WhatsApp Business API Pricing from 1 October 2026: What Changed
On 1 October 2026, Meta changed how WhatsApp Business messages are charged. Replies from your team and your chatbot are now charged above a free monthly allowance: each WhatsApp phone number can send 1,000 of them free every calendar month, and Meta charges for each one after that. Here is what changed, who still pays nothing, what it costs in each country, and how to keep your bill down.
9 min read·Updated
What changed on 1 October 2026
When a customer messages your business on WhatsApp, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Inside it you can reply in your own words; once it closes, you can only send templates that Meta has approved in advance.
Until 30 September 2026, replies inside that window were free. From 1 October 2026, they are free only up to a monthly allowance: every WhatsApp business phone number can send 1,000 service messages free each calendar month, and Meta charges for each one from the 1,001st. The change took effect at 00:00 on 1 October in the time zone set on each business’s WhatsApp account, not at one moment worldwide.
From 1 October, Meta charges for:
Replies your team sends from the Mersal inbox, and messages your chatbot or automatic replies send, from the 1,001st in the month on each phone numberUtility templates (order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders) sent while the window is open, from the very first one. These had been free in that situation since 1 July 2025, and the free allowance does not cover them.
Messages your customers send you are still free, however many there are. Charges apply only to what your business sends.
Who pays nothing for replies
If each of your WhatsApp numbers sends no more than 1,000 agent and chatbot replies in a calendar month, those replies cost you nothing, exactly as before 1 October.
The allowance works like this:
It is per phone number, not per business or account. A business with two WhatsApp numbers gets 1,000 free on each.It resets on the 1st of every calendar month. Unused messages do not carry over to the next month.It covers free-form replies from your team and your chatbot inside the 24-hour window, and nothing else.
The allowance does not cover templates. Utility templates sent inside the window (order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders) are charged from the very first one, and so are marketing and authentication templates, except inside the 72-hour free window described below.
What each message costs
Meta charges per message, and the price depends on the country of your customer’s phone number, not where your business is registered. A reply to a Kuwaiti number is charged at Kuwait’s rate, even if your business is in Amman or Dubai.
In every country, replies above the free allowance, utility templates and verification codes share one rate, which we call the standard rate. Marketing templates cost more. Here are the rates for a selection of markets; the Pricing page lists all 46.
Customer’s number
Standard rate: replies above the allowance, utility, authentication
Marketing template
Any country: the first 1,000 replies each month from each WhatsApp number
Free (replies only)
No allowance
Rest of Middle East (incl. Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Bahrain)
$0.0091
$0.0392
Saudi Arabia
$0.0107
$0.0576
United Arab Emirates
$0.0157
$0.0576
Kuwait
$0.0440
$0.0792
Qatar
$0.0120
$0.0341
Egypt
$0.0036
$0.0644
Turkey
$0.0009
$0.0109
India
$0.0014
$0.0118
Indonesia
$0.0250
$0.0411
United Kingdom
$0.0220
$0.0635
Germany
$0.0550
$0.1365
North America (US and Canada)
$0.0034
$0.0250
Brazil
$0.0068
$0.0625
Nigeria
$0.0067
$0.0516
Meta’s list rates per message in US dollars, effective 1 October 2026. Mersal does not add any markup, and Meta bills you directly.
Four exceptions to the standard rate
The free monthly allowance: each WhatsApp phone number’s first 1,000 replies in a calendar month are free, and charging starts at the 1,001st. Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no allowance.The 72-hour free window: when a customer reaches you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or your Facebook Page button, everything you send them for 72 hours after your reply is free, marketing templates included. It is explained in its own section below.Verification codes sent across borders: some countries have a higher international authentication rate for codes sent by businesses based outside them, for example $0.0598 in Saudi Arabia, $0.0510 in the UAE and $0.1200 in Kuwait.Volume discounts: Meta discounts utility templates and verification codes at high monthly volumes. Replies never get a volume discount, however many you send: every reply above the free allowance bills at the list rate.
Rates that moved on 1 October
Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Iraq used to share the Rest of Middle East rate, and each now has its own. Kuwait moved furthest: its standard rate rose from $0.0091 to $0.0440 per message, almost five times as much, and its marketing rate from $0.0341 to $0.0792. Oman’s standard rate is now $0.0247, Qatar’s $0.0120 and Iraq’s $0.0079.
Marketing rates rose in seven markets: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Mexico, Rest of Middle East and Rest of Asia Pacific. In Rest of Middle East, which includes Jordan, the marketing rate went from $0.0341 to $0.0392, about 15% more. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both now at $0.0576. The standard rate stayed the same in most markets, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Rest of Middle East.
What it means for a monthly bill
Take a business that replies from one WhatsApp number and whose customers all have numbers in one country. In a typical month it receives 3,000 messages from customers, which are free, and sends 1,500 replies from its team, 900 chatbot messages, 500 order confirmations while the window is open, 700 delivery updates after the window has closed, and one marketing campaign of 1,000 messages.
Before 1 October, 2,900 of those messages (the team replies, chatbot messages and in-window confirmations) were free. From 1 October, the bill works out like this at Rest of Middle East rates, for customers with Jordanian numbers. The table after it shows the same month in other markets.
1
Free allowance: 1,000 replies, $0.00The team’s 1,500 replies and the chatbot’s 900 messages make 2,400 replies. The first 1,000 of them cost nothing.
Utility templates: $10.92500 confirmations inside the window + 700 delivery updates after it = 1,200. The allowance does not cover them, so all 1,200 are charged: 1,200 × $0.0091 = $10.92.
4
Marketing: $39.20The allowance does not cover marketing either: 1,000 × $0.0392 = $39.20.
Estimates in US dollars at Meta’s list rates from 1 October 2026, for one WhatsApp number. Each row applies that market’s standard rate to replies and utility templates, and its marketing rate to the campaign. Your bill depends on your own message mix. Mersal adds nothing to these figures.
The allowance is per phone number. A business that sends its replies from two WhatsApp numbers gets 1,000 free on each.
The 72-hour free window
When a customer messages you after tapping a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or the WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page, and you reply within 24 hours, everything you send that customer for the next 72 hours is free: replies, utility templates and even marketing templates. This did not change on 1 October, but it matters more now, because outside it utility and marketing templates are charged from the first message and replies are charged above the free allowance.
1
The customer taps your ad or your Facebook Page buttonThey message you from the WhatsApp app on an Android phone or iPhone. WhatsApp Web and the desktop app don’t qualify.
2
You reply within 24 hoursYour reply is free and starts a 72-hour clock. A late reply opens no free period.
3
Everything you send for 72 hours is freeAfter that, normal rates apply again.
Messages that start from your Instagram profile button, a wa.me link, a QR code, or a customer messaging your number directly are charged at normal rates.
How to keep your WhatsApp bill down
Replies within the free allowance cost nothing, so these tips matter most for numbers that send more than 1,000 replies a month, and for templates, which have no allowance.
Combine replies: send one complete message instead of a greeting, an answer and a question separately. Every charged message costs the same, whatever its length, and fewer messages make your 1,000 free replies last longer.Shorten chatbot flows: put the greeting and the menu in one message, and drop messages that only repeat the customer’s choice.Cut messages that carry no information, such as “Please hold” when someone is about to reply anyway.Ask for two things in one message: “Please send your order number and the phone number you ordered with.”Use the right template category: a message about something the customer already did belongs in utility, which costs far less than marketing.Reply to customers who reach you from your ads within 24 hours, so the 72-hour free window opens.
Who bills you, and where to see it
These are Meta’s charges, and Mersal does not add any markup. Meta bills WhatsApp message fees directly to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business account, and they never appear on a Mersal invoice. Your Mersal subscription and SMS wallet are separate.
Your actual charges are in Meta Business Suite under Billing & payments. WhatsApp Manager also shows how many messages you sent in each category.
From 1 October 2026, replies from your team and your chatbot are charged only above 1,000 a month on each WhatsApp phone number. Up to that, they are free.Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no free allowance. Prices depend on your customer’s country, and charged replies share the standard rate with utility and authentication.Mersal adds no markup. Estimate your bill with the calculator on the Pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
The first 1,000 replies are. Each WhatsApp phone number can send 1,000 service messages free every calendar month: replies from your team and your chatbot inside the 24-hour window. Meta charges from the 1,001st. Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no allowance and are charged from the first one.
Per phone number. If your business has two WhatsApp numbers, each gets 1,000 free replies a month. The allowance resets on the 1st of every calendar month, and unused replies do not carry over.
No. WhatsApp stopped charging by conversation on 1 July 2025. Everything is charged per message now, so any price quoted per conversation is out of date.
No. These are Meta’s charges at Meta’s rates. Mersal does not add any markup, and Meta bills you directly.
Only above the free allowance. Meta treats them like a reply typed by a person: they count toward the same 1,000 free replies a month on each phone number, and each one after that is charged at the standard rate, unless it is sent inside the 72-hour free window.
The country of your customer’s phone number. Where your business is registered doesn’t change the rate, except for verification codes to countries with an international authentication rate.
No. Every message costs the same, whatever its length.
Was this helpful?
Still need help?The Mersal team can review your setup and guide you through the next step.
WhatsApp Business API Pricing from 1 October 2026: What Changed
On 1 October 2026, Meta changed how WhatsApp Business messages are charged. Replies from your team and your chatbot are now charged above a free monthly allowance: each WhatsApp phone number can send 1,000 of them free every calendar month, and Meta charges for each one after that. Here is what changed, who still pays nothing, what it costs in each country, and how to keep your bill down.
9 min read·Updated
What changed on 1 October 2026
When a customer messages your business on WhatsApp, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Inside it you can reply in your own words; once it closes, you can only send templates that Meta has approved in advance.
Until 30 September 2026, replies inside that window were free. From 1 October 2026, they are free only up to a monthly allowance: every WhatsApp business phone number can send 1,000 service messages free each calendar month, and Meta charges for each one from the 1,001st. The change took effect at 00:00 on 1 October in the time zone set on each business’s WhatsApp account, not at one moment worldwide.
From 1 October, Meta charges for:
Replies your team sends from the Mersal inbox, and messages your chatbot or automatic replies send, from the 1,001st in the month on each phone numberUtility templates (order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders) sent while the window is open, from the very first one. These had been free in that situation since 1 July 2025, and the free allowance does not cover them.
Messages your customers send you are still free, however many there are. Charges apply only to what your business sends.
Who pays nothing for replies
If each of your WhatsApp numbers sends no more than 1,000 agent and chatbot replies in a calendar month, those replies cost you nothing, exactly as before 1 October.
The allowance works like this:
It is per phone number, not per business or account. A business with two WhatsApp numbers gets 1,000 free on each.It resets on the 1st of every calendar month. Unused messages do not carry over to the next month.It covers free-form replies from your team and your chatbot inside the 24-hour window, and nothing else.
The allowance does not cover templates. Utility templates sent inside the window (order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders) are charged from the very first one, and so are marketing and authentication templates, except inside the 72-hour free window described below.
What each message costs
Meta charges per message, and the price depends on the country of your customer’s phone number, not where your business is registered. A reply to a Kuwaiti number is charged at Kuwait’s rate, even if your business is in Amman or Dubai.
In every country, replies above the free allowance, utility templates and verification codes share one rate, which we call the standard rate. Marketing templates cost more. Here are the rates for a selection of markets; the Pricing page lists all 46.
Customer’s number
Standard rate: replies above the allowance, utility, authentication
Marketing template
Any country: the first 1,000 replies each month from each WhatsApp number
Free (replies only)
No allowance
Rest of Middle East (incl. Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Bahrain)
$0.0091
$0.0392
Saudi Arabia
$0.0107
$0.0576
United Arab Emirates
$0.0157
$0.0576
Kuwait
$0.0440
$0.0792
Qatar
$0.0120
$0.0341
Egypt
$0.0036
$0.0644
Turkey
$0.0009
$0.0109
India
$0.0014
$0.0118
Indonesia
$0.0250
$0.0411
United Kingdom
$0.0220
$0.0635
Germany
$0.0550
$0.1365
North America (US and Canada)
$0.0034
$0.0250
Brazil
$0.0068
$0.0625
Nigeria
$0.0067
$0.0516
Meta’s list rates per message in US dollars, effective 1 October 2026. Mersal does not add any markup, and Meta bills you directly.
Four exceptions to the standard rate
The free monthly allowance: each WhatsApp phone number’s first 1,000 replies in a calendar month are free, and charging starts at the 1,001st. Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no allowance.The 72-hour free window: when a customer reaches you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or your Facebook Page button, everything you send them for 72 hours after your reply is free, marketing templates included. It is explained in its own section below.Verification codes sent across borders: some countries have a higher international authentication rate for codes sent by businesses based outside them, for example $0.0598 in Saudi Arabia, $0.0510 in the UAE and $0.1200 in Kuwait.Volume discounts: Meta discounts utility templates and verification codes at high monthly volumes. Replies never get a volume discount, however many you send: every reply above the free allowance bills at the list rate.
Rates that moved on 1 October
Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Iraq used to share the Rest of Middle East rate, and each now has its own. Kuwait moved furthest: its standard rate rose from $0.0091 to $0.0440 per message, almost five times as much, and its marketing rate from $0.0341 to $0.0792. Oman’s standard rate is now $0.0247, Qatar’s $0.0120 and Iraq’s $0.0079.
Marketing rates rose in seven markets: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Mexico, Rest of Middle East and Rest of Asia Pacific. In Rest of Middle East, which includes Jordan, the marketing rate went from $0.0341 to $0.0392, about 15% more. Saudi Arabia and the UAE are both now at $0.0576. The standard rate stayed the same in most markets, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Rest of Middle East.
What it means for a monthly bill
Take a business that replies from one WhatsApp number and whose customers all have numbers in one country. In a typical month it receives 3,000 messages from customers, which are free, and sends 1,500 replies from its team, 900 chatbot messages, 500 order confirmations while the window is open, 700 delivery updates after the window has closed, and one marketing campaign of 1,000 messages.
Before 1 October, 2,900 of those messages (the team replies, chatbot messages and in-window confirmations) were free. From 1 October, the bill works out like this at Rest of Middle East rates, for customers with Jordanian numbers. The table after it shows the same month in other markets.
1
Free allowance: 1,000 replies, $0.00The team’s 1,500 replies and the chatbot’s 900 messages make 2,400 replies. The first 1,000 of them cost nothing.
Utility templates: $10.92500 confirmations inside the window + 700 delivery updates after it = 1,200. The allowance does not cover them, so all 1,200 are charged: 1,200 × $0.0091 = $10.92.
4
Marketing: $39.20The allowance does not cover marketing either: 1,000 × $0.0392 = $39.20.
Estimates in US dollars at Meta’s list rates from 1 October 2026, for one WhatsApp number. Each row applies that market’s standard rate to replies and utility templates, and its marketing rate to the campaign. Your bill depends on your own message mix. Mersal adds nothing to these figures.
The allowance is per phone number. A business that sends its replies from two WhatsApp numbers gets 1,000 free on each.
The 72-hour free window
When a customer messages you after tapping a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or the WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page, and you reply within 24 hours, everything you send that customer for the next 72 hours is free: replies, utility templates and even marketing templates. This did not change on 1 October, but it matters more now, because outside it utility and marketing templates are charged from the first message and replies are charged above the free allowance.
1
The customer taps your ad or your Facebook Page buttonThey message you from the WhatsApp app on an Android phone or iPhone. WhatsApp Web and the desktop app don’t qualify.
2
You reply within 24 hoursYour reply is free and starts a 72-hour clock. A late reply opens no free period.
3
Everything you send for 72 hours is freeAfter that, normal rates apply again.
Messages that start from your Instagram profile button, a wa.me link, a QR code, or a customer messaging your number directly are charged at normal rates.
How to keep your WhatsApp bill down
Replies within the free allowance cost nothing, so these tips matter most for numbers that send more than 1,000 replies a month, and for templates, which have no allowance.
Combine replies: send one complete message instead of a greeting, an answer and a question separately. Every charged message costs the same, whatever its length, and fewer messages make your 1,000 free replies last longer.Shorten chatbot flows: put the greeting and the menu in one message, and drop messages that only repeat the customer’s choice.Cut messages that carry no information, such as “Please hold” when someone is about to reply anyway.Ask for two things in one message: “Please send your order number and the phone number you ordered with.”Use the right template category: a message about something the customer already did belongs in utility, which costs far less than marketing.Reply to customers who reach you from your ads within 24 hours, so the 72-hour free window opens.
Who bills you, and where to see it
These are Meta’s charges, and Mersal does not add any markup. Meta bills WhatsApp message fees directly to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business account, and they never appear on a Mersal invoice. Your Mersal subscription and SMS wallet are separate.
Your actual charges are in Meta Business Suite under Billing & payments. WhatsApp Manager also shows how many messages you sent in each category.
From 1 October 2026, replies from your team and your chatbot are charged only above 1,000 a month on each WhatsApp phone number. Up to that, they are free.Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no free allowance. Prices depend on your customer’s country, and charged replies share the standard rate with utility and authentication.Mersal adds no markup. Estimate your bill with the calculator on the Pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
The first 1,000 replies are. Each WhatsApp phone number can send 1,000 service messages free every calendar month: replies from your team and your chatbot inside the 24-hour window. Meta charges from the 1,001st. Utility, marketing and authentication templates get no allowance and are charged from the first one.
Per phone number. If your business has two WhatsApp numbers, each gets 1,000 free replies a month. The allowance resets on the 1st of every calendar month, and unused replies do not carry over.
No. WhatsApp stopped charging by conversation on 1 July 2025. Everything is charged per message now, so any price quoted per conversation is out of date.
No. These are Meta’s charges at Meta’s rates. Mersal does not add any markup, and Meta bills you directly.
Only above the free allowance. Meta treats them like a reply typed by a person: they count toward the same 1,000 free replies a month on each phone number, and each one after that is charged at the standard rate, unless it is sent inside the 72-hour free window.
The country of your customer’s phone number. Where your business is registered doesn’t change the rate, except for verification codes to countries with an international authentication rate.
No. Every message costs the same, whatever its length.
Was this helpful?
Still need help?The Mersal team can review your setup and guide you through the next step.