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WhatsApp API pricing: how Meta charges per message
WhatsApp API pricing is set by Meta, not by the software you use. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered message, by message category and by the recipient's country. The rate card that took effect on 1 October 2026 changed several rules, so many older guides are now wrong. This page explains how WhatsApp Business API pricing works today, in plain words.
How WhatsApp Business API pricing works
Meta charges for each message a business delivers to a WhatsApp user. Messages that users send to you are never charged, and a message that is sent but not delivered is not charged either.
Two things set the price of a message: its category and its market. The market is the country calling code of the person who receives it. The rate card effective 1 October 2026 has 47 markets: 39 named countries and 8 regions such as Rest of Africa or Other. A country that is not named pays its region's rate.
The five message categories
| Category | What it is | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Template for promotions, offers, awareness or retargeting | Per delivered message, highest rate |
| Utility | Template that follows a user action: order, account, booking updates | Per delivered message, volume tiers apply |
| Authentication | Template with a one-time code | Per delivered message, volume tiers apply |
| Service | Free-form reply inside the 24-hour customer service window | Per delivered message after 1,000 free per number per month |
| Meta Business Agent | Reply written by Meta's own AI agent platform | USD 2.00 per million tokens, no free messages |
What changed on 1 October 2026
- Service messages are charged again. They had been free since 1 November 2024. The service rate in each market equals the utility rate.
- Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages per month. Unused ones do not roll over. Without a payment method, service messages stop after the free tier.
- Utility templates sent inside an open customer service window are charged again. They had been free since 1 July 2025.
- Nine markets became standalone on the rate card, including Morocco, which until 30 September 2026 was billed at Rest of Africa rates.
- Marketing rates went up for Mexico, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Rest of Asia Pacific and Rest of Middle East.
Example rates in USD (effective 1 October 2026)
List rates per delivered message, before volume tiers. Service equals utility in every market.
| Market | Marketing | Utility and service | Authentication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morocco | 0.0414 | 0.0230 | 0.0230 |
| France | 0.0859 | 0.0300 | 0.0300 |
| Spain | 0.0707 | 0.0200 | 0.0200 |
| Saudi Arabia | 0.0576 | 0.0107 | 0.0107 |
| United Arab Emirates | 0.0576 | 0.0157 | 0.0157 |
| Egypt | 0.0644 | 0.0036 | 0.0036 |
| Mexico | 0.0397 | 0.0085 | 0.0085 |
| India | 0.0118 | 0.0014 | 0.0014 |
| North America | 0.0250 | 0.0034 | 0.0034 |
When Meta does not charge
Free entry point window
When someone writes to you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad on the Android or iOS app and you answer within the service window, that reply is free and opens a window that can stay open for up to 7 days. Marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are free in it. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged.
1,000 service messages per number
The first 1,000 service messages each business phone number delivers in a month are free. Meta charges from the 1,001st.
Messages from customers
Everything a customer sends you is free, for you and for them.
Volume tiers and other details
Utility and authentication rates get cheaper as volume grows. Meta counts charged messages per market and category each month, across every WhatsApp Business Account in your business portfolio. Discounts step from 5% up to 25%, or up to 30% in India. Marketing and service messages have no volume tiers.
In 18 markets, including Morocco, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, a higher authentication-international rate applies to very large senders whose main business location is in another country. Most businesses pay the normal authentication rate.
Meta may change prices only on the first day of a quarter: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October. The next possible change is 1 January 2027.
What BelloSend adds to WhatsApp API pricing
Nothing per message. Meta bills its message fees to your own account. BelloSend charges one monthly price per workspace, with unlimited contacts on every plan. To estimate your Meta bill for one country, use the free WhatsApp pricing calculator.
Facts checked on 2026-10-05. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing · https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages · https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/authentication-international-rates · https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits · https://business.whatsapp.com/products/platform-pricing
Frequently asked questions
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
No. Meta charges for each delivered template message and, since 1 October 2026, for service replies after 1,000 free per number per month. Messages from customers are free.
Are customer service replies still free?
Only the first 1,000 per business phone number each month, or replies inside a free entry point window opened by a Click-to-WhatsApp ad. After that they cost the market's service rate.
Which country's price do I pay?
The price of the recipient's market, based on their phone number's country calling code, not the country of your business.
Does BelloSend mark up Meta's prices?
No. BelloSend adds no fee per message. You pay Meta's rates to Meta and one monthly plan to BelloSend.
Can I send marketing templates to US numbers?
Meta's documentation says WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing template messages to users with United States phone numbers.
How often do the rates change?
At most four times a year, on the first day of a quarter, with at least one month of notice for a rate card update.