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Cloud API Calling | Developer Documentation

Cloud API Calling

Updated: Mar 10, 2026

Overview

The WhatsApp Business Calling API enables you to initiate and receive calls with users on WhatsApp using Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Value proposition (concise)

WhatsApp Business Calling: Trusted, Multi-Modal, Feature-Rich Global Connection.
ValueDescription
Unified Communication
One Number. Message and call. Worldwide.
Branding and Trust
Branding that is built-in, trusted, and global.
Customer Relationship
Increase Stickiness. Deepen Personal Touch.
Sales and Support
Unify Marketing and Support. Unlock Upsell.
Rich Features
Video, Screen Share, and Full Call Customization.
Call Deflection
Call in WhatsApp. Improve deflection rates.
Customer Convenience
Free, Universal Access for your customers.
Record Keeping
One Thread. Centralized, Long-Term Record.

Benefits for end-users

ValueDescription
Universal Access
Simple, free, and familiar global connection.
Enhanced Safety
Safer due to built-in platform trust/verification.
Centralized History
One unified thread for all voice and text history.
Voicemail Integrated
A voicemail* playable within the chat context.
Disclaimer: * Feature planned or in development. Reach out to your Meta or partner for more details

Value proposition (detailed)

The WhatsApp Business Calling API allows businesses to integrate voice and video* calling directly into their customer engagement strategy, offering a trusted, unified, and feature-rich communication channel.
Feature Benefit for Your Business
Unified Communication
One Number. All Communication. Multi-modal. Use a single, verified WhatsApp number for all messaging and calling (inbound and outbound), enabling a seamless flow between chat and call, and even chatting while on a call.
Branding and Trust
Branding that is built-in, trusted, and global. WhatsApp has native support for brand identity with security and verification, which provides instant trust globally, eliminating the need for region-specific third-party trust providers.
Customer Relationship
Increase Stickiness. Deepen Personal Touch. A single point of contact for both inbound and outbound communication enhances personal touch, increases customer stickiness, and ensures lasting customer loyalty.
Sales and Support
Unify Marketing and Support. Unlock Upsell. Centralize lead management by unifying support and marketing channels, which streamlines operations and unlocks opportunities for product upsell and cross-sell.
Rich Features
More Than a Call. Get Video, Screen Sharing, and Advanced Control. Beyond voice, businesses can engage customers with video calls and screen sharing for richer, more detailed support and service. Businesses also control the calling experience by configuring calling hours, managing call icon visibility, sending call buttons with expiry, using call deeplinks.
Call Deflection
Call in WhatsApp. Improve deflection rates. By moving calls to WhatsApp, businesses can seamlessly guide customers to a richer chat experience, leveraging interactive messaging templates to improve deflection and reduce voice-only support costs.
Customer Convenience
Always Free, Always Universal Access. Offer your customers a convenient and globally accessible communication method that is free for them to use.
Record Keeping
One Thread. Centralized, Long-Term Record. Maintain a single, persistent thread of all text and voice communications with the customer, serving as a centralized, long-term record for reference.
Disclaimer: * Feature planned or in development. Reach out to your Meta or partner for more details

Architecture

Image (Right click image and choose “Open in new tab” for enlarged image)

Signaling and media possible configurations

Default configuration after enabling calling SIP with WebRTC SIP with SDES media
Signaling protocol
Graph APIs + Webhooks
SIP (needs explicit enablement)
SIP (needs explicit enablement)
Signaling transport
HTTPS
TLS
TLS
Media protocol
WebRTC (ICE + DTLS1 + SRTP)
WebRTC (ICE + DTLS + SRTP)
SDES⁠ SRTP (needs explicit enablement)
Audio codec2
OPUS
OPUS
OPUS
Notes
    You can use SDES instead of ICE+DTLS with Graph API + Webhook signalingAdditional audio codecs supported: PCMA, PCMU

    Get started

    Step 1: Prerequisites

    Before you get started with the Calling API, ensure that:
      Your business number is in use with Cloud API (not the WhatsApp Business app)Subscribe your app to the calls webhook field (unless you plan to use SIP)The same app should also be subscribed to the WhatsApp Business Account of your business phone number.This app should have messaging permissions (whatsapp_business_messaging) for the business numberThe business must have a daily messaging limit of at least 2,000 unique recipients. More details on scaling your account capabilities⁠.Enable Calling features on your business phone number

      Step 2: Configure optional calling features

      The WhatsApp Business Calling API offers a number of features that affect when and how calling features appear to users on your WhatsApp profile
        Inbound call control allows you to prevent users from placing calls from your business profileBusiness call hours allows you to avoid missed calls and direct users to message when your call center is closedCallback requests offer users the option to request a callback when you don’t pick up a call or if your call center is closed

        Step 3: Make and receive calls

        You can test your WhatsApp Calling integration using public test numbers and Sandbox WhatsApp Business Account.
        Cloud API Calling offers two call initiation paths:
          User-initiated calls: Calls that are made from a WhatsApp user to your businessBusiness-initiated calls: Calls that are made from your business to a WhatsApp user

          Testing and Sandbox accounts

          Sandbox accounts are only available to Tech Partners.
          Sandbox accounts and public test numbers enable you to test you WhatsApp Calling API integration with relaxed calling limitations. Specifically business initiated calling limits are relaxed for Sandbox accounts and public test numbers to help integration and testing efforts.
          Limits (Per business + WhatsApp user pair)
            Sandbox accounts can send 25 call permissions per day and 100 per week (compared to 1 per day and 2 per week for production accounts)When business-initiated calls go unanswered or are rejected
              5 consecutive unanswered calls result in system message to reconsider an approved permission (compared to 2 consecutive unanswered calls for production accounts)10 consecutive unanswered calls result in an approved permission being automatically revoked. (compared to 4 consecutive unanswered calls for production accounts)
              You obtain a public test number after completing the Get Started flow.
              Your business is not required to have a daily messaging limit of 2,000 unique recipients to test Calling API features when using public test numbers and Sandbox accounts.
              Calling is disabled by default on test numbers. You must configure calling features in phone number call settings before using the Calling API on a test number.

              Availability

              User-initiated calling
              User-initiated calling is available in every location Cloud API is available.
              Business-initiated calling
              Business-initiated calling is currently available in every location Cloud API is available, except the following countries:
                USACanadaEgyptVietnamNigeria
                Note: The business phone number’s country code must be in this supported list. The consumer phone number can be from any country where Cloud API is available.

                Next steps

                Use the guides below to integrate calling features in your application:
                  Learn how to receive user-initiated callsLearn how to place business-initiated callsLearn how to drive consumer awareness of calling availability in your business

                  Changelog

                  Use this table as a centralized place to keep track of feature updates related to WhatsApp Business Calling APIs
                  Date Title Description
                  March 23, 2026
                  Support for G.711 (PCMA, PCMU) audio codec
                  New section for G.711 (PCMA/PCMU) audio codec configuration in call settings, including guidelines on transcoding, audio quality, and bandwidth considerations. Learn more about audio codec settings.
                  January 27, 2026
                  Calling restrictions based on user feedback are now in effect
                  December 19, 2025
                  Update in business initiated call limit
                  The number of business-initiated calls per user has been increased to 100 per day from 10 per day.
                  December 10, 2025
                  Introduced restrict_to_user_countries for call icon settings
                  Now you can control in which countries the call icon should be visible. Learn more about call icon country settings.
                  October 13, 2025
                    Update in business initiated call limitAdded “Testing and Sandbox” section to documentation
                    The number of business-initiated calls per user has been increased to 10 per day from 5 per day.
                    A Testing and Sandbox accounts has been added to the documentation
                    September 29, 2025
                    Asterisk integration guide
                    September 24, 2025
                    Context propagation from call buttons and deep links
                    Specify an opaque string in call buttons or call deep links to help with tracking the origin of user-initiated calls. Learn more
                    September 8, 2025
                    Health status API calling update
                    Health Status API is now extended to include a new can_receive_call_sip field to help you self-diagnose issues related to SIP setup
                    September 5, 2025
                    Introduced new low call pickup calling restrictions
                    Low call pickup rate restrictions are now in effect. Learn more at Calling Restriction for Low Call Pickup Rates
                    July 21, 2025
                    Account settings update webhooks
                    Get webhooks when settings are updated. Learn more.

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