Gateway plan

Open in the app: Getting started (Guide), Credits, Channels

The Gateway plan is for teams that send and receive messages through the REST API and webhooks, with prepaid credits instead of a monthly inbox subscription. It is built for programmatic messaging (WhatsApp first; Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and Telegram use the same API shape).

If you need a shared team inbox, AI assistants, broadcasts, and the full portal, use an Inbox plan (Free, Basic, Premium, and so on) instead.

Gateway vs Inbox plans

Choose the Gateway plan

1. New workspace — During onboarding, open the plan step and select Gateway (available when upgrading from the Free path for a new workspace).
2. Existing Free workspace — Open Upgrade plan while the workspace is on the Free plan and select Gateway.

After selection, the workspace gets a Gateway subscription and an empty credit wallet. There is no recurring Polar/Stripe subscription for the plan itself.

Portal navigation

When you are on Gateway, the app home is the Guide (/account/guide). Main menu items:

Credit balance also appears in the header while you work in the portal.

Getting started (Guide)

The Guide walks through setup in order:

1. Connect a channel — Link WhatsApp (or another supported channel). Channel docs: Channels and provider guides under that section.
2. API key — Generate a key; copy it when shown (it is only displayed once). Store it server-side.
3. Webhook (optional) — Register a URL for incoming messages and delivery updates.
4. Templates and payment on Meta (optional, WhatsApp) — Create approved templates and add a payment method in Meta Business Manager for conversation charges billed by Meta.
5. First message — Use the built-in quickstart console to send a test request with your key.

When setup is complete, the Guide switches to a dashboard view with credit balance, send stats, and the quickstart console.

Prepaid credits

• 1 credit = $0.0008 (0.08¢) per send attempt through the Gateway REST API.
• Credits are reserved when a send is accepted; failed sends still consume an attempt according to billing rules.
• Purchase packs from Credits in the portal (hosted checkout):

Send messages (API)

Outbound sends use the Gateway REST endpoint documented in Send Message (REST):

POST https://gateway.bcrumbs.net/core/v1/messages
Authorization: bcak_YOUR_API_KEY
Content-Type: application/json

The API returns quickly after the message is accepted and queued for delivery. Delivery to the channel provider runs in the background with per-channel rate limits. For a single WhatsApp number on Meta’s default throughput tier, expect on the order of ~14 seconds to deliver 1,000 messages after the HTTP response (multiple channels can send in parallel).

Requirements:

• Workspace on the Gateway plan
• Sufficient credits
• Valid workspaceId, integrationId, and externalClientId in the request body
• Channel rules (for example WhatsApp templates outside the 24-hour customer care window)

For GraphQL-based sends used by Inbox plans, see Messaging instead.

Webhooks

Gateway workspaces typically subscribe to:

• INCOMING_MESSAGE
• OUTGOING_MESSAGE
• MESSAGE_UPDATED

Create and manage webhooks in the portal or via the Webhooks API. Payload shapes match the API reference; use them to drive your CRM or automation without opening the inbox UI.

Delivery report

Use Delivery report to inspect send and delivery outcomes for a date range. This complements webhooks when you need a historical view or to debug failed sends.

Related documentation

• Send Message (REST) — request body, bulk send, errors
• API Keys — create and revoke keys
• Webhooks — events and payloads
• Channels — connect WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram, and others
• Getting Started — full Inbox onboarding (not Gateway-specific)