.

ZapClaw connects your number to Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API through Coexistence, and the WhatsApp Business app stays on your phone. The free plan asks for no card.

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How each one connects

Uazapi is a hosted API, sold as server tiers. Its documentation says “Uma instância representa uma sessão do WhatsApp dentro do servidor da API” (an instance is a WhatsApp session inside the API server), and its quick start connects that session by QR code or, when you pass the phone number, by pairing code. The docs strongly recommend a WhatsApp Business account over regular WhatsApp, which they say can show disconnections and instability.

Uazapi's site and docs do not describe it as official or unofficial, and we found no Uazapi product on Meta's Cloud API (checked on 14 October 2026). A session started by QR code or pairing code does not go through Meta's API, so there is no Meta app, no message template and no Meta fee.

ZapClaw, a Meta Tech Provider, connects your number to Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API through Embedded Signup with Coexistence, so the number keeps working in the WhatsApp Business app while your system uses the API. Messages reach your webhook and you send through a REST API. ZapClaw does WhatsApp only.

Side by side

ZapClaw Uazapi
How it connects Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API, through Meta's Embedded Signup and Coexistence A WhatsApp session, connected by QR code or by pairing code
Meta's official API Yes No: a WhatsApp session, not Meta's Cloud API. Uazapi does not describe itself as official or unofficial
WhatsApp on the phone Keeps working through Coexistence: the number is in the WhatsApp Business app and on Meta's API at once Keeps working: the session is a linked device of the phone. Its docs recommend the WhatsApp Business app
Who runs it ZapClaw, hosted Uazapi, hosted, sold as server tiers
Your own Meta app or App Review Not needed: ZapClaw is a Meta Tech Provider Not needed: Meta's API is not used
One number, per month Business plan: US$ 29, with 20,000 messages included R$ 29 for 1 device, with unlimited sending advertised
Many numbers, per month Business plan: US$ 29 for unlimited numbers, sharing 20,000 messages R$ 190 for 10 devices; R$ 138 for up to 100 (Servidor LITE); R$ 195 for up to 300 (Servidor PRO)
Meta's message fees Billed by Meta directly to you, with no ZapClaw markup: templates, and API replies past 1,000 free per number each month None: Meta's API is not used
Starting a conversation Free-form replies within 24 hours of the customer's last message; outside that window, a template Meta approved No templates for Meta to approve. Its API reports WhatsApp's own limits on starting new conversations for the connected account
Free start Free plan: 500 messages a month, 1 number, no card, no end date A test after you log in; a 7-day satisfaction guarantee on purchases
Webhooks Signed with HMAC-SHA256; up to 3 attempts, each logged; every event kept for replay POST with JSON to one or more URLs, with event filters and an error log. Its docs warn that a slow webhook holds up the queue and that, at high volume, events can be dropped. Signing and retries: not covered here
Chatwoot Self-hosted Chatwoot's native WhatsApp Cloud channel talks to ZapClaw instead of Meta Built-in integration, marked BETA in its docs
Groups and bulk sending No: under Coexistence, Meta's Cloud API does not support groups (they keep working in the WhatsApp Business app), and ZapClaw does not fit bulk broadcasting Group management on every plan, and a bulk messaging guide with scheduled campaigns
Sending rate 20 messages per second, fixed by Meta under Coexistence Up to 10 API calls per second per instance, with bursts of 20
Support By email, usually the same business day Weekdays, 9:00 to 17:00; first response within 4 business hours and resolution within 72, per its FAQ

Uazapi's prices are in reais, as Uazapi publishes them. ZapClaw's prices follow where you are: reais in Brazil, US dollars elsewhere. “Not covered here” marks a point this page did not check.

What you pay

Uazapi's price list, per month, as published on uazapi.dev:

Every Uazapi plan lists “Envio de mensagens ilimitado” (unlimited sending), group management and webhooks. You test after logging in, and Uazapi offers a 7-day satisfaction guarantee.

ZapClaw's price list, the same whatever the number of numbers:

One number: Uazapi costs less than ZapClaw's paid plans. One device is R$ 29 a month, with unlimited sending advertised; ZapClaw Business is US$ 29 a month, with 20,000 messages included, sent and received together. ZapClaw's free plan costs nothing, for one number and up to 500 messages a month.

Several numbers: it depends on your volume. ZapClaw's price stays the same whatever the number of numbers, but the 20,000 messages are shared and extra messages are billed. Uazapi's price grows per device up to its server tiers, R$ 195 a month for up to 300 devices, with unlimited sending advertised. Count your numbers and your messages before you compare.

Meta's fees. On the official API, Meta bills you directly for every template you send and, since 1 October 2026, for replies sent through the API past the first 1,000 free per number each month, at the rate of the recipient's country (Meta's pricing). ZapClaw never marks that up, and replies typed in the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Uazapi's users pay Meta nothing, because a WhatsApp session does not run on Meta's API. Details on the pricing page.

What WhatsApp's own pages say

WhatsApp's Help Center article About unofficial apps says that “linking your WhatsApp account to unofficial versions of WhatsApp violates our Terms of Service”, and that the account “might also be temporarily or permanently banned”. The examples it names are apps such as GB WhatsApp and FM WhatsApp.

Another article, on automated or bulk messaging, says “Our products are not intended for bulk or automated messaging”. WhatsApp's Terms of Service forbid accessing the service through automated means WhatsApp has not authorized, and “bulk messaging, auto-messaging, auto-dialing, and the like”, and allow WhatsApp to suspend or terminate access.

None of these pages names Uazapi, and how WhatsApp applies its rules to a given tool is WhatsApp's decision. On Meta's official API, WhatsApp's policies apply too: Meta can restrict or disable an account that breaks them, and ZapClaw forwards those notices to your webhook as account events.

Webhooks and Chatwoot

Webhooks. Uazapi sends each event as a POST with JSON to one or more URLs per instance, with event selection and filters, and keeps a log of recent webhook errors. Its docs ask you to answer 200 right away, and warn that a slow or unavailable webhook holds up the queue: “Com volume alto, a fila pode acumular e eventos podem ser descartados” (at high volume the queue can build up and events can be dropped). ZapClaw signs every delivery with HMAC-SHA256, tries it up to 3 times (right away, 30 seconds later, then 120 seconds after that), logs each attempt and keeps every event, so you can replay it after an outage.

Chatwoot. Uazapi has a built-in Chatwoot integration, and its docs mark it BETA: “Esta integração está em fase BETA. Use por sua conta e risco.” (in BETA, use it at your own risk). ZapClaw takes another route: self-hosted Chatwoot's native WhatsApp Cloud channel talks to ZapClaw instead of Meta, so Chatwoot runs on the official API and the number stays in the WhatsApp Business app, with no Meta app of your own. Chatwoot's own guide says its setup that keeps the app is open to a self-hosted install “Only if your installation has its own Meta app configured for it.”

When Uazapi is the better choice

ZapClaw also does not fit more than 20 messages per second, voice or video calls, or the Official Business Account blue checkmark. None of that is supported under Coexistence, and the limitation is Meta's.

When ZapClaw is the better choice

Moving from Uazapi to ZapClaw

The number and your customers stay the same. What changes:

Questions

Is Uazapi official?

Uazapi's site and docs do not describe it as official or unofficial, and we found no Uazapi product on Meta's Cloud API when we checked on 14 October 2026. Its docs describe each instance as a WhatsApp session that you connect by QR code or by pairing code. Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API works another way: the number is registered on Meta's API, through a provider's Embedded Signup or your own Meta app, with no session involved. What WhatsApp's own pages say is quoted above; they do not name Uazapi.

Why does ZapClaw cost more?

On the paid plans, for one number, it does: Uazapi starts at R$ 29 a month for one device, and ZapClaw Business costs US$ 29. The two are priced for different routes. ZapClaw runs on Meta's official Cloud API as a Meta Tech Provider, a status that takes business verification and App Review, connects through Embedded Signup with Coexistence, and signs, retries, logs and keeps every webhook event; its price does not grow with the number of numbers. Uazapi prices a WhatsApp session per device, and its users pay no Meta fees. On the official API, Meta's fees come on top, billed by Meta with no ZapClaw markup.

Can I move my Uazapi number to ZapClaw?

Yes, once the number runs on the WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or newer, which is what Coexistence asks for (all the requirements). You connect it in Meta's window from the ZapClaw dashboard. When it connects, Meta says “all companion apps will be unlinked from the account”, the Uazapi session among them. Meta can sync up to the last 6 months of chat history, does not sync group chats, and fixes throughput at 20 messages per second. Back up your chats in the app before you start.

Can a number on the official API still be banned?

Yes. Meta can restrict or disable an account that breaks WhatsApp's policies, whatever the provider. ZapClaw forwards those notices to your webhook, and its API answers 403 with ACCOUNT_RESTRICTED while a restriction lasts (errors). What changes on the official API is the connection itself: Meta's Cloud API instead of a WhatsApp session.

Sources

Checked on 14 October 2026. Uazapi is quoted in Portuguese, as it publishes. Prices and features change, so check each source before you decide.

Related: official and unofficial WhatsApp APIs compared, ZapClaw vs Z-API, ZapClaw vs Evolution API, what you need to connect, moving a number from another provider, self-hosted Chatwoot on the official API, ZapClaw pricing and the API documentation.