WhatsApp platform3 min read
WhatsApp Business API UAE: requirements, cost and setup
By Shraddha Agarwal
The short answer: To get the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE, you need a Meta business portfolio, a number you own and a matching display name. Meta charges AED 0.2115 per marketing template and AED 0.0576 per utility template to a UAE number.
Marketing messages also fall under Cabinet Resolution No. 56 of 2024, covered below.
The WhatsApp Business API lets software answer customers, run several agents on one number and send approved messages at scale. Our app versus API guide covers when the free app is enough.
What you need before you start
A UAE business needs four things for the WhatsApp Business API, and only the first three on day one.
- A Meta business portfolio in your company's name, not an agency's. It holds your WhatsApp account, numbers and templates.
- A phone number you own that can receive a code by text or call. An eligible WhatsApp Business app number can connect with an in-app code, with up to six months of chats copied in.
- A display name customers know you by. Meta checks it when your limit rises.
- Business verification, when you want to scale. Meta checks a document such as your trade license, and your daily limit rises.
The blue tick is optional: Meta grants it separately to verified, well-known businesses. Our blue tick guide covers how to apply.
How long setup takes
You can set up the WhatsApp Business API in the UAE and reply to customers the same day.
- Connecting: Meta's signup window. Add the number and confirm the code.
- Replying: straight away. A reply inside the 24-hour window needs no template.
- Messages you start: need an approved template. Meta reviews each within 24 hours.
- Daily limit: 250 people a day before verification, 2,000 after, and more as your messages rate well.
Our guides to template categories and messaging limits cover both in detail.
What the API costs in the UAE
A WhatsApp marketing message to a UAE (+971) number costs AED 0.2115 on Meta's AED card, priced by the recipient's country, not yours:
| Message | AED per delivered message |
|---|---|
| Marketing template | 0.2115 |
| Utility or authentication template | 0.0576 |
| Your reply inside the 24-hour window | Free for 1,000 a month per number, then 0.0576 |
| Messages customers send you | Free |
A chat from a click-to-WhatsApp ad opens a free 72-hour window. The pricing guide has the full UAE and Saudi cards and a worked month, and the WhatsApp API cost calculator prices your own month in AED.
Your software provider bills on top. With Otobiz, WhatsApp starts on the Pro plan at US$39 a month billed yearly, with unlimited messages, a 14-day free trial and no markup on Meta's fees. See Otobiz pricing.
UAE rules for WhatsApp marketing messages
WhatsApp marketing in the UAE must meet both Meta's policy and UAE law.
Meta's policy. Message first only people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from you. A customer who writes first has not agreed to later promotions; our opt-in guide shows how to ask.
UAE law. Cabinet Resolution No. 56 of 2024 covers marketing over social media apps, in free zones and on the mainland, and requires:
- the person's consent;
- sending between 9am and 6pm;
- skipping numbers on the Do Not Call Register, unless the person asked you;
- naming your business and keeping records.
Breaches carry fines of up to AED 150,000 under Cabinet Resolution No. 57 of 2024. The UAE data protection law also lets people object to direct marketing.
Service messages the customer asked for, such as a booking confirmation, are not marketing.
Official API or a bulk sender
Bulk senders and browser extensions are not the official WhatsApp Business API: they risk a ban and cannot send approved templates. See our bulk sender comparison.
When comparing providers in the UAE, check:
- the account stays in your own Meta business;
- how Meta's fees are billed, and any markup;
- replies work in Arabic, English and the other languages your customers use;
- what happens to your number if you leave.
Why Otobiz for UAE businesses
Otobiz is a UAE company. It connects your number to the official WhatsApp Business API inside your own Meta business.
- AI replies in Arabic, English and any language your customers write in, from information you approve.
- Refunds, payment issues and requests for a person go to your team, as do questions the AI can't answer.
- Your team answers from one shared inbox, and campaigns check consent and opt-outs before sending.
