As part of our webinar Azure Communication Services Fundamentals series this month, we had the pleasure of walking developers through how to set up WhatsApp messaging using Azure Communication Services (ACS)—from the very first portal click to sending real messages to real users.
Whether you're just experimenting or ready to go live, ACS makes it easier than ever to integrate WhatsApp into your applications. Check out what we covered in the live webinar below. And be sure to catch our next live webinar on ACS Fundamentals: Adding Audio Video Calling into Your Apps this Thursday, April 24 at 9 a.m. PT. Register here.
How to Set Up WhatsApp Messaging using Azure Communication Services
✅ Create Your ACS Resource
We kicked things off by creating an ACS resource in the Azure Portal—your gateway to adding voice, SMS, email, and messaging into your apps, backed by Microsoft Teams infrastructure.
🧪 Try WhatsApp Messaging in the Sandbox
No Meta account yet? No problem. We explored the WhatsApp Sandbox experience, letting developers quickly test sending template and text messages via WhatsApp without setting up a business account.
Just scan the QR code, send the unique connect message, and start experimenting—no cost, no strings attached.
🔌 Connect a WhatsApp Business Account
For production readiness, we demonstrated how to register a WhatsApp Business Account via the Azure Portal:
- Bring your own phone number or use an ACS-provided one.
- Seamless embedded sign-up flow with Meta.
- Register, verify, and configure—all in one place.
📩 Handle Inbound Messages with Event Grid
We showed how to handle Advanced Messaging events using Event Grid. This enables your backend to handle real-time events using Azure Functions, Logic Apps, or Webhooks.
Pro tip: Try out the Event Grid Viewer.
💬 Send Outbound WhatsApp Messages with SDKs
Once your channel is set up, sending messages is simple using the SDKs for Advanced Messaging:
- Supports .NET, JavaScript, Java, and Python.
- We demoed a quick .NET console app to send freeform text messages.
💰 Understand the Pricing
We broke down the two pricing components:
- Meta’s pricing is based on 24-hour conversation sessions.
- Azure Communication Services charges a flat per-message fee (inbound and outbound).
Together, these offer a transparent, scalable pricing model.
🚀 Ready to Build
By the end of the session, you’ll have everything you need to:
- Create an Azure Communication Services resource.
- Prototype with the sandbox.
- Connect a verified WhatsApp channel.
- Handle customer messages at scale.
- Send replies from your app using trusted SDKs.
📺 Watch the full webinar on YouTube.
🛠️ Explore the full Learn collection here:
👉 Advanced Messaging for WhatsApp in Azure Communication Services
🛠️ Try it yourself in the Azure Portal
For more tips on how to get started with WhatsApp Messaging in ACS, check out our Learn Documentation and follow Gloria Li on LinkedIn.
Updated May 01, 2025
Version 6.0