Both connect to WhatsApp's multidevice protocol directly over a socket, with no browser anywhere, so the usual sockets-vs-Puppeteer framing does not apply here. The real choice is Node against Go, and it shows up in how each one handles persistence, deployment and the ecosystem you inherit.
Both wrap the same underlying library, so the real differences are not about WhatsApp connectivity at all. One can front Meta's official Cloud API alongside the unofficial route. The other deploys as a single container with no licensing server. Here is where each one actually wins.
Baileys talks to WhatsApp's protocol directly over a WebSocket. whatsapp-web.js drives a real browser running WhatsApp Web. The obvious conclusion is that the lighter one wins, and it often does on cost. But the stability trade runs backwards from what most people assume, and both projects are currently mid-transition between major versions.
Most Baileys vs WAHA comparisons treat them as rival protocol libraries. They are not. WAHA's NOWEB engine runs a fork of Baileys, so you can be using both at once. The real question is whether you want a library you build around or a service you call, and WAHA's free tier has a limit that catches people out.
Periskope is built for teams who live in WhatsApp groups: a shared inbox, tickets, SLA alerts and group management, priced per user. If your ops team wants WhatsApp driven by code instead, alerts, reports and workflows with nobody sitting in an inbox, you are paying for seats you do not need. Here is how the two approaches compare.
2Chat is a well-reviewed, hosted WhatsApp API with a lot of product around it: a shared inbox, a no-code flow builder, AI agents and virtual numbers. If you only want the API, you are paying per number for features you will not open. Here is how the pricing and the scope compare with a flat-rate, API-only alternative.
Rapiwa is a cheap, QR-based WhatsApp API with a lot packed in: webhooks, AI chatbots, a no-code builder and a shared inbox. Its pricing runs on credits, though, and credits are what you run out of as volume grows. Here is where the math turns, and what a flat-rate alternative looks like.
Chat-API announced it was closing its unofficial WhatsApp API and refocusing on Meta's Business API. If your integration ran on the old model, the question is not just who to switch to, but which kind of API you actually want next. Here is how to decide, and what to check so a provider exit does not catch you again.
Open-wa is one of the most feature-complete self-hosted WhatsApp toolkits out there, with a plugin SDK, an MCP server and three interchangeable browser engines. It's also a name shared by two different projects with two different licenses, and either way you're the one running Docker, Chromium and session storage. Here's what that actually involves, and what it looks like hosted instead.