In this article5
Both are official connections through Meta, and both work on the number you already have. The only real difference: whether the WhatsApp Business app keeps working after you connect.
Start here
One question settles the choice in most cases, and everything after it is implementation detail.
Which route is yours?
decisionCoexistence
- Your existing conversations stay, and you do not delete the account
- Your team carries on replying from their phones with no retraining
- The platform adds campaigns, the bot and the inbox on the same number
Cloud API
- A full connection with no caveats on what it can do
- Every conversation passes through the platform, so the reports are complete
- A simpler setup, because nothing needs protecting
What actually changes
The table below is the whole difference. Notice that the sending rows are identical — campaigns, templates and the bot work on both routes. The difference is all in one place: where the conversation happens, and who can see it.
Coexistence versus the Cloud API
comparison| Coexistence | Cloud API | |
|---|---|---|
| The WhatsApp Business app keeps working | Yes | No |
| Existing conversations stayThe full connection starts on a clean page | Yes | No |
| Campaigns and approved templates | Yes | Yes |
| A bot and automatic replies | Yes | Yes |
| A shared inbox for the team | Yes | Yes |
| Reports covering every conversationWhat is answered in the app never reaches the platform | Partly | Yes |
| Needs a new number | No | No |
| Can be undone laterGoing back to the app means setting it up again | Yes | Partly |
How to tell the link genuinely worked
Once the steps are done, the only reliable verdict is what appears in Meta’s WhatsApp Manager: the number must have a status of and aquality rating. The screen below is a recreation of Meta’s console — the values in it are illustrative.
WhatsApp Manager — Phone numbers
referenceThe route we see work most often
Most teams with a working number do not need to choose once and for ever. The order below lowers the risk, because it asks nobody to change their habits on day one.
From the app to the platform, without a leap
sequence- 1Start with CoexistenceThe number as it is, the conversations as they are, and the app working. Nothing stops on day one. The detail of this route is in its own guide.
- 2Run campaigns and the bot from the platformThis is where the value shows first: bulk sending with approved templates, and automatic answers to the questions that repeat.
- 3Move the team to the inbox graduallyLet the manual replies move to the platform at their own pace. Every conversation that moves is a conversation that enters your reports.
- 4Close the app once nobody is using itAt that point moving to the full connection is an administrative decision, not an operational risk.
When neither applies
- The number is still attached to a previous provider — they have to release it first.
- You see “this number is not eligible” when you try, a message from Meta with specific causes that we set out in a separate guide.
- The number is virtual, or cannot receive a text message or a call to verify.
What is the difference between Coexistence and the Cloud API, briefly?
The Cloud API is the full connection: the number moves to the platform and the WhatsApp Business app stops working on it. Coexistence keeps the app running exactly as it is and adds the platform on the same number, so your team replies from their phones while campaigns and the bot run from the platform at the same time.
Which do I choose if I am starting from scratch?
The Cloud API. If you have no conversation history on the number and no team used to the app, there is nothing to protect — and the full connection gives you every capability with no caveats.
Is Coexistence weaker in what it can do?
Not in sending. Campaigns, templates, the bot and the inbox all work. The difference is that part of the activity happens inside the app, outside the platform, so your reports cannot see what your team replied straight from their phones.
Can I move from Coexistence to the Cloud API later?
Yes, and it is the natural route for many teams: start with Coexistence to protect your conversations and let the team get used to the platform gradually, then close the app once nobody is using it any more.
Do I need a new number for either of them?
No. Both routes work on the number your customers already know. A new number is an option, not a requirement.
Why did the link complete on Meta while the platform still says “not connected”?
Usually because you started the process in a mobile browser. The steps complete on Meta, but the authorisation code never returns to the platform’s page, so the account is left hanging. Finish the connection on a desktop machine, and if it has already happened contact support, because it needs re-initialising.
