# 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP vs Telegram Bot API

> 360dialog WhatsApp scores 52 (D) to Telegram Bot's 43 (E) for inbound messaging. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot.md (~2,600 tokens)
- Slim: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot.min.md (~730 tokens, same facts, less prose, for token-sensitive contexts)
- JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot.json (this page as data, same URL with Accept: application/json)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (full text: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- Updated: 2026-10-09

360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP scores 52 (D) on agent readiness against Telegram Bot API's 43 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Telegram Bot API leads on payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust. Both do inbound messaging.

- 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP: grade D, 52/100, rank #740 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/360dialog.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/360dialog.json
- Telegram Bot API: grade E, 43/100, rank #885 of 950. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/telegram-bot.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/telegram-bot.json
- Best SMS, WhatsApp and messaging APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/messaging/index.md
- All 91 messaging comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/messaging/index.md

## Which one, for what

### 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP (D)

Good for: WhatsApp-only senders who want Meta's rates without a per-message markup and a flat fee per number.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 83 against 40
- Schema & documentation, 70 against 44
- Agent ergonomics, 53 against 48

Watch for: No changelog, official SDK or standalone OpenAPI download

### Telegram Bot API (E)

Good for: An agent that talks to people who use Telegram, with free sends and long polling that needs no public server.

Ahead on:
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 35
- Maintenance & community, 38 against 8
- Transparency & trust, 64 against 48

Watch for: No OpenAPI document, llms.txt or official SDK was found. The contract is one HTML reference page of about 860 KB


## Score by category

| Category | Weight | 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP | Telegram Bot API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 83 | 40 | 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP +43 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 70 | 44 | 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP +26 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 53 | 48 | 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP +5 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 35 | 35 | even |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 35 | 40 | Telegram Bot API +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 8 | 38 | Telegram Bot API +30 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 48 | 64 | Telegram Bot API +16 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **52 · D** | **43 · E** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP | Telegram Bot API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | 360dialog | Telegram Messenger Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://waba-v2.360dialog.io` | `https://api.telegram.org` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP | HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Paid | Free |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | none | Proprietary hosted service under the Telegram Bot Platform Developer Terms of Service. The Bot API server source in tdlib/telegram-bot-api is BSL-1.0 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| Last release | none | 2026-08-24 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | no date given |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-09-10 | 2024-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Popularity | none | 4.5k stars |
| Agent reviews | 3/5 (2) | none |

## Verdicts

**360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP.** Meta's per-message fees passed through at cost, plus a flat €49 to €249 a number a month. No changelog, official SDK or standalone OpenAPI download.

**Telegram Bot API.** Telegram's first-party bot interface is free, needs no card and documents 185 methods on one page with a dated changelog and numeric send limits. No OpenAPI document, status page, SLA or idempotency key was found, one token controls the whole bot and travels in the URL, and a person must create the bot in a chat with @BotFather.

## Before you call either

### 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP

1. Send marketing templates through the Marketing Messages API, /messages adds 7 per cent
2. Ask a docs page a question with `?ask=` before reading the whole page
3. Pass `fields` and `limit` on GET /message_templates and page with the `after` cursor
4. Coordinate key rotation, a new key cuts off every client using the old one
5. Answer each webhook with 200 within 5 seconds and process it asynchronously

### Telegram Bot API

1. Send `POST https://api.telegram.org/bot<token>/sendMessage` with `chat_id` and `text`. Keep the token out of logs, because it is part of the URL.
2. On HTTP 429 wait the `parameters.retry_after` seconds before retrying. Stay under one message a second per chat and 20 a minute per group.
3. Call `getUpdates` with `offset` set to the last `update_id` plus one, or the same updates return. Updates are kept for at most 24 hours.
4. A retried send can post twice, as there is no idempotency key. Record the returned `message_id` before retrying after a timeout.
5. In groups the bot sees only commands and replies unless privacy mode is disabled in @BotFather or the bot is an admin.

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP or Telegram Bot API?

360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP scores 52 (D) on agent readiness against Telegram Bot API's 43 (E), and leads in 3 of 7 scored categories. Telegram Bot API leads on payments & pricing, maintenance & community and transparency & trust.

### Do 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP and Telegram Bot API need an API key?

360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. Telegram Bot API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP and Telegram Bot API without installing anything?

Yes. 360dialog WhatsApp API + MCP has a hosted endpoint at https://waba-v2.360dialog.io and Telegram Bot API at https://api.telegram.org.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/360dialog-vs-telegram-bot.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "360dialog", "b": "telegram-bot"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare 360dialog telegram-bot`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/360dialog.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/telegram-bot.json

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