# whatsapp-web.js vs Baileys: which one still works in 2026? > Both still work. whatsapp-web.js needs Chromium and about 400 MB per session, Baileys about 200 MB. Stars, releases and ban risk, next to whatsmeow. Source: https://unlimitedmessaging.app/articles/whatsapp-web-js-vs-baileys Comparison # whatsapp-web.js, Baileys or whatsmeow: _the WhatsApp library to pick in 2026_ Three open-source libraries power most unofficial WhatsApp integrations: whatsapp-web.js drives a real browser, Baileys and whatsmeow speak the protocol directly. All three still work in November 2026\. They differ in memory, in what breaks them, and in how they are maintained. Here is the comparison, with numbers from GitHub and from WAHA, which runs all three. [Try Unlimited Messaging](https://app.unlimitedmessaging.app)[View pricing](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/pricing) The short answer ## Do whatsapp-web.js and Baileys still work in 2026? Yes, both work and both shipped releases in 2026\. [whatsapp-web.js](https://github.com/wwebjs/whatsapp-web.js) runs WhatsApp Web in headless Chromium, so one session needs about 400 MB of RAM; Baileys talks to WhatsApp over a WebSocket and needs about 200 MB. At 50 sessions the gap is 20 GB versus 4 GB. whatsmeow, in Go, is leaner still. All three carry the same ban risk. The memory figures come from WAHA, a self-hosted WhatsApp API that wraps all three libraries as engines (WEBJS, NOWEB and GOWS) and publishes what each one costs. That makes it the closest thing to a fair benchmark: same API, same workload, three engines. The libraries also break for different reasons. whatsapp-web.js calls functions inside the WhatsApp Web page, so a change to that page can stop it until a fix ships. Baileys and whatsmeow reimplement the protocol, so they break when WhatsApp changes the protocol itself. In every case you update a dependency and redeploy, and your session may need a new QR code. A word on our side: Unlimited Messaging first ran Baileys inside its Node.js API, then in 2026 moved every WhatsApp account to a separate Go service built on whatsmeow. So we have a stake in this comparison, and we say so. Stars, releases and commits below were read from GitHub on November 9, 2026. Related guides: [what a WhatsApp REST API is](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/articles/whatsapp-api), [our TypeScript SDK](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/articles/typescript-sdk) and [how to avoid a WhatsApp ban](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/articles/avoid-whatsapp-ban). ![Illustration: a grid of small icons with one highlighted, with the headline “Which WhatsApp library still works?”.](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/_next/image?url=%2Fassets%2Farticles%2Fcovers%2Fwhatsapp-web-js-vs-baileys-en.png&w=3840&q=75) Definition Unofficial WhatsApp library Open-source code that logs in to WhatsApp as a linked device, like WhatsApp Web, and lets a program send and receive messages. Meta does not endorse it, unlike its official Cloud API. Also searched as: whatsapp-web.js vs Baileys, whatsmeow vs Baileys, best WhatsApp library for Node.js. [Source: WAHA engine requirements↗](https://waha.devlike.pro/docs/overview/faq/) The comparison ## whatsapp-web.js vs Baileys vs whatsmeow vs a hosted API Three libraries you embed and run yourself, and one API that runs one of them for you. Resource figures are WAHA's measurements for its WEBJS, NOWEB (Baileys) and GOWS (whatsmeow) engines. __whatsapp-web.js vs Baileys vs whatsmeow vs a hosted API__ | [whatsapp-web.js](https://github.com/wwebjs/whatsapp-web.js)Node.js + Chromium | [Baileys](https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys)TypeScript, WebSocket | [whatsmeow](https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow)Go, WebSocket | Unlimited Messaginghosted API on whatsmeow | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | | How it connects | Runs WhatsApp Web in a headless browser through Puppeteer | Speaks the WhatsApp Web protocol over a WebSocket, no browser | Speaks the WhatsApp Web protocol over a WebSocket, no browser | We run whatsmeow, you call a REST API | | Language | JavaScript, Node.js 18+ | TypeScript / Node.js | Go | Any language over HTTP, Python and TypeScript SDKs | | One session | About 400 MB RAM, 0.3 CPU | About 200 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU | About 200 MB RAM, 0.1 CPU | Nothing to run on your side | | 50 sessions | About 20 GB RAM, 15 CPU | About 4 GB RAM, 2 CPU | About 3 GB RAM, 1.5 CPU | One plan per account | | GitHub stars | About 22,900 | About 11,600 | About 7,800 | n/a, hosted service | | Licence | Apache 2.0 | MIT | MPL 2.0 | SaaS, free plan with no card | | Latest release | v1.34.7, April 24, 2026 (4 releases in 2026) | v6.7.24 and v7.0.0-rc14, July 29, 2026\. v7 in release candidate since September 2025 | No tagged releases. More than 100 commits in 2026, last on November 7 | Updated on our side | | What breaks it | Changes to the WhatsApp Web page it drives | Changes to the WhatsApp protocol | Changes to the WhatsApp protocol | Same as whatsmeow, but the fix is ours to ship | | Ban risk | Unofficial. Its README: not guaranteed you will not be blocked | Unofficial, not affiliated with WhatsApp | Unofficial, not affiliated with WhatsApp | Unofficial. Messages paced one at a time with a typing indicator | | Known users | WAHA (WEBJS engine) | Evolution API, WAHA (NOWEB engine) | mautrix-whatsapp bridge, WAHA (GOWS engine), Evolution Go, Unlimited Messaging | Runs whatsmeow in production | Stars, licences, releases and commits from the GitHub API on November 9, 2026\. RAM and CPU per session from the WAHA FAQ (WEBJS, NOWEB and GOWS engines). None of these libraries is affiliated with WhatsApp; ban risk depends mostly on how you send, not on the library. [![](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/_next/image?url=%2Fassets%2Farticles%2Fcovers%2Favoid-whatsapp-ban-en.png&w=3840&q=75)Related guideHow to avoid a WhatsApp banWhatever library you use, the same practices keep a linked number alive: who starts the conversation, volume, ramp-up and pacing.Read the guide→](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/articles/avoid-whatsapp-ban) In brief ## The four options at a glance * ### whatsapp-web.js The most starred of the three. It opens WhatsApp Web in Chromium through Puppeteer and calls the page's own functions, so it supports nearly everything the web client does. The project says a real browser reduces the risk of being blocked. The cost is a browser per session, and a dependency on the WhatsApp Web front end. [whatsapp-web.js↗](https://github.com/wwebjs/whatsapp-web.js) * ### Baileys A TypeScript library that speaks to WhatsApp directly over a WebSocket. Its README sums it up: no browser saves you about half a gigabyte of RAM. It powers Evolution API and WAHA's NOWEB engine. Version 7, with breaking changes, has been a release candidate since September 2025, while v6 still gets patches. [Baileys↗](https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys) * ### whatsmeow A Go library for the WhatsApp multi-device API by the author of the mautrix-whatsapp Matrix bridge. It has no tagged releases: you pin a commit, and it received more than 100 commits in 2026\. It is the lightest at scale in WAHA's figures, and it is what Unlimited Messaging runs on. [whatsmeow↗](https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow) * ### Unlimited Messaging A hosted API that runs whatsmeow for you. Link your number with a QR code and send from any language through REST, the Python and TypeScript SDKs, n8n or an MCP server. It also sends email from your mailbox and SMS from your Android phone. Free plan, then flat monthly plans. Fair play ## When should you embed a library instead of using a hosted API? A library in your own code is free and gives full control. If one of these matters most, embed it. 1. 01 ### You need protocol features an API does not expose Group administration, status posts, channels, polls, reactions, raw events: a library gives you every call the protocol allows. A hosted API exposes the subset it supports. 2. 02 ### Your stack is already Node.js or Go If the bot lives inside an existing Node.js or Go service, Baileys or whatsmeow is one dependency away, with no network hop and no third party. 3. 03 ### You link many numbers on your own hardware WAHA measures 100 sessions at about 8 GB of RAM with Baileys and 5 GB with whatsmeow. If you already run servers, that scales cheaply. 4. 04 ### Data must stay on your servers With a library, session keys and messages never leave your infrastructure. A hosted API, even in the EU, means trusting a provider with them. The hosted side ## When is a hosted API the better choice? When WhatsApp is one feature of your product and not the product itself, the library is the easy part. Keeping it running is the work. ### No Chromium, no session store No browser to keep alive, no auth state to persist and back up, no memory to watch. You send an HTTP request. ### No update chasing When WhatsApp changes its protocol, we update whatsmeow and redeploy. Your code does not change and you do not need to watch release notes. 1. 01 ### Any language Python, PHP, Ruby, a no-code tool: anything that speaks HTTP can send. Official Python and TypeScript SDKs and an n8n node are ready. 2. 02 ### Email and SMS too One POST /message sends by WhatsApp, email from your mailbox or SMS from your Android phone, or several at once. 3. 03 ### Free to start The Free plan costs nothing and needs no card. Medium (€19/mo) and Max (€29/mo) remove the footer and add webhooks. No per-message fee. 4. 04 ### AI assistants included A hosted MCP server lets Claude or ChatGPT send and read your messages without running a bridge yourself. How to choose ### Pick by runtime, then by scale Writing Node.js and want the leanest option: Baileys. Need behaviour identical to WhatsApp Web and can afford a browser per session: whatsapp-web.js. Writing Go, or running many sessions: whatsmeow. Want WhatsApp without owning any of it, or need email and SMS next to it: a hosted API. Whatever you pick, the ban risk is the same, and it comes from how you send. FAQ ## Questions about whatsapp-web.js, Baileys and whatsmeow Yes. Its latest release is v1.34.7, published on April 24, 2026, and the repository received commits in November 2026\. Like any browser-driven client, it can stop working for a while after WhatsApp updates its web app, until a fix is released. For servers, usually yes: Baileys needs no browser, so WAHA measures it at about 200 MB of RAM per session against 400 MB for whatsapp-web.js, and 4 GB against 20 GB for 50 sessions. whatsapp-web.js has the larger community and mirrors WhatsApp Web exactly, which some developers find easier to debug. Choose by language first: Baileys for TypeScript and Node.js, whatsmeow for Go. Both speak the protocol over a WebSocket. In WAHA's figures whatsmeow is a little lighter at scale (3 GB against 4 GB for 50 sessions). whatsmeow has no tagged releases and you pin a commit; Baileys has v6 releases and a v7 release candidate. Baileys for most server use: TypeScript types, no browser, and the lowest memory of the Node.js options. whatsapp-web.js if you want a real WhatsApp Web session behind your bot and can run Chromium. If you need Meta's official route, use the WhatsApp Cloud API instead of either. None has been shown to be safer. All three are unofficial clients, and whatsapp-web.js says itself that blocking is not ruled out. What gets numbers banned is behaviour: unsolicited messages, cold bulk sends, sudden volume spikes. Writing to people who know you, at a human pace, matters more than the library. Not officially. Version 7.0.0 has been a release candidate since September 2025, with rc14 published on July 29, 2026, and it brings breaking changes covered by a migration guide. Version 6 is still maintained, with v6.7.24 released the same day. No. They log in as a linked device, like WhatsApp Web, using a QR code or a pairing code. Meta's official route is the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API), which needs a business account, approved templates and per-message fees. The Free plan costs nothing, with no credit card, and adds a short "Sent with UnlimitedMessaging.app" line to messages. Medium costs €19 a month and Max €29 a month; both remove that line and add features such as webhooks. None of them bills per message. Sources ## Sources & references To check the information in this article for yourself: 1. [01whatsapp-web.js repository (Puppeteer, Node.js 18+, disclaimer)↗GitHub](https://github.com/wwebjs/whatsapp-web.js) 2. [02whatsapp-web.js releases (v1.34.7)↗GitHub](https://github.com/wwebjs/whatsapp-web.js/releases) 3. [03Baileys repository (WebSocket, no browser, disclaimer)↗GitHub](https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys) 4. [04Baileys releases (v6.7.24, v7.0.0 release candidates)↗GitHub](https://github.com/WhiskeySockets/Baileys/releases) 5. [05whatsmeow repository (Go library for the WhatsApp multi-device API)↗GitHub](https://github.com/tulir/whatsmeow) 6. [06WAHA FAQ: CPU and memory per session for WEBJS, NOWEB and GOWS↗WAHA](https://waha.devlike.pro/docs/overview/faq/) 7. [07WAHA engines: browser-based and WebSocket-based↗WAHA](https://waha.devlike.pro/docs/how-to/engines/) 8. [08mautrix-whatsapp, a Matrix bridge built on whatsmeow↗GitHub](https://github.com/mautrix/whatsapp) ![Ilian, senior software engineer](https://ilianazz.com/images/iliazz.png) Written by [Ilian](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/authors/ilian) · Senior Software Engineer A senior software engineer, he founds and runs several tech companies. He builds products around messaging APIs, automation and AI integration, and shares here what he learns while building. [View LinkedIn profile↗](https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilianAzz/)Updated November 9, 2026 ![](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/assets/logos/whatsapp.svg)![](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/assets/logos/email.svg)![](https://unlimitedmessaging.app/assets/logos/sms.svg) ## WhatsApp by API, nothing to run. Link your WhatsApp number with a QR code, generate an API key and send your first message from any language, free to get started. 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