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WhatsApp Business API pricing in 2026: what you pay and what changes on 1 October

Updated on · Futura WhatsApp

The short answer

Meta has charged for the WhatsApp Business API per delivered message since 1 July 2025, with rates that depend on the category and the recipient's country. Until 30 September 2026 only template messages are charged. From 1 October 2026, service replies and utility messages within the 24-hour window are charged too. On top of that you pay for the software.

How Meta charges: per message and per category

Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered message instead of per conversation. The rate depends on three things: the message category, the recipient's country and the currency the business is billed in (platform pricing, Meta).

CategoryWhat it is forExample
MarketingPromotions, news, campaigns“20% off tickets this weekend”
UtilityUpdates about something the customer already asked forAppointment confirmation, order status
AuthenticationOne-time codesLogin code
ServiceNon-template replies to a customer who wrote to youAnswering a question within the 24-hour window
Utility and authentication have volume discounts. Meta only changes prices on the first day of a quarter: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October.

What is free today (until 30 September 2026)

  • Non-template messages (text, images…) within the 24-hour customer service window that opens when the customer writes to you (Meta).
  • Utility templates delivered while that window is open.
  • The 72-hour window opened by an ad that leads to WhatsApp or by a Facebook Page call-to-action button: any message inside it is free, and Meta says this does not change in October.
  • What you send from the app if you use coexistence; what goes through the API pays API rates (Meta).

What changes on 1 October 2026

From 1 October 2026 Meta charges per message for utility messages sent in reply to a customer within an open 24-hour window, and non-template service messages start being charged too. According to Meta, in each market the service rate is the same as the utility and authentication rate (Meta documentation).

Some providers mention a monthly allowance of free service messages from October. We did not find it in the Meta documentation we checked, so this guide does not count it. If your provider applies it, ask them to show you where Meta says so.

Another recent change: Meta raised the marketing message rate in Spain and the United Kingdom effective 1 July 2026 (pricing updates, Meta). Per-country rates are published in downloadable tables in euros and other currencies: always check the current one before doing the maths.

Software is separate (and everyone charges differently)

ProviderHow Meta message fees are paidSource
Respond.ioNot included in any subscription; prepaid balance with a 5.5% Stripe fee per top-upHelp centre
CallbellWhatsApp credits from $54/monthPricing
ZenviaInside channel bundles; WhatsApp setup fee on paid plansPrices
WhaticketWith the API, Meta charges them; warns about the 1 October 2026 changePricing
Data from each provider's website, checked on 15 September 2026.

How to estimate what it will cost you

  1. Count the marketing templates you send per month and to which countries.
  2. Count utility updates (appointments, orders, reminders) and how many go out with the 24-hour window open.
  3. From October, also count service replies to customers.
  4. Multiply each group by the current rate for its country and category in Meta's table.
  5. Add the software price and, if there is one, the provider's commission on messages.

In the Futura WhatsApp demo we run this calculation with your real volume. If you are not sure you need the API yet, start with WhatsApp Business with multiple users.

Frequently asked questions

Is replying to a customer through the WhatsApp Business API free?

Until 30 September 2026, yes, if you reply without a template inside the 24-hour window. From 1 October 2026 those replies are charged per message at the utility rate of the customer's country, according to Meta.

What is the 24-hour window?

It is the period that opens when a customer writes to you. Inside it you can reply with normal messages, without a template. Outside it, you need an approved template to write first.

And the 72-hour window?

It opens when the customer arrives from an ad that leads to WhatsApp or from a Facebook Page call-to-action button. For 72 hours any message is free, and Meta says that does not change in October 2026.

Does the free WhatsApp Business app charge per message?

No. What you send from the app is free, including when you use it alongside the API through coexistence. Only messages sent through the API pay Meta's rates.

Keep reading

Sources consulted