The WhatsApp Cloud API is the official way to connect WhatsApp to Kommo: it does not break Meta's rules, it allows legal broadcasts, and it runs on Meta's own infrastructure, with no server of your own. Connecting takes 10 to 20 minutes if the number and the Meta account are ready in advance. Below is what to prepare, and the process itself step by step.
If you haven't yet chosen between the official Cloud API and a "gray" number, start with the breakdown of the methods in the WhatsApp connection hub. Here we cover the official path only.
- The Cloud API is connected right inside the Kommo interface by signing in with a Facebook (Meta) account.
- Prepare in advance: a paid plan or an active Kommo trial, a personal Facebook account, a Meta Business portfolio, and a separate phone number.
- The number must be free of WhatsApp, either brand new or unlinked from the app on the phone. If it is already in the WhatsApp Business app, you connect it through coexistence (section below).
- Meta reviews the display name, and that moderation takes time.
- One number = one Kommo account: you can't connect it again in a different account.
What you'll need before you start
Gather everything up front, because chasing it down halfway through is no fun:
- A Kommo plan. Paid (Base, Advanced or Enterprise) or an active 14-day trial.
- A personal Facebook account, the one you authorize Meta through.
- A Meta Business portfolio (Facebook Business Portfolio), where the WhatsApp Business account lives. It's best to clear business verification beforehand: without it the limit is 2 numbers, with it up to 20.
- A separate phone number with a country code (not a short code) that can receive an SMS or a call with a code. Three scenarios:
- a new number never used on WhatsApp;
- a number from personal WhatsApp, where you first delete the WhatsApp account on it;
- a number already in the WhatsApp Business app, in which case don't unlink it; take the coexistence path (below).
Connecting the Cloud API step by step
In the Kommo interface (a new number):
- Open the WhatsApp section in the left menu → Connect.
- Choose "Use a different phone number."
- Sign in to your personal Facebook account.
- Select or create a WhatsApp Business account.
- Create a WhatsApp business portfolio (if you don't have one yet).
- Fill in the business profile: name, category, details.
- Add the number and request confirmation (SMS or call).
- Enter the confirmation code.
- Confirm Kommo's access to the account.
- Finish setup in the Kommo window; the number should get a green checkmark.
After that, inbound messages start creating leads in the pipeline you picked, the history shows up in the lead card, and several managers can reply from one number.
Number confirmation and name moderation
Two points where newcomers stumble:
- Number confirmation. The code arrives by SMS or call. The number has to be real and not connected to the WhatsApp app on a phone. If it's already logged into the app on the phone, confirmation won't go through.
- Display-name moderation. Meta reviews the company's display name against its own rules (the name has to match the brand, with no extra words or tags). It isn't instant: review can take 1 to 3 days, and until the name is approved you can't use WhatsApp Business.
Coexistence: if the number is already in the WhatsApp Business app
If the client isn't ready to give up the WhatsApp Business app on the phone, the number is connected in coexistence mode, where it works at the same time both in the app and through the Cloud API inside Kommo.
What you need:
- any Kommo plan or a trial;
- the WhatsApp Business app, version 2.24.17 or higher;
- a Meta Business portfolio;
- a supported country code (the exceptions are Nigeria and South Africa);
- the number must already have been used in the app for a while (new accounts need a usage history).
How it works: messages sync both ways in real time, so what comes into the app shows up in Kommo and vice versa, and the history is shared. What you answer by hand from the phone is free; you pay only for outbound sent through the API.
Coexistence limits worth warning the client about:
- only active chats from the last 30 days are imported;
- group chats don't sync;
- once connected, editing and recalling messages are turned off;
- disappearing messages and "view once" become unavailable;
- broadcast lists switch to read-only.
After connecting: the 24-hour window, templates, opt-in
The Cloud API lives by Meta's rules. In short:
- The 24-hour window. You can chat freely for 24 hours after the customer's last message.
- Start only with a template. To message first or outside the 24-hour window, you have to send a pre-approved paid template. Moderation is quick, but I'd recommend creating and submitting at least one template right after connecting so you don't have to wait later.
- Opt-in. The customer has to agree to receive messages; broadcasting without consent leads to complaints and a blocked number.
Limits and common mistakes
- One number, one Kommo account. A connected number can't be used in a different account.
- Number limit: without business verification, 2; with it, up to 20 (raised on request).
- Common mistakes: connecting on a number already logged into WhatsApp on a phone (confirmation won't pass); skipping business verification and hitting the limit; forgetting that the display name is moderated and then wondering "why won't it send"; running a broadcast without opt-in and an approved template.
What's next
WhatsApp is connected officially. Next, so requests from it don't go cold: control of first-reply speed (SLA) and distribution of inbound to whoever is free. And if you need a bot, it's set up under separate Meta rules (see the breakdown of the bot and the 2026 rules).