WhatsApp Business Premium: What is it? What are the costs? How do you get it?

Did you know you can get an upgrade to your WhatsApp Business app? It's called WhatsApp Business Premium, it offers extra functionality, and it may be available for you right now.

Do you use the WhatsApp Business app? Are you finding it's not suiting your needs anymore as you grow?

It might be time for you to start using the richer functionality of the WhatsApp Business API through an approved solution provider like charles. (See our checklist to see if you're ready.)

Or, if you're still a small business with less than 256 contacts, you may just need a minor upgrade. This is what WhatsApp Business Premium is there for.

WhatsApp Business Premium acts a little like the middle ground between the free app and the paid-for WhatsApp API. A stepping stone to bigger, better things.

This premium service was announced by WABetaInfo in May and rolled out in late 2022. As of now [July 2023], WhatsApp Business Premium is still a little shrouded in mystery. As we get more information we'll update this article.

Here's what we know so far.

What is WhatsApp Business Premium?

WhatsApp Business Premium is a paid service offered by WhatsApp to add extra functionality to the free WhatsApp Business app.

Businesses pay WhatsApp (Meta) a monthly subscription to access extra "Premium" features like having a custom WhatsApp web page and adding multiple users.

Who uses WhatsApp Business Premium?

WhatsApp Business Premium is used by small businesses, usually eCommerce businesses.

These companies already use the WhatsApp Business app and need extra functionality to "run your business more efficiently and attract more customers."

Right now, WhatsApp Business is only available on Android – and only in some countries and for some businesses. To check if you can subscribe, go to your WhatsApp Business app then go to Settings. If you're eligible for WhatsApp Business Premium, you'll see it as an option under "Settings."

How to pay for WhatsApp Business Premium

Businesses pay for WhatsApp Business Premium monthly through the Google Play Store (right now it's only available on Android devices). 

See how to manage and cancel your WhatsApp Premium subscription.

What are the features of WhatsApp Business Premium?

The key features of WhatsApp Business Premium that aren't available in the free WhatsApp Business app are:

1. Add up to 10 users
2. Get a custom wa.me link
3. Assign agents
4. See which device or agent sent a message
5. Add more details to your web page

1. Add up to 10 desktop users

With the free WhatsApp Business app, you can only use up to 4 devices. With WhatsApp  Business Premium, you get 10 web-based devices plus 1 phone. WhatsApp calls it "multi-agent." This enables you to share chats across different users and devices for easier chat management – especially when you've just sent a WhatsApp campaign and customer messages may be higher. You can see how to link a device to your WhatsApp Business account here.

2. Get a custom wa.me link

You can choose a "vanity URL" with your company name, "wa.me.com/YourBrand that you can share with customers so they can chat with you on WhatsApp. This is easier for customers to remember than the URL you get with the free app, which is based on your phone number. WhatsApp calls this a WhatsApp web page. You can change this URL every 90 days.

You can get a custom wa.me link in WhatsApp Business Premium (image: WABetaInfo)

3. Assign agents

You can assign chats to agents to make sure every message is responded to quickly and you connect the right customer query with the right person.

4. See which device or agent sent a message

Again, this improves chat management. When you can see who's responding and from where, you can better manage your conversations and follow up on them. 

5. Add more details to your web page

With the WhatsApp Business app, you can only add your company name and profile picture to your WhatsApp web page. With WhatsApp Business Premium, you can add extra information, including:

• Opening hours
• Address
• Website
• Catalog (showing your products)
  

According to WhatsApp, these are some advantage of having a WhatsApp web page:

• A WhatsApp web page can help you build your online presence and credibility.
• A WhatsApp web page makes your business easier to discover on search engines.
• The more information you put on your business profile, the more information customers can see on your web page. Make sure to keep your business profile updated so your customers can see the latest information about your business.

See more on how to create a WhatsApp web page with WhatsApp Premium.

WhatsApp Business Premium in India (image: techrushi.com)\

What countries is Whatsapp Business Premium available in?

WhatsApp hasn't released this information yet but it looks like it's available in India

– a key market for WhatsApp Business with 400 million WhatsApp users.

To check your region, go to your WhatsApp Business app and tap on "Settings." If you see "Premium" as an option, it's available in your country.

We believe it will be available in more countries as it becomes more established.

What are WhatsApp Premium costs?

Again, we don't know at the moment. WhatsApp Business Premium costs have not been officially released by WhatsApp yet. Plus, they change depending on which region you're in.

It appears that in India, WhatsApp Business Premium costs around 250 Rupees (around €2.76) per month. In Europe, like the cost per conversation WhatsApp charges for the API, the costs will be higher.

What we do know is that you pay a flat fee for all features. At the moment, you can't choose which features you get.

To see costs in your country, go to your WhatsApp Business app, tap Settings > Premium > Subscribe (or Free 30-day trial) – you'll see costs before you pay. 

In some countries, you get a 30-day free trial, so you can always take your time before deciding to invest. You'll need to give payment details but if you cancel before the 30 days are up you won't be charged.

How to subscribe to WhatsApp Business Premium

You can sign up for WhatsApp Business Premium easily in the WhatsApp Business app:

1. Tap Settings > Premium (you'll only see this if it's available in your region)
2. Tap Subscribe or 30-day free trial (the trial is only available in some countries)

See more on how to upgrade to WhatsApp Business Premium here.

It's easy to subscribe to WhatsApp Business Premium (if it's available in your country)

What else do you need to know?

As mentioned, to date, there's little information about WhatsApp Premium available. As we get new information, we will post it here.

For now, please feel free to take a look at our articles about WhatsApp Business app, WhatsApp Business Platform (API) and WhatsApp marketing.

Where does charles fit in all this?

We don't work with the WhatsApp Business app. That's for small business owners to use independently.

This also means we don't work with WhatsApp Business Premium.

In reality, we're the next step after WhatsApp Business Premium. As a small business grows and needs even more functionality, it will need to move to the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). 

The API is for larger eCommerce brands and supports unlimited users and 100,000s of customers. It's built on the feature-rich, scalable WhatsApp Business API and 

and includes far richer functionality like automation, 

To use the API, businesses need an interface. This is not provided by WhatsApp itself, but through partners called WhatsApp Business Solution Providers (BSPs) like charles.

To sum up

WhatsApp Business Premium is a stepping stone between the free WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). 

It offers small businesses extra functionality, the key ones being the ability to connect 10 devices and a custom "wa.me" link.

It's easy to subscribe to WhatsApp Business Premium in your WhatsApp Business app. You can also manage payment and cancellations there.

As yet, WhatsApp has released little information about WhatsApp Business Premium. We assume this is because they're still testing it out in some regions before a full rollout.

We will update this article as soon as we learn more.

Ready to take the next step up from the basic WhatsApp Business app? Book a demo with us and we'll show you powerful WhatsApp API use cases to further your business goals, and how to ensure ROI.