SonarWhatsApp Business app or Sonar?
The free WhatsApp Business app is great for chatting with customers from your phone. Here's where it stops, what Sonar adds, and how to use both on the same number.
Checked against Meta's own help pages on 17 October 2026.
The short answer
- Stay on the app if you mostly chat one to one, your team fits on one phone and a few linked devices, and your broadcasts only need to reach people who saved your number.
- Add Sonar when you want to message everyone who agreed to hear from you, share one inbox with your team, let an AI Agent or automatic follow-ups do some of the work, or keep a record of consent for POPIA.
- You don't have to choose: connect your Business app number to Sonar and keep using the app on your phone.
Side by side
| WhatsApp Business app | Sonar | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free. Meta is adding paid extras in some countries: business broadcasts and Meta One subscriptions. | From R349 a month, plus WhatsApp's own per-message charges, paid to Meta. |
| Broadcasts | Broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts. Free lists only reach people who saved your number. Paid business broadcasts, reviewed by Meta before they go, are rolling out in a limited number of countries. | Everyone who agreed to hear from you, whether they saved your number or not, using templates Meta approves. Schedule or repeat them, and see who received, read and replied. |
| Your team | One phone, plus up to four linked devices. | Unlimited team members in one shared inbox, with assignments and saved replies. |
| Automatic replies | Greeting and away messages and quick replies. Meta's own AI agent in some countries. | An AI Agent that replies in your voice from the Plus plan, Copilot drafts to check first, and automatic follow-ups. |
| Customer list | The contacts on your phone, with labels. | Contacts with tags and your own fields, groups that keep themselves up to date, and imports from a spreadsheet or Shopify. |
| Consent (POPIA) | Up to you to keep track. | Opt-in buttons, STOP handled automatically, and a consent record for every contact. |
| Updates from your other systems | Not available. | Order, booking and delivery messages sent by your till, booking app or store. |
| Events | Not available. | Invites with one-tap RSVPs, waitlists, reminders and check-in at the door. |
Use both on the same number
Connect the number already on your WhatsApp Business app to Sonar, and keep chatting from your phone. Messages show up in both places, so your team can answer from Sonar while you answer from the app. When you connect:
- Broadcast lists in the app become read-only. Send broadcasts from Sonar instead.
- Linked devices are signed out once. Link them again afterwards.
- Open the app every two weeks or so, or Meta disconnects the number from Sonar.
The full walk-through, including what syncs and how to disconnect: Sonar with the WhatsApp Business app.
What it costs
The app is free. Where Meta offers paid business broadcasts, it charges per message by the country of the person you message. On Sonar you pay your plan, from R349 a month with a free trial of 50 contacts and 250 messages, with replies you type free, and Meta charges for the messages themselves: about R0.62 for a marketing message and nothing for replies until you pass 1,000 a month. Work out your own month with the calculator.
Sources
More guides
- WhatsApp pricing in South Africa
- POPIA and WhatsApp marketing
- Event invites with one-tap RSVPs
- AI Agent and Copilot: a WhatsApp chatbot in your voice
- Use Sonar with the WhatsApp Business app
- Import your contacts
- Order and booking updates from your other systems
- Connect a client's WhatsApp number
- WhatsApp API providers in South Africa, compared
- Switching to Sonar
- WhatsApp RSVPs for events
- Competitions and prize draws
Need a hand?
Not sure which you need? Email support@whats-hub.co.za or chat to us on WhatsApp.