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360dialog Zapier integrationAutomate 360dialog with Zapier.

The 360dialog Zapier integration gives you 1 trigger, 5 actions and 0 searches. One instant trigger catches every WhatsApp message sent to your number; the actions send text, approved templates and media files, or check that the channel is healthy.

See the 6 operations

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Overview

What the 360dialog Zapier integration actually does

360dialog is a WhatsApp business solution provider, or BSP: it plugs a WhatsApp number into your other software. Through Zapier, that number can start automations when a customer writes in, and send WhatsApp messages when something happens in another app, a new order or a confirmed appointment for instance.

Three results teams usually build first. A first reply that never sleeps: New Inbound Message starts the Zap and Send Template Message answers with an approved template, even outside office hours. Order and booking notices: a sale in your shop or a slot in your calendar triggers Send Text Message to the customer. Documents on WhatsApp: Send Media Message pushes an invoice PDF or a product video straight into the chat.

A fourth action is more of a safety net. Health Check tells you whether your 360dialog channel is in working order before you rely on it.

What Zapier doesn't do here matters as much. There is no search, so a Zap can't look up an earlier conversation or a contact on the 360dialog side. And Create External Event is still listed, but 360dialog has discontinued the product behind it: events sent through it are no longer processed.

If you are weighing tools, our n8n vs Zapier comparison is a good next read, and so is our 2Chat Zapier integration page.

Vocabulary

Zapier words in one minute

Seven terms keep coming back on this page. Here they are once, in plain English.

Zap
The automation you build on Zapier: one trigger, then one or more actions that run each time that trigger event happens.
Trigger
The event that starts the Zap, like a WhatsApp message landing on your number. Once the Zap is on, Zapier waits for it.
Action
What the Zap does once it has started: the step that sends, writes or moves something for you, here a WhatsApp message.
Task
The unit Zapier bills: one action your Zap completes successfully. The count on your plan is a count of those.
Polling vs instant
A polling trigger is checked by Zapier on a timer. An instant trigger is reported by the app itself the moment it happens.
Filter
A step that lets the Zap go on only when what arrived meets the condition you set, and stops it otherwise.
Multi-step Zap
Any Zap beyond one trigger and one action. A second action, a filter or a search makes it one, and it then needs a paid plan.
Cost

What it really costs

The trigger is free. Each WhatsApp message your Zap sends successfully is one task.

  • Trigger cost0 tasks
  • Each message sent1 task
  • Free plan100 tasks a month, 2 steps per Zap
  • Premium appNo, works on the free plan

A message that fails to go out is not counted. 360dialog is not a premium app, so it runs on the free plan: 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but two steps per Zap. Inbound message, then one template reply: that fits. Add a filter to answer only certain keywords, or a second action, and the Zap becomes multi-step, which needs a paid plan. The interval grid only concerns polling triggers; the 360dialog trigger is instant, so it ignores it.

Connect

Connect your 360dialog account

  1. 01

    Open your Zapier apps

    In Zapier, open the Apps page of your account and click + Add connection. A connection is your 360dialog account linked once, then reused by every Zap that sends or reads WhatsApp messages.

  2. 02

    Pick 360dialog

    Search for 360dialog in the dialog, select it, then click Add connection. A new tab opens on the 360dialog side so you can sign in to the account that owns your number.

  3. 03

    Sign in and allow access

    Log in to 360dialog in that tab and grant Zapier access. You need a 360dialog account with your WhatsApp number on it, plus access to any channel you don't own but want the Zap to use.

First Zap

Your first Zap: an automatic WhatsApp reply

GoalEvery customer who writes to your WhatsApp number gets an approved template reply with your opening hours and a link to book.

  1. 01

    Create the Zap

    Start a new Zap in Zapier. Pick 360dialog and New Inbound Message as the event that starts it, then select your connection.

  2. 02

    Test the trigger

    Run the test. Zapier brings back the three most recent messages on your number, so you map fields on a real one. Nothing yet? Send a message to your number from your own phone.

  3. 03

    Add the reply

    Click the plus icon, choose 360dialog and Send Template Message. Pick your approved template and map the sender's phone number from the trigger.

  4. 04

    Log the conversation

    Add a sheet step that stores the number and the message text. That second action makes this a multi-step Zap, so it needs a paid plan; drop it to stay on the free one.

  5. 05

    Test, then publish

    Test each step and check on your own phone that the template reply really arrived. When it does, click Publish to switch the Zap on.

Triggers

The 360dialog trigger

1 event starts a Zap when something happens in 360dialog, and one of them is instant: the app calls Zapier straight away, whatever your plan.

1

New Inbound Message

Instant trigger

In Zapier“Triggers instantly when a WhatsApp user sends a message to your number.”

Starts your Zap each time someone writes to your WhatsApp number through 360dialog. What the message carries becomes available to every step that follows, so a reply, a CRM update or a ticket can be built from them.

How it fires
the app tells Zapier the moment it happens, so the Zap starts right away, whatever your plan
When to use it
acknowledge a customer question outside office hours, or open a support ticket for each new conversation.
Watch out
if your Zap replies on the same number, make sure the reply can't come back in as a new inbound message and start the Zap again.
Actions

The 5 360dialog actions

360dialog gives you 5 actions. For each one: what it does for you, when to reach for it, and what to watch out for.

1

Create External Event

Action

In Zapier“Create events for 360dialog to attribute to existing WhatsApp conversations. (Deprecated — this product has been discontinued and events are no longer processed.)”

Was meant to attach an event, such as a booked appointment, to an existing WhatsApp conversation, using a description of the action and the lead's phone number.

When to use it
in practice, not anymore. 360dialog has discontinued the product behind it.
Watch out
the action is still listed in the editor, but events are no longer processed; a Zap built on it does nothing useful.
2

Health Check

Action

In Zapier“Checks the health status of your 360dialog Messaging API channel.”

Asks 360dialog whether your messaging channel is in good shape and returns its status to the Zap. Nothing is sent to any customer.

When to use it
run it in a Zap that alerts your team when the channel reports a problem, so a broken number doesn't go unnoticed.
Watch out
it still counts as an action, so each successful check uses one task.
3

Send Media Message

Action

In Zapier“Sends a WhatsApp image, video, document or audio message from a public URL.”

Pushes an image, a video, a document or an audio file into the chat, picked up from a public link. You choose the media type and give the file address.

When to use it
send an invoice PDF after payment, or a short product demo after a request.
Watch out
the link must be public and in HTTPS; signed or expiring links, common on cloud storage, may fail.
4

Send Template Message

Action

In Zapier“Sends an approved WhatsApp template message. Works outside the 24-hour customer service window.”

Delivers a WhatsApp template that has already been approved. Zapier marks it as the action that works even outside the 24-hour customer service window.

When to use it
reminders, follow-ups and any first message to a customer who hasn't written recently.
Watch out
the dropdown lists approved templates only; a template awaiting review is invisible.
5

Send Text Message

Action

In Zapier“Sends a WhatsApp text message to a phone number.”

Sends a plain WhatsApp text to the phone number you map in. You write the message and can pull in names, order numbers or dates from earlier steps.

When to use it
confirm an order or a booking the second it is created in your shop or calendar.
Watch out
the optional link preview renders a card only for the first URL in the message, so put the important link first.
When it breaks

When a 360dialog Zap breaks

Zapier attaches no help article and no rate limit of its own to 360dialog. The cases below come from the fields of its actions and from rules that apply to every Zap.

Six situations cover most of the trouble. If you are stuck on one, our Zapier troubleshooting page is the place to go.

  • The reply keeps triggering itself

    A Zap that writes where its own trigger listens sets itself off again and again, and burns tasks fast. Keep replies from looping back as inbound messages.

  • Free text refused outside the window

    Send Template Message is the action marked as working outside the 24-hour customer service window. Use it for anyone who hasn't written recently.

  • The media file never arrives

    Send Media Message needs a public HTTPS link. A signed or expiring link from your storage may fail, so test with the real file first.

  • Old messages are not picked up

    A Zap only reacts to what happens after it is switched on. Conversations from before stay where they are; moving that history is a separate job.

  • A sudden wave gets held back

    After a broadcast or a migration, a burst of inbound messages can be paused by Zapier's flood protection before the Zap runs on them.

  • Events that go nowhere

    Create External Event still appears in the editor, but 360dialog no longer processes those events. A Zap built on it runs without any effect.
Need help

Need help automating 360dialog with Zapier?

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FAQ

360dialog Zapier integration: your questions

01Is the 360dialog Zapier integration free?
Yes, the integration works on the free Zapier plan, because 360dialog is not a premium app. The free plan includes 100 tasks a month and unlimited Zaps, but each Zap is limited to two steps: one trigger and one action. An inbound message followed by a single template reply fits. As soon as you add a filter, a search or a second action, such as logging the conversation in a sheet, the Zap becomes multi-step and needs a paid plan.
02How many tasks does a 360dialog Zap use?
One task per action that completes, nothing for the trigger. Each WhatsApp message your Zap sends successfully counts as one task, whether it is a text, a template or a media file. A message that fails is not counted. Health Check is an action too, so every successful check uses a task. In a Zap with a reply and a log step, each inbound message costs two tasks. A few apps take more than one task per action.
03Does the 360dialog trigger run in real time?
Yes. New Inbound Message is an instant trigger: 360dialog warns Zapier the moment a customer writes to your number, and the Zap starts straight away. The polling interval of your plan, 15 minutes on the free plan, does not apply to it. That is good news if you want quick automatic replies without paying for a higher plan. In the editor, a Zap built on an instant trigger shows a small lightning bolt.
04What does it take to connect 360dialog to Zapier?
A 360dialog account with your WhatsApp number on it, and a Zapier account. From the Apps page in Zapier, click Add connection, search for 360dialog, sign in on the tab that opens and grant access. If you want to send templates, have them approved first, because only approved ones appear in the action. The connection is then shared by every Zap that uses 360dialog, so you set it up only once.
05Which 360dialog action works outside the 24-hour window?
Send Template Message. It is the one action Zapier marks as working outside the 24-hour customer service window, and it only sends templates WhatsApp has already approved. So a Zap that sends reminders or follow-ups to people who haven't written recently should be built on a template rather than on Send Text Message. Plan your templates before you build the Zap: only approved ones show up in the dropdown, and one still in review stays invisible.
06What if the 360dialog operation you need doesn't exist?
Then that part can't be built in the Zapier editor. The integration offers one trigger for inbound messages and five actions: send text, send template, send media, health check and the discontinued external event. There is no search at all. If your process depends on something outside that list, compare what other automation tools offer for 360dialog before building a fragile workaround that someone will have to maintain. Asking the team behind the app is another option.
07Zapier, Make or n8n for 360dialog?
It depends on your criteria. On Zapier, 360dialog brings an instant trigger and the three send actions you need for most WhatsApp automations, and it runs on the free plan, which suits a quick setup without technical skills. Volume is the other criterion: every message sent is a task, so a busy number costs more as it grows. Hosting preferences, who maintains the flows and whether you need searches are the points to compare across tools.
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