WhatsApp Business API pricing is changing on October 1, 2026. Replies from operators and bots will become chargeable once the monthly free allowance is used up. Utility templates will also become chargeable within the standard 24-hour customer service window.
These changes may affect your costs even if your team only responds to incoming messages. Here’s what will be charged, what stays free, and how to estimate your messaging budget.
Contents
What changes on October 1, 2026
WhatsApp Business API message categories
How pricing changed before October 2026
What changes on October 1, 2026
Until July 2025, WhatsApp Business API operated on a conversation-based pricing model. Companies paid a fixed fee for a 24-hour customer service window. Within that window, businesses could send unlimited messages of any category. If the customer initiated the conversation, a free service window was opened — no charges applied to replies or service messages.
| Message type | Before October 1, 2026 | From October 1, 2026 |
| Non-template replies from operators and bots (Service) within the 24-hour window | Free | The first 1,000 delivered messages per business phone number each month are free. Each additional delivered message is charged |
| Utility templates within the 24-hour window | Free | Charged per delivered message |
| Utility templates outside the 24-hour window | Charged per delivered message | Still charged; rates change in selected markets |
| Marketing templates | Charged per delivered message | Still charged; rates change in selected markets |
| Authentication templates | Charged per delivered message | Still charged; rates change in selected markets |
The table shows standard pricing rules. A separate exemption applies during the 72-hour free entry point window, explained below.
How the 1,000-message allowance works
Each business phone number receives 1,000 free service messages per month. Operators, regular bots, and third-party AI bots share this allowance. Unused messages do not carry over to the following month.
The allowance counts delivered messages, not conversations. Five separate replies in one conversation count as five messages unless a separate free messaging exemption applies.
Utility, marketing, and authentication templates do not count toward this allowance.
If you use a third-party AI bot for customer support, delivery charges for replies above the allowance will be added to the cost of your AI service.
WhatsApp Business API message categories
WhatsApp Business API templates fall into three categories: marketing, utility, and authentication. Non-template replies are counted separately as service messages.
Marketing templates
Marketing templates promote products or services. Examples include special offers, discounts, and recommendations.
For example: “Get 20% off your next order until Sunday.”
Each delivered message is charged. An open 24-hour customer service window does not make marketing templates free. The separate 72-hour free entry point exemption can apply.
Utility templates
Utility templates relate to a specific order, appointment, or customer action. They include order confirmations, delivery updates, and appointment reminders.
For example: “Your order #123 is out for delivery and will arrive today by 6 PM.”
Until October 1, 2026, utility templates are free within the standard 24-hour customer service window. From October 1, they will be charged within that window as well. The 72-hour free entry point exemption remains available.
Authentication templates
Authentication templates contain one-time codes for account access and identity verification.
For example: “Your login code is 567890.”
Charges apply to delivered messages. An open 24-hour customer service window does not make them free. Volume discounts are available for this category.
Service messages
Service messages are replies sent without an approved template. They include answers to questions, follow-up questions, and help with an order. Operators and bots can send them within 24 hours of the customer’s latest message.
For example, a customer asks when their order will arrive, and an operator replies: “The courier should be with you in about an hour.”
From October 1, these replies will be charged once the monthly free allowance is used up, unless a separate free messaging exemption applies.
Utility templates and service messages are different categories. A delivery update sent using an approved template is a utility message. An operator’s non-template reply about the same delivery is a service message. Their billing rules differ.
What stays free
Incoming customer messages remain free. Each business phone number also receives 1,000 free delivered service messages per month.
A separate 72-hour free entry point window remains available for conversations that begin through eligible ads and entry points.
The standard 24-hour customer service window
Each new customer message opens or resets the 24-hour window. During that time, operators and bots can reply without an approved template.
From October 1, an open window alone will no longer make those replies free. Once the monthly allowance is used up, each delivered reply will be charged unless a separate exemption applies.
After the 24-hour window closes, the business must use an approved template to continue messaging. A new message from the customer opens the window again.
The 72-hour free entry point window
This window can open when a customer messages your business through an eligible Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page action button. Your business must reply within 24 hours. The 72-hour free period starts when your business replies.
Template messages are free during this period. Non-template replies are also free while the standard 24-hour customer service window is open.
This exemption applies even after the monthly service message allowance has been used up. A regular incoming customer message does not, by itself, open a 72-hour free window.
Where to find the new rates
Rates depend on the message category and the recipient’s market, determined by their phone number’s country calling code. Rates are changing in selected markets, so use the October rate cards when estimating future costs.
USD and EUR rate cards are available under Rate cards effective October 1, 2026:
View the rates effective October 1, 2026 →
Volume discounts are available for utility and authentication templates. The rate cards list the thresholds and rates for each tier. A lower rate applies to messages within the relevant tier, rather than retroactively to every message sent that month.
Service messages do not receive volume discounts.
These are the platform’s base rates. Your total cost also depends on your provider’s pricing and your agreement. Check with your provider for billing and payment details.
How to prepare
Review message volume for each business phone number. Count service messages and each template category separately. Conversation counts alone will not tell you how many messages will be charged.
Estimate costs using the new rates. Account for recipient markets, the service message allowance, free messaging exemptions, and provider fees. Check whether your utility and authentication volumes qualify for discounts.
Review your bot replies. If a bot splits one answer into several short messages, each message is counted separately. Combine them where doing so keeps the answer clear and easy to read.
Check template categories. Keep promotions and upsells out of utility templates. Promotional content may cause a template to be reclassified as marketing, which can affect its cost.
Confirm how billing will work. Before October, check how the new charges will be paid and whether you need to update anything for your connection.
How pricing changed before October 2026
Before July 2025, WhatsApp Business API used conversation-based pricing. On July 1, 2025, template billing switched to a charge for each delivered message.
Non-template replies from operators and bots remained free within the 24-hour customer service window. Utility templates sent within that window were also free.
From October 1, 2026, service messages will have a monthly free allowance, and utility templates will become chargeable within the standard window. The separate 72-hour free entry point exemption will remain in place.
