Two things that were free start costing money. Here is what changes, what it costs, and the one thing you need to do before the date.
Because service messages become chargeable, Meta now needs a payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Without one it will still deliver your first 1,000 service messages each month — but nothing after that, so replies to customers simply stop arriving. Add a card in Meta's Billing Hub. It sits on your own account, so it is yours to add whichever provider you use.
Two things, both of them messages that used to be free. Your existing template rates are untouched.
Replying to a customer who messaged you first is free today, however many chats you handle. From 1 October each phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month; beyond that Meta charges ₹0.115 each in India.
The tier resets monthly and does not roll over. Group sends spend one message per recipient reached.
Sending a utility template (order update, appointment reminder, payment confirmation) inside an open 24-hour window is free today. From 1 October it is charged at the normal utility rate — ₹0.115 in India.
Ordinary typed replies are not templates and are unaffected by this — they count as service messages under Change 1.
India's rates are identical on Meta's current card and its 1 October one. If you message other countries, check yours — the same date carries Meta's routine quarterly update, which moves rates in about twenty markets.
Separately, since 1 August 2026 Meta charges for replies powered by its own Business Agent platform — per token, at $2.00 per million, which works out near $0.04 – $0.05 (₹3.52 – ₹4.40) a message rather than ₹0.115. It needs its own payment method. Compare it with WhatsBizAPI AI.
This does not apply to WhatsBizAPI's AI. Meta treats any reply it does not power itself as an ordinary service message, billed at the service rate above.
One phone number, India rates. Volumes are delivered messages — the unit Meta counts.
| Your month | Billable | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| 700 service messages | none — inside the free tier | ₹0 |
| 3,000 service messages | 2,000 × ₹0.115 | ~₹230 |
| 500 in-window utility templates | 500 × ₹0.115 | ~₹58 |
From Meta's published India rate card: marketing ₹0.8631, utility and authentication ₹0.1150. Meta may change rates quarterly — see the official Meta pricing page.
A customer messages you first and the chat runs back and forth — they send 14 messages, you answer all 14.
Inside your free tier that whole conversation costs ₹0. Past it, ₹1.61 — and 1,000 free messages stretches to roughly 71 conversations of this length, not 1,000.
Multiply your monthly chats by your average replies per chat before assuming you are under 1,000. Each extra phone number carries its own free tier.
A typed reply does a utility template's job without the new per-template charge. The catch: that only saves money inside the free tier — past it both cost ₹0.115, so choose on suitability instead.
Order updates and reminders belong on utility templates at ₹0.115, not marketing at ₹0.863. Category remains the single biggest lever on a WhatsApp bill.
Unchanged on 1 October: when someone reaches you through a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or Page button and you reply within 24 hours, every message for the next 72 hours carries no delivery charge.
This is Meta's pricing and it lands identically on every WhatsApp API provider. What differs is the markup on top. Many platforms resell messages with their margin baked into the rate; with WhatsBizAPI you pay Meta directly at Meta's published rates and we charge one flat fee for the software. So on 1 October your costs move by exactly what Meta announced — nothing more.
One thing: make sure your WhatsApp Business Account has a payment method in Meta's Billing Hub by 30 September. Without one, Meta delivers your first 1,000 service messages each month and nothing after. Otherwise the change applies automatically.
Per phone number, per month — three numbers means three separate tiers. Meta counts delivered messages, not conversations, unused ones do not roll over, and a group send spends one per recipient reached.
No. Authentication templates keep their rate — ₹0.115 in India, unchanged on the 1 October card. The change covers service messages and in-window utility templates only.
On the Meta pricing page, which links a rate card per currency — the INR card applies to Indian businesses. The detail behind this change is on Meta's non-template message pricing page.
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