A match devoid of incident and entertainment seemed certain to end goalless until Potters substitute Ryan Shotton slipped the ball home in the last minute.
It was Stoke's only shot on target and came about after a Ben Foster error, the former Manchester United goalkeeper being beaten to the ball by Shotton, who netted his first goal for the club.
The visitors seemed to set their stall out for a draw from the first whistle and appeared to be tired following their midweek European exertions.
West Brom started brightly and Chris Brunt headed Somen Tchoyi's cross wide before Paul Scharner also went close to breaking the deadlock.
Asmir Begovic produced a stunning save to keep Shane Long's powerful header out but, as the game wore on, the Baggies seemed to run out of ideas as play became increasingly scrappy.
The second half was, if anything, worse than the opening 45 minutes but, after a sterile period of play, it was the home side that were pressing for a winner in the last ten minutes.
Stoke did not seem interested in trying to snatch a late winner until Foster's error allowed Shotton to send the visiting fans home happy while the Baggies succumbed to their third narrow defeat of the campaign following previous losses to Manchester United and Chelsea.
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