WAHA is a genuinely good open-source WhatsApp HTTP API, and since 2026 it's entirely free. But free software isn't free operations: you run the Docker host, pick and manage session storage, keep requests sticky to the worker holding each session, monitor uptime, and redeploy every time WhatsApp changes the protocol. WABridges is the hosted version of the same idea - $5/month per number, and the pager is ours.
One WhatsApp number, kept online, sending and receiving as much as you need. Here is what each side charges for it.
Great free software - if you want to run servers.
Unlimited messages, every feature on every bridge, prorated refund when you cancel.
The points people actually compare before they pick a provider.
| WAHA (self-hosted) | WABridges | |
|---|---|---|
| Software cost | Free (open source) | $5/bridge/month |
| Server cost | Your VPS ($5–20/month) | Included |
| Setup | Docker, storage, config | 60 seconds, zero infra |
| Session storage | You choose and manage | Managed |
| Protocol breakage | You update and redeploy | Handled for you |
| Uptime monitoring | You build it | Public status page |
| Scaling | Sticky sessions, DIY | One bridge per number, managed |
| REST API | Yes | Yes |
| Webhooks | Yes | Yes |
What changes on the invoice and in the code once the bridge is running.
WAHA (self-hosted) pricing is $0 + your server + your time. WABridges is $5/bridge/month, a flat fee per WhatsApp bridge with unlimited messages and no per-message fees.
No. WABridges is a flat $5/bridge/month with unlimited messages. You are never billed per message, per conversation, or per template.
Yes. Provision a bridge in under 60 seconds, pair any WhatsApp number by scanning a QR code, and point your code at the REST API. No WhatsApp Business API approval or migration project required.
Three guides that cover most of what people move a number for.
Comparing other providers? See WABridges vs Twilio, vs Wati, vs the Meta Cloud API, or browse all comparisons.