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Several people need to answer one WhatsApp number, and I want the options compared

From four free devices to an unlimited team, with the ceiling of each approach stated plainly. 2 min read

This is the most common question from a business that is starting to drown in chats. There are three approaches, and honestly, the first two are free but have a ceiling you will feel quickly.

Option 1: the WhatsApp Business app with linked devices, free

The official WhatsApp Business app allows up to four linked devices, which is enough for two to four people. The limits: there is no way to divide the work, so everyone sees every chat and two people can end up answering the same customer; there is no record of who replied to what; and the history lives on a phone.

Option 2: passing the phone around or sharing the password, please do not

One handset handed over at each shift change. It costs nothing, but evening messages go unanswered, there is no audit trail at all, and if the phone is lost, so is every customer conversation on it.

Looking to add a WACO portal admin (broadcasts, ads, contacts) rather than someone who answers chats? That lives in the Team menu: inviting team members.

Option 3: the WhatsApp API with a shared team inbox

The number moves onto Meta's official API and the whole team answers from one inbox in the browser. Chats are distributed to whoever is available, every reply is attributed to a named person, colleagues can leave private notes on a conversation, customers can be labelled, and the history is stored on a server rather than on anyone's phone. The number of staff is unlimited.

The most common worry: "will I lose my old chats?" No. Meta's official coexistence mode moves the number onto the API while keeping your existing chats and contacts, and the app on the phone keeps working. See my number is already in use on the WhatsApp Business app.

With WACO, option 3 costs US$20 a month regardless of how many people you put on it. Start at waco.id/en and you can be connected in minutes.

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