The WhatsApp Cloud API is a cloud-hosted version of the WhatsApp Business API. With the WhatsApp Cloud API, your business can implement the WhatsApp Business APIs without the hosting WhatsApp Business Client and associated stack on 360dialog’s infrastructure. Another difference is that with the WhatsApp Business API you can communicate with the 360dialog customer support team, while for the Cloud API, only community support is available. Standard support is available for an additional $20 for Cloud API users. Regarding the question “Which one is better”, both are good and the choice depends on your use case and the support you need.  However, the WhatsApp Business API can be more scalable and has better SLAs.   Further reading:

• Cloud API FAQs – offered by Meta directly
• On-premises WhatsApp Business API FAQs – hosted by BSPs and resellers