In a previous article, we reported that Meta is changing its pricing policy for outgoing messages on WhatsApp Business. The changes are set to take effect on October 1 of this year, and the company has promised to publish the prices no later than September 1, which we’ll discuss in this article.
Table of Contents
For your information
Before we dive into the details, we’d like to remind you which messages are subject to charges, refresh your memory, and give you a clear picture of how they’re priced.
So, Meta divides the messages that businesses can send to their customers into the following categories:
Template:
- Marketing
- Authentication
- Utility
Templates refer to the type of messages that can be sent outside the Customer Service Window (CSW) to communicate with users. Templates are typically used for mass mailings or in cases where there is no customer service window between you and the user.
Non-template messages:
Non-template messages can only be sent during the open 24-hour customer service (support) window, which opens and resets with every message sent to a customer.
⚠️Rule: The window is counted from the customer’s last message and lasts exactly 24 hours. Each new message resets the window.
Non-template messages can only be sent as a reply within an open window. You cannot initiate a conversation with a customer.
Let’s break down how the 24-hour window works in the table below:
Time | Day | Activity | Window status | Can you message? | Window to close |
11:00 a.m. | Mon | Incoming message from customer | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 11:00 a.m., Tue |
11:00- 11:15 a.m. | Mon | Chat is open | ● Open | ✓ Yes | Renews with every customer message |
11:15 a.m. | Mon | Last customer message in this session | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 11:15 a.m., Tue renewed |
11:16 a.m.- 12:34 p.m. | Mon | Customer is idle; window is open | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 11:15 a.m., Tue |
12:35 p.m. | Mon | Customer is back and messages again | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 12:35 p.m., Tue renewed |
12:45 p.m. | Mon | Last customer message | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 12:45 p.m., Tue Final window renewal |
12:45 p.m.-Tue, 12:45 p.m. | Mon-Tue | Customer is idle; you can message him | ● Open | ✓ Yes | 12:45 p.m., Tue |
12:46 p.m. | Tue | Window closed, 24 hrs passed | ●Closed | ✗ No ⚠ Only template messages | — |
With the launch of Meta Business Agent on July 1, 2026, non-template messages can fall into only one of two categories:
- Service messages: these can be sent by a company or a third-party AI solution. However, any incoming message from a customer is not subject to charges.
- Messages in Meta Business Agent sent by the Meta Business Agent platform. This is a new category of messages.
Service messages are free-form messages that can be sent to WhatsApp users during customer service hours. Unlike template messages, service messages do not require prior approval: they can be composed and sent as needed in response to a message or call from a WhatsApp user. Any outbound non-template message sent outside of Meta Business Agent is considered a service message.
How non-template messages are billed:
Setting | Meta Business Agent | SERVICE MESSAGES |
Billed for | Delivered message | Delivered message* |
Rate / Count | Token-based, including message processing by AI-agent (token-use) and message delivery | Every message |
Rate | Global plan – $2 for 1 mln. token. Один глобальный тариф — $2 за 1 млн токенов. Typically, a single message costs 20,000-25,000 tokens or about 4-5 cents per message. | This depends on the API provider’s pricing. You can check out the rate calculator on our website. |
Price per message | Depending on the complexity | Fixed, based on published rates |
*Meta allows you to send the first 1,000 service messages from a single business number each month for FREE. Messages will be charged starting with the 1,001st message. See the next section for more details.
The table below breaks down the difference between template and non-template messages and how their costs are calculated:
IS IT BILLABLE? | |||||
MESSAGE TYPE | MESSAGE CATEGORY | WHEN CAN IT BE SENT? | DELIVERED OUTSIDE OF CSW | DELIVERED WITHIN CSW | DELIVERED WITHIN FEP*** |
Template messages | Marketing | Any time | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
Authentication | Any time | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | |
Utility | Any time | ✓ Yes | ✗ No | ✗ No | |
Non-template messages (free-form) | Service messages | Only within CSW** | ✗ Not available | Only from 1001 message | ✗ No |
CSW** – Customer Service Window
When a WhatsApp user sends you a message or calls you, a 24-hour timer—known as the “customer service window”—begins. If the user sends you another message or calls you before this time expires, the timer resets for another 24 hours.
While the window is open, you can send the user any of the service message types listed in the table. Once the window closes, you will only be able to send pre-approved template messages.
Please note that you are only permitted to contact WhatsApp users who have consented to receive messages from you.
FEP*** – Free Entry Point window
If a WhatsApp user sends you a message via a “Click to WhatsApp” ad or a call-to-action button on a Facebook page from a device with the Android or iOS app installed (not supported on the desktop or web versions of the messenger):
- A 24-hour Customer Service Window (CSW) opens (in standard mode)
- If you reply within 24 hours using any type of message, the message will be sent for free, and the FEP window will open as soon as you reply.
The FEP window remains open for 72 hours. While it is open, you can send the user any type of message for free. However, please note that the CSW window is independent of the FEP window; therefore, if the CSW window closes, you will only be able to send template messages.
Pricing schedule
Meta reserves the right to change prices four times a year—no later than the 1st of each quarter—so, as we mentioned earlier, Meta is raising prices for certain message categories on WhatsApp Business starting October 1 of this year.
The changes will affect the following types of messages:
- Quarterly price increases for marketing, utility and authentication messages; the latter two categories also apply to Kazakhstan.
- Price increases for each service message according to the pricing table, which you can view on the WhatsApp Business API calculator.
⚠️Important: Meta is introducing a new policy: each business number will be able to send 1,000 free service messages per month. This means that Meta will only charge for the 1,001st message sent during the month. Free service messages not used during the month do not carry over to the next month and are reset to zero at the start of the new month.
Let’s say you need to send 5,000 service messages in October. You’ll only be charged starting with the 1,001st message—meaning you’ll pay for just 4,000 messages. If you don’t use all 1,000 free messages during the current month, they’ll expire, and you’ll have 1,000 free messages available again starting in November.
- Utility messages sent in response to users during the 24-hour customer service window will now be subject to a fee.
However, the terms for sending transactional messages remain unchanged—companies can use a transactional message template to reach out to customers or respond to their inquiries even outside of CSW business hours.
Example of billing calculation
Let’s consider a scenario: your business uses the WhatsApp Business API to automate communication with customers and collect orders. How will these changes affect your budget? We’ll illustrate the new rates in a table using Kazakhstan as an example:
TYPE OF MESSAGES | NUMBER OF MESSAGES | PRICE before October 1, 2026 in KZT | PRICE after October 1, 2026 in KZT |
Marketing | 1000 | 39 х 1000 = 39000 | 36 х 1000 = 36000 |
Utility | 1000 | 4.9 х 1000 = 4900 | 11 х 1000 = 11000 |
Authentication | 1000 | 4.9 х 1000 = 4900 | 11 х 1000 = 11000 |
Service | 5000 | 0 | 9 х 4000**** = 36000 |
****Meta allows you to send the first 1,000 service messages from a single business number each month for FREE. Messages will be charged starting with the 1,001st message.
You can check out the calculator for other countries on our website.
WhatsApp Coexistence by GREEN-API
Finally, we’d like to tell you about Meta’s Coexistence feature, which allows businesses to use a single phone number simultaneously on both WhatsApp Business and the WhatsApp Business API. This way, the company doesn’t lose access to the app when connecting to the API, which is useful if maintaining a connection between the two is important to you.
After that, you can use the API to retrieve outgoing messages from the main device, chat history for the last 3 months (excluding groups and subject to user consent upon connection), and contact synchronization.
The developers at GREEN-API are working on implementing the Coexistence feature, and once it’s released, all the features mentioned will be available to our partners. We’ll announce this separately as soon as the new feature is ready.
Conclusion
We’ve outlined the changes WhatsApp Business API users can expect starting October 1 of this year. We strongly recommend reviewing the pricing plan and calculating the cost of sending messages using our WABA calculator to understand how the new prices will affect your budget.
Here at GREEN-API, we keep track of the latest news and will keep you informed of all significant updates. We’re also constantly working on adding new features to our service to make your work more convenient. Follow our blog to stay up to date on new and useful features in WhatsApp!