WhatsApp Calls: Talk to Customers by Voice, Right in Your Inbox

Some conversations don't want to be typed.

A customer three messages deep into a problem. A deal that's one "can we talk for two minutes?" away from closing. A booking that needs sorting now. You can feel the moment where text stops helping and a voice would fix it in thirty seconds. Usually that means reading out a phone number, hoping they dial it, and losing half of them in the gap.

WhatsTeam closes that gap with WhatsApp Business Calling: real voice calls, on the same WhatsApp number you already message from, answered by your team straight from the shared inbox. No phone system. No second app. No new number to explain.

Incoming calls are free

Start with the part that matters to whoever pays the bill: when a customer calls your business, you are not charged. Nothing. They call the number they already have for you, it rings in your inbox, someone picks up.

You only pay for calls your business makes to customers, and even then only when the customer answers. A call that rings out costs you nothing.

One number, one inbox, whoever's free picks up

The call doesn't go to one person. It goes to your team. It rings every connected agent who has access to that number, and the first to answer takes it, with the conversation and the contact's details right there. No "let me pull up your account."

When the call ends, it shows up in the same chat as the messages, whether someone answered or not. So the next person who helps that customer sees exactly what happened. Every call, incoming and outgoing, is also listed in Call logs.

You set the rules in Call Settings, one switch at a time:

• Display call buttons shows a call icon in the chat header and in the contact's profile.
• Available call hours limits when customers can reach you by voice.
• Ring all agents rings everyone with access to the number. You can also limit calling to certain agents.
• Allow callbacks lets your team call customers back from the chat.
• Temporarily stop incoming calls pauses calls straight away, for when everyone is busy.

A call also keeps the conversation going. After any incoming call, answered or missed, you can follow up by chat for the next 24 hours without a template (a message Meta approves in advance). If the caller has never written to you before, WhatsTeam creates a chat for them so you can reply.

Calling customers back, without becoming a nuisance

Calls from your business work the way WhatsApp intends: on the customer's terms.

1. You send the customer a quick call permission request.
2. Once they approve it, you can call right away or any time in the next seven days.
3. If they miss your call, you can try again within those seven days without asking again.

To stop this turning into spam, you can send one permission request every 24 hours, and at most two a week, to the same customer. This is calling that can't quietly turn into cold calling, because the customer said yes before the phone ever rang.

Outgoing calls are billed by Meta (the company behind WhatsApp) per minute, in six-second steps, at Meta's published rates. The rate depends on the customer's country and on how many minutes you call that country in a month: the more you call, the lower the rate. WhatsTeam adds nothing on top. Ringing and unanswered calls are never charged, and calls don't change what you pay for messages.

What your team needs

A computer with a microphone and speakers (or a headset), a web browser and an internet connection. Calls happen inside the WhatsTeam inbox, so there's no extra software and no phone hardware to buy.

What you need to switch it on

Calling runs on the official WhatsApp Business API, which every WhatsTeam number already uses. So it's a setting away: turn on Allow voice calls in Call Settings and you're live, as long as your number meets Meta's requirements:

• A messaging limit of at least 2,000. This is Meta's measure of how many different customers your business can start conversations with every 24 hours. Meta sets it, not your plan, and verifying your business is the way to raise it. If your limit is too low, Call Settings tells you.
• A payment method on your WhatsApp Business account, for outgoing calls.
• A number connected to the API on its own. If your number runs in coexistence mode, meaning you also use it in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, WhatsTeam can't take calls on it: calls stay in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. That's Meta's rule, and nobody can switch it on for you. The coexistence guide explains how that mode works.

One honest caveat, because Meta draws the map. Incoming calls work almost everywhere the WhatsApp Business API is available. The exceptions are Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine. Outgoing calls are available in most countries too, but not yet when your business number is registered in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Vietnam or Nigeria. That list is Meta's, and it can change.

Questions

Are incoming calls really free? Yes. Calls your customers make to your business are never charged. You only pay Meta for calls your business makes, and only once the customer answers.

Can my whole team take calls? Yes. Everyone with access to the number can make and receive calls from the shared inbox, and you can limit calling to certain agents. Only one agent answers each incoming call: whoever picks up first.

Can I call any customer whenever I like? No. The customer has to approve a call permission request first. After that you have seven days to call them.

Do I pay WhatsTeam extra for calls? No. You pay Meta's call rates and nothing more. The rest comes with your WhatsTeam plan.

The whole point

Your customers picked WhatsApp because it's where they already are. Voice was the one thing it couldn't do for your business. Now it can: free to receive, on the number they trust, answered by whoever's closest to the problem.

The WhatsApp Business Calling guide in the help center covers every requirement, price and setting.

New to WhatsTeam? Start your free trial. Every plan comes with a 14-day trial and no credit card. Connect your number, switch calling on, and see what each plan includes on the pricing page.