The 360dialog alternative for AI agents that need more than WhatsApp

360dialog is one of the most direct ways onto Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform: per-number pricing, no markup on Meta's fees, a sandbox and an MCP server for WhatsApp accounts. If WhatsApp at scale is the job, it is a very good choice. If your AI agent also has to answer people on Instagram, LinkedIn and Messenger — from the accounts a business already has — you need a different kind of tool. That is what Spaces is.

Every 360dialog fact below comes from 360dialog's own site and docs, checked on 11 November 2026. Where 360dialog is the better or cheaper choice, we say so.

Already down to two? See Spaces vs 360dialog.

Two different products, one sentence each

• 360dialog is an official Meta partner that gives developers and software companies direct access to the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API), priced per phone number per month plus Meta's messaging fees, with a Partner Platform for ISVs and a hosted MCP server that lets AI tools manage WhatsApp accounts, templates and webhooks. (pricing, docs pricing, MCP docs)
• Spaces is messaging infrastructure for AI agents: one REST API and one MCP server that let the agent you already use — Claude, Grok, ChatGPT, Cursor or your own code — read and reply to conversations on the Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Messenger accounts a business already has, inside each platform's limits. WhatsApp connects by QR code, like linking a computer. (pricing, llms.txt)

The short version: 360dialog is official WhatsApp infrastructure. Spaces is a multi-channel inbox for an AI agent. They overlap on WhatsApp and work in different ways there.

Spaces vs 360dialog, head to head

Price assumption: 5 WhatsApp numbers — say, five branches or five sales reps — because 360dialog prices per number and that is where the comparison is fairest. On Spaces the same five accounts could be any mix of WhatsApp numbers, Instagram profiles, LinkedIn profiles or Facebook accounts. Spaces prices are from spacesos.com/pricing; 360dialog USD prices are from its docs pricing page and match the EUR list on 360dialog.com/pricing. All checked 11 November 2026, excluding tax. Meta's fees vary by country and message category and are not estimated here.

At typical support volume Spaces costs less. At very high reply volume on WhatsApp alone, the gap closes: Spaces bills actions above the allowance, while 360dialog's fee per number is flat and Meta's service-message fees depend on your market. Run your own numbers through both pricing pages before you decide.

Where the difference shows up

1. One channel done deeply, or four channels for one agent

360dialog's products are all WhatsApp: API access, a marketplace of WhatsApp tools, a Partner Platform, Performance Messaging and 360Pilot measurement. Its site lists no Instagram, Messenger or LinkedIn inbox. (360dialog.com, pricing)

Spaces gives one agent the inboxes on Instagram, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Messenger through one API and one MCP server, plus TikTok for posts and comments. There is a server for all channels at https://api.spacesos.com/mcp and one per channel (/mcp/whatsapp, /mcp/instagram, /mcp/linkedin, /mcp/messenger). (llms.txt)

If your customers only ever reach you on WhatsApp, 360dialog's focus is a strength. If they DM you on Instagram and LinkedIn too, you would need a second and third vendor next to 360dialog.

2. Two different ways onto WhatsApp

This is the real difference, and it is not "official versus unofficial number". Both can keep the business on the number customers know.

360dialog puts the number on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API). You verify the business with Meta (Premium lists business verification in 48 hours) and pay Meta's per-message fees, and conversations you start use approved templates. Service replies go out inside the 24-hour customer service window. With WhatsApp Coexistence, a number already on the WhatsApp Business App can join the Cloud API and stay usable on the phone: you scan a QR code in the app during Embedded Signup, and messages mirror between app and API. Coexistence has limits: templates are still needed to start conversations, linked companion devices are unlinked during onboarding, and the app must be opened at least every 13 days. (docs pricing, Coexistence docs)

Spaces does not use the Cloud API. It links the WhatsApp number you already use by QR code, the same way you link WhatsApp on a computer, and the number keeps working on your phone. Spaces says that on this connection there is no Meta approval, no message templates and no Meta message fees (Spaces WhatsApp API page). The trade-off is that Spaces is built for answering people and following up with people who know the business, not for broadcasting: a new WhatsApp chat only goes to someone who has messaged the number before or is marked as opted in, the same cold text can go to at most 2 new people in 24 hours, and new numbers warm up over four weeks. Spaces' own guidance is that template broadcasts to large lists are what the official WhatsApp Business Platform is for. (llms.txt)

Stay on 360dialog for templates, campaigns, business-initiated messaging at scale and official API compliance. Choose Spaces when an agent needs to answer the people who already write to a number, without moving that number onto the Cloud API.

3. Both have MCP — for different jobs

360dialog's hosted MCP server (https://mcp.360dialog.com/mcp) works with Claude, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and VS Code. You pick scopes at sign-in. Its documented tools cover accounts, users and channels, WhatsApp profiles and display names, creating and previewing templates, webhook setup and testing, balance and invoices, documentation search and Meta Business Agent setup. The pricing page lists "Messaging MCP – connect your agents to WhatsApp" from the Premium plan (€99 / $119 per number). (MCP docs, pricing)

Spaces' MCP is built around conversations: read chats, reply, start a chat where allowed, schedule a message for a local time, run routines triggered by a new message, a keyword or no reply after N hours, require a person to approve sends, or pause every send at once. It is on every plan, including Free. An agent can even set Spaces up itself: paste "Set up Spaces for me by following https://www.spacesos.com/agents" into Claude, Grok, ChatGPT or Cursor. (pricing, llms.txt)

Rule of thumb: 360dialog's MCP helps an agent run your WhatsApp Business setup. Spaces' MCP helps an agent talk to customers across four inboxes.

4. Limits that protect the account

On 360dialog, the limits are Meta's: business verification, the 24-hour window, template approval, and Meta's messaging limits and quality ratings. Throughput is high — 80 messages per second on standard plans and up to 1,000 per second on Scale. (pricing)

On Spaces, the limits are set per connected account, because automated use of an existing account is what platforms watch. Every plan has per-channel daily limits, pacing and a four-week warm-up. For up to 24 hours after a WhatsApp account connects, reconnects, or is disconnected and connected again, Spaces does not start new chats or outreach. Replies in chats that already exist still go out. Other channels have no reply-only window: the warm-up limits apply from the first day, and replies to people who wrote in go out immediately. Replies to someone who just wrote in are never held back by daily limits. WhatsApp new chats go out between 8:00 and 21:00 local time. This lowers the risk of a platform restricting an account; it does not remove it. (limits, safety, llms.txt)

If you need 1,000 messages a second, that is 360dialog's world, not Spaces'.

5. Pricing: per number plus Meta, or per account plus actions

360dialog charges a monthly licence per WhatsApp number: Regular €49 / $59, Premium €99 / $119 (adds faster support, business verification in 48 hours, the Messaging MCP and the Inbox, Sendout, Automation and Measurement add-ons), Scale €500 / $600 (up to 1,000 messages per second). Meta's messaging and call fees come on top at Meta's rates with no 360dialog markup. Meta makes the first 1,000 service messages per number per month free. Partner Platform plans start at €250 a month plus €49 per regular channel. A sandbox is free for testing to your own number. (pricing, docs pricing, sandbox)

Spaces has a Free plan — $0, no card, 1 connected account and 50 actions a day (sending stops until midnight at the limit; reading keeps working; no sequences or webhooks). Pay as you go is $9 per connected account a month, prorated, with 1,000 actions per account pooled across the workspace, then $5 per 1,000 ($4 above 100,000 extra, $3 above 1,000,000). Reading is always free, and you can set a monthly usage cap. An action is a send, reply, new chat, post, comment, like, follow, invitation or profile lookup. The API and MCP are on every plan. Older Spaces plans stay as they are for existing customers for 6 months. (pricing)

At 1 number: Spaces is free or $9 a month; 360dialog is $59 plus Meta's fees. At 5 numbers within included actions: $45 against $295 or $595 plus Meta's fees. At high WhatsApp-only volume, compare carefully — 360dialog's flat fee can win.

6. Who 360dialog is really built for

360dialog also serves software companies reselling WhatsApp to their clients (Partner Platform, multi-customer architecture, zero message markup), businesses that want to be matched to a ready-made WhatsApp tool (the Marketplace), and brands running performance campaigns. Spaces does none of those. It is for developers and teams putting an AI agent into the conversations a business already has. (360dialog.com, pricing)

Choose Spaces if

• Your AI agent must answer customers on Instagram, LinkedIn and Messenger as well as WhatsApp, through one API and one MCP server.
• You want to link the WhatsApp number already in use by QR code, without moving it onto the Cloud API or verifying the business with Meta.
• Most of the work is replying to people who wrote in and following up with people who know you.
• You want daily limits, pacing, warm-up, approvals and a pause switch handled for every account.
• You want to start on a Free plan and pay $9 per account as you add more.

Stay with 360dialog if

• WhatsApp is your only channel and you want official Cloud API access with no markup on Meta's fees.
• You send approved templates, broadcasts and campaigns at volume — Spaces deliberately does not.
• You need official API features and compliance: business verification, Flows, calling, Meta Business Agent, very high throughput.
• You are a software company reselling WhatsApp to many clients.
• Your WhatsApp reply volume is very high on a small number of numbers, where a flat per-number fee beats per-action pricing.

Some teams use both: 360dialog for official WhatsApp campaigns and notifications, Spaces for an agent working Instagram, LinkedIn and Messenger DMs (and, where it fits, a second WhatsApp number linked by QR).

Other alternatives to consider

• Bird — APIs for email, SMS, WhatsApp, Apple Messages and voice, with a hosted MCP server. WhatsApp is pay as you go: Bird's fee is $0.005 per outbound message plus Meta's fee (US marketing total $0.030; US service and utility $0.0084), with optional monthly deposits from $15 that unlock broadcasts and higher limits. Bird also supports Coexistence. No Instagram, Messenger or LinkedIn inbox is listed. (bird.com/pricing/whatsapp, checked 11 Nov 2026) · Spaces vs Bird
• Gupshup — a conversational AI and messaging platform for WhatsApp, Instagram, RCS, SMS and voice, aimed at enterprise campaigns and AI agents. Its WhatsApp self-serve page lists a Gupshup fee of $0.001 per message plus Meta's fees at actuals; its main pricing page also mentions a ₹5,999 monthly fee in its FAQ while headlining "zero platform fee", so check Gupshup directly for your market. (gupshup.ai/pricing, checked 11 Nov 2026) · Spaces vs Gupshup
• Zernio — a usage-based developer API for posts, ads and official-API DMs (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp Cloud API, Telegram and more; not LinkedIn DMs). The first 2 connected accounts are free, then $6 per account for accounts 3–10, so 5 accounts are $18 a month. (zernio.com/pricing, checked 11 Nov 2026) · Spaces vs Zernio

FAQ

What is the best 360dialog alternative for an AI agent?
If your agent needs Instagram, LinkedIn and Messenger as well as WhatsApp, Spaces is the closest fit: one API and one MCP server for all four inboxes. If you want to stay on the official WhatsApp Business Platform, Bird and Gupshup are nearer swaps.

Is 360dialog WhatsApp only?
Yes. Its products — API access, Marketplace, Partner Platform, Performance Messaging and 360Pilot — are all built around WhatsApp. (360dialog.com)

How much does 360dialog cost?
Per number per month, plus Meta's fees: Regular €49 / $59, Premium €99 / $119, Scale €500 / $600. Partner plans start at €250 a month plus €49 per regular channel. Meta's fees are passed on with no markup. (pricing, docs)

How much does Spaces cost?
Free for 1 account and 50 actions a day, with no card. Then $9 per connected account a month, with 1,000 actions per account pooled, and $5 per 1,000 extra actions. Five accounts within included actions are $45 a month. (pricing)

Does 360dialog have an MCP server?
Yes, at https://mcp.360dialog.com/mcp, for managing accounts, channels, templates, webhooks and billing from Claude, Cursor, Codex and others. The pricing page lists the Messaging MCP from Premium. Spaces' MCP is on every plan and is built around reading and replying to conversations. (MCP docs)

Can I keep my WhatsApp number on my phone with 360dialog?
Yes, with WhatsApp Coexistence, if the number is on the WhatsApp Business App: you scan a QR code in the app during signup and messages mirror between the app and the Cloud API. Templates are still needed to start conversations, and Meta's fees apply. Spaces links the number by QR code without the Cloud API. (Coexistence docs, Spaces WhatsApp API)

Can Spaces send WhatsApp broadcasts or templates?
No. Spaces is for answering people and following up with people who know the business. For template broadcasts to large lists, use the official WhatsApp Business Platform — 360dialog is a strong option. (llms.txt)

Will connecting an AI agent get my accounts banned?
Every platform has its own rules. Spaces keeps each account inside daily limits, paces activity and warms new accounts up over four weeks. That lowers the risk but cannot remove it. See sending limits and account safety.

Where can I see a direct comparison?
On Spaces vs 360dialog.

Facts about 360dialog, Bird, Gupshup and Zernio come from their own websites, checked on 11 November 2026. Prices and features change; their sites have the current version. Product names are trademarks of their owners.

Sources

Facts on this page were checked on 11 November 2026 from the official product pages linked in the text, and from Spaces pricing.