Z-API or ZapClaw: which one uses the official WhatsApp API, and what does each cost?

In short: Z-API sells two products. The classic Z-API connects by reading a QR code, the way WhatsApp Web does, while Z-API Omni and ZapClaw run on Meta's official API and can keep the number in the WhatsApp Business app. In reais, one number costs about the same on all three; the gap appears with several numbers, because Z-API charges per instance or per channel and ZapClaw does not charge per number.

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

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Two Z-API products, two ways to connect

Z-API, the classic product, connects by QR code. Its documentation says that what you do with WhatsApp Web you can do through the service once you read its QR code, and that you are using “uma sessão do WhatsApp Web” (a WhatsApp Web session). Z-API's own Omni documentation says it uses a “conexão não oficial”, a connection that is not official.

Z-API Omni is, in its own words, “uma camada técnica sobre a API oficial da Meta” (a technical layer on Meta's official API). It connects through Meta's Embedded Signup and documents Coexistence, so the number can stay in the WhatsApp Business app.

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. Messages reach your webhook and you send through a REST API. ZapClaw does WhatsApp only.

Side by side

ZapClaw Z-API (QR code) Z-API Omni
How it connects Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API, through Meta's Embedded Signup Reads a QR code and runs a WhatsApp Web session Meta's official API, through Meta's Embedded Signup
Meta's official API Yes No: Z-API's docs say it uses a “conexão não oficial” Yes
Number stays in the WhatsApp app Yes, in the WhatsApp Business app, through Coexistence Yes: the QR-code session is a linked device of the phone Yes, in the WhatsApp Business app, through Coexistence
Who runs it ZapClaw, hosted Z-API, hosted Z-API, hosted
Your own Meta app or App Review Not needed Not needed: no Meta app is involved Connects through Meta's Embedded Signup; its Coexistence page asks for a business portfolio (“se possível, verificado”) and admin access
Numbers per price Unlimited on the paid plans, 1 on the free plan Priced per instance Priced per channel; a WhatsApp channel is one WhatsApp Business number
One number, per month Business plan: US$ 29 Ultimate plan: R$ 99.99 per instance Omni plan: R$ 99.99 per channel
Ten numbers, per month Business plan: US$ 29, the same price Partner plan: R$ 89.99 per instance, R$ 899.90 for ten Partner plan: R$ 89.99 per channel, R$ 899.90 for ten
Messages included 20,000 a month on Business, sent and received together; then from US$ 0.90 per extra 1,000 No message limit advertised (“Sem limite de mensagens”) Not covered here
Meta's message fees Billed by Meta directly to you, with no ZapClaw markup Does not run on Meta's API Templates billed by Meta, per Z-API Omni's docs
Free start Free plan: 500 messages a month, 1 number, no card, no end date 2-day trial, no card, no automatic renewal Not covered here
Webhooks Signed with HMAC-SHA256, up to 3 delivery attempts, every event kept for replay REST and webhooks; signing and retries not covered here Not covered here
Ready-made integrations Chatwoot self-hosted, through its native WhatsApp Cloud channel Official n8n and Make nodes, Zapier connectors Not covered here
Groups, calls, over 20 messages per second No: under Coexistence, Meta fixes 20 messages per second, and groups and calls keep working in the WhatsApp Business app but not through Meta's Cloud API Groups, per its docs on what you do with WhatsApp Web; calls and throughput not covered here Under Coexistence, the same Meta limits apply

Z-API's prices are in reais, as Z-API 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

Z-API's price lists, as published on its sites:

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

One number. In reais the monthly prices are about the same. ZapClaw Business includes 20,000 messages a month, sent and received together, and bills the extra from a prepaid balance; Z-API's Ultimate plan advertises no message limit. If one number moves a lot of messages, compare with your own volume.

Several numbers. Z-API charges each instance or channel, so ten numbers cost R$ 899.90 a month on its Partner plans. ZapClaw does not charge per number: ten numbers fit on one Business plan at US$ 29 a month, sharing its 20,000 messages.

Meta's fees. On ZapClaw, Meta charges you directly for the templates you send and, after the first 1,000 free each month per number, for the replies you send through the API. ZapClaw never marks that up and never resells it, and replies typed in the WhatsApp Business app stay free. Z-API Omni's docs also say Meta bills its templates. Details on the pricing page.

When Z-API is the better choice

ZapClaw also does not fit bulk broadcasting, more than 20 messages per second, groups, 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 Z-API to ZapClaw

The number and your customers stay the same. What changes depends on the product you leave:

The whole move, step by step, with the main send and webhook fields mapped to ZapClaw's: migrating from Z-API to the official WhatsApp API.

Questions

Is Z-API official?

It depends on the product. Z-API's own Omni documentation describes the classic Z-API as using a “conexão não oficial”, and the classic product's docs say it runs a WhatsApp Web session that you start by reading a QR code. Z-API Omni is, in its own words, “uma camada técnica sobre a API oficial da Meta”, and connects through Meta's Embedded Signup. The links are in the sources below.

Can I keep using the number in the WhatsApp Business app?

Yes, on ZapClaw and on Z-API Omni, since both connect through Coexistence. Meta's documentation says the business can still send one-to-one messages from the WhatsApp Business app, with the chat history in sync. Meta asks for the app at version 2.24.17 or newer, can sync the last 6 months of history, does not sync group chats and fixes throughput at 20 messages per second.

What happens to my number when I move from a QR-code connection?

The number stays the same and your customers keep writing to it. When it connects through Coexistence, Meta says “all companion apps will be unlinked from the account”, and a QR-code session is one of them. Meta lets supported devices link again afterwards, except WhatsApp for Windows and WearOS. 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, and Z-API's own comparison page says so too: “Mesmo com a API oficial, é possível ser banido”. ZapClaw forwards those notices from Meta to your webhook as account events. What changes on the official API is the connection: no WhatsApp Web session.

Sources

Checked on 14 October 2026. Z-API is quoted in Portuguese, as it publishes.

Related: official and unofficial WhatsApp APIs compared, ZapClaw vs Evolution API, what you need to connect and ZapClaw pricing.