Updated on October 25, 2026
No. With coexistence, messages a business sends from the WhatsApp Business app on the phone remain free and do not count toward Cloud API limits. They also do not open, extend or affect the Cloud API’s 24-hour customer service window. What counts toward the limit and gets charged are the messages your CRM sends, that is, through the API, under Meta’s normal rules.
This article covers what Meta documents, how it plays out day to day for teams using a CRM with the same number on the phone, and what HubSpot and RD Station (a Brazilian marketing and CRM platform) state publicly. Coexistence is the feature that lets a business keep its number in the WhatsApp Business app while also connecting it to the Cloud API.
Short answer: app vs. API under coexistence
| Rule | Message sent from the app (phone) | Message sent from the CRM (API) |
|---|---|---|
| Meta charges | Free | Cloud API rates, per delivered message |
| Portfolio messaging limit | Does not count | Counts (outside the customer service window) |
| 24-hour window | Does not apply; does not open or extend it | Required: outside it, templates only |
| Templates | Cannot be sent from the app | Yes |
| Throughput | — | Fixed at 20 messages per second on a coexistence number |
| Shows up in the CRM? | Yes, via the smb_message_echoes webhook | Yes |
What Meta documents
Meta’s Onboard WhatsApp Business app users page sets two rules:
- Pricing: after onboarding, messages the business sends from the app remain free; messages sent through the Cloud API follow API pricing.
- Window: the 24-hour window restriction applies to API messages. Messages sent from the app are not subject to the window and do not create, extend or affect Cloud API windows or pricing.
The same page links to a Meta explainer PDF, API Solutions for WhatsApp Business App Users, which answers the limit question directly. According to the document, one-to-one messages sent from the app are not counted toward Cloud API and partner limits based on trust tiering, while one-to-one messages sent through the API go through the normal enforcement of those limits. The PDF also notes that templates cannot be sent from the app interface, only through the API.
One caveat: the PDF was written when Meta still charged per conversation, so its pricing examples use that model. Since July 2025, Meta charges per delivered message. The limit and window rules, however, match the current page.
How this plays out day to day
Four common situations for a business using a CRM and a phone on the same number:
1. The owner sends a free-form text from the phone to a customer who has been silent for months. Allowed. Not charged, not counted toward the limit, and no window opens. The CRM gets a copy through smb_message_echoes.
2. Right after, the CRM tries to send a free-form text to that customer. The API rejects it because there is no open window: the phone message did not open one. The CRM has to send a template.
3. The customer replies. Now the 24-hour window is open, and the CRM can send free-form messages through the API until it closes. Those free-form messages are service messages: each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month, and after that Meta charges per delivered message. Since October 1, 2026, utility templates sent inside the window are charged again, according to the pricing page. To estimate costs, see how much a WhatsApp campaign costs.
4. The CRM sends a marketing template to 500 contacts. Each unique recipient outside the window counts toward the portfolio limit, each delivered message is charged, and each person is also subject to the per-user marketing limit.
A word of caution: sending from the phone “to save money” may look like an advantage, but it does not replace the API for volume. The app does not send templates, has no API automation and the number is still subject to WhatsApp’s rules and reputation.
So what does count toward the limit
Meta’s messaging limit is the number of unique recipients a portfolio can reach outside the customer service window within a moving 24-hour period (messaging limits). Under coexistence, that count includes templates your CRM sends to people without an open window. CRM replies inside the window and messages sent from the phone do not count.
One more detail that catches teams using several tools: the limit belongs to the business portfolio and throughput belongs to the number. Under Meta’s new account model, when more than one integration uses the same number, they share the number’s throughput and the unique-recipient limit. A CRM and a campaign tool on the same number compete for the same quota.
HubSpot with coexistence
HubSpot documents coexistence in Connect a WhatsApp number to HubSpot using coexistence (updated September 17, 2026). Key points:
- Plans: available with Marketing Hub or Service Hub, Professional or Enterprise.
- Permissions: Super Admin in HubSpot and admin on the Meta business portfolio.
- Connection: the number must be registered in the WhatsApp Business app; setup ends with scanning a QR code shown in HubSpot from the app.
- Number already connected elsewhere: disconnect it and wait 10 to 15 minutes before reconnecting.
- History: HubSpot imports conversations from the last 180 days; older photos and videos show as placeholders, without the file.
- Help desk: if the number is connected to help desk, each imported conversation creates a new ticket.
- Limits: HubSpot states that free-text messages sent from a device do not count toward WhatsApp limits; only templates sent from HubSpot count.
- Templates: Meta does not allow templates to be sent from a device.
- Speed: 20 messages per second on a coexistence number.
- Audio: voice notes cannot be sent from the HubSpot inbox, but those sent from the phone appear in the thread.
In other words, HubSpot’s rule matches Meta’s. What you send from the phone shows up in the CRM and does not weigh on the limit.
RD Station
The RD Station Conversas for WhatsApp page states that the product runs on the official WhatsApp API. As of this review, we did not find a page in RD Station’s public documentation about coexistence (using the same number in the app and in the platform). If that is your case, confirm directly with RD Station support before planning the move. Regardless of the tool, the pricing, limit and window rules above are Meta’s and apply to any Cloud API integration.
Questions to ask your CRM or provider
Before turning on coexistence in a CRM, confirm:
- Does it show messages sent from the phone (does it process
smb_message_echoes)? - Does it import history? How many days? What about media?
- How does it handle a closed window: does it offer a template automatically?
- What happens if the number disconnects because the phone was inactive (
PARTNER_REMOVEDevent)? - Will other tools use the same number? If so, how will you split the limit and the 20 mps?
General criteria for choosing a vendor are in how to choose a WhatsApp API provider, and the details of what syncs are in coexistence: what syncs and what doesn’t.
Coexistence with Vectalk
Vectalk supports coexistence: the number stays in the WhatsApp Business app and also works through the official Cloud API. Vectalk is a proxy for Meta’s API, and the webhooks are the ones in Meta’s documentation, so your CRM or system receives smb_message_echoes with messages sent from the phone at the URLs registered with POST /api/webhooks. Messages sent through the API are billed by Vectalk, which pays Meta; messages sent from the app stay free, as with any integration. See the documentation or talk to the team through the contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Are messages sent from the phone under coexistence charged?
No. Meta keeps messages the business sends from the WhatsApp Business app free. Only messages sent through the API follow the rate card.
Does sending from the phone open the 24-hour window for the CRM?
No. App messages do not create or extend the API window. The window only opens when the customer sends a message after onboarding.
Can I send a template from the phone?
No. Templates can only be sent through the API, meaning your CRM or integrated system.
If I use two systems on the same number, does each get its own limit?
No. The unique-recipient limit belongs to the portfolio and throughput belongs to the number; integrations on the same number share that capacity.
Will the conversations I had on the phone before connecting the CRM show up in it?
They can, if the business allows history sharing. Meta allows syncing up to six months of one-to-one chats; HubSpot, for example, imports the last 180 days.
Official sources consulted on October 25, 2026: Onboard WhatsApp Business app users (Coexistence), API Solutions for WhatsApp Business App Users (Meta PDF), Messaging limits, Pricing, Updates to WhatsApp Business accounts, HubSpot: Connect a WhatsApp number to HubSpot using coexistence, RD Station Conversas: WhatsApp support.