What WhatsApp charges per message
Which messages Meta charges for on the official WhatsApp API, and which are free. Updated October 15, 2026.
This guide applies to WhatsApp connections through the official API (WhatsApp Cloud). On them, Meta charges for every message the business sends that gets delivered.
Rates are set and charged by Meta.
How Meta charges
- You are charged per delivered message, not per sent message. A message that never reaches the phone is not charged.
- The price depends on the message category and on the country of the receiving number.
The four categories
| Category | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotions, offers, news, invitations. The most expensive one. |
| Utility | Templates about something the person requested or already has in progress: order confirmation, shipping, invoice, appointment reminder. |
| Authentication | Templates with verification or one-time codes. |
| Service | Free-form replies, without a template, sent by an agent or a bot while the conversation is open. |
When you pay and when you don’t
| Message | 24-hour window open | Outside the 24-hour window | Inside the 72-hour window |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free-form reply (service) | Charged | Cannot be sent | Free |
| Utility template | Charged | Charged | Free |
| Authentication template | Charged | Charged | Free |
| Marketing template | Charged | Charged | Free |
| Undelivered message | Free | Free | Free |
The two windows
24-hour customer service window
It opens when the person messages you and resets with each of their messages. Free-form replies can only be sent while it is open; outside it, only approved templates can be sent.
72-hour free entry point window
It opens when the person messages you from an ad that clicks to WhatsApp or from the WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page, and you reply within 24 hours. For those 72 hours all messages are free, templates included.
How much it costs in your country
Meta’s official rates per delivered message, in US dollars (USD), effective October 1, 2026. The rate is set by the country of the number that receives the message.
| Country or region | Marketing | Utility, authentication and free-form replies |
|---|---|---|
| Countries with their own rate | ||
| $0.0618 | $0.0260 | |
| International authentication: $0.0960 | $0.0732 | $0.0037 |
| $0.0625 | $0.0068 | |
| $0.0889 | $0.0200 | |
| $0.0125 | $0.0008 | |
| International authentication: $0.0650 | $0.0644 | $0.0036 |
| $0.0859 | $0.0300 | |
| $0.1365 | $0.0550 | |
| $0.0732 | $0.0260 | |
| $0.0860 | $0.0350 | |
| International authentication: $0.0304 | $0.0118 | $0.0014 |
| International authentication: $0.1360 | $0.0411 | $0.0250 |
| International authentication: $0.1280 | $0.0341 | $0.0079 |
| $0.0353 | $0.0053 | |
| $0.0795 | $0.0300 | |
| International authentication: $0.1600 | $0.0604 | $0.0180 |
| International authentication: $0.1200 | $0.0792 | $0.0440 |
| International authentication: $0.0418 | $0.0860 | $0.0140 |
| $0.0397 | $0.0085 | |
| International authentication: $0.0811 | $0.0414 | $0.0230 |
| International authentication: $0.1120 | $0.0732 | $0.0034 |
| $0.1597 | $0.0500 | |
| International authentication: $0.0750 | $0.0516 | $0.0067 |
| International authentication: $0.0600 | $0.0341 | $0.0247 |
| International authentication: $0.0750 | $0.0473 | $0.0150 |
| $0.0703 | $0.0300 | |
| $0.0366 | $0.0122 | |
| $0.0341 | $0.0120 | |
| $0.0860 | $0.0290 | |
| $0.0802 | $0.0400 | |
| International authentication: $0.0598 | $0.0576 | $0.0107 |
| $0.0732 | $0.0160 | |
| International authentication: $0.0200 | $0.0379 | $0.0095 |
| $0.0707 | $0.0200 | |
| International authentication: $0.1440 | $0.0732 | $0.0020 |
| $0.0109 | $0.0009 | |
| International authentication: $0.0746 | $0.0860 | $0.0298 |
| International authentication: $0.0510 | $0.0576 | $0.0157 |
| $0.0635 | $0.0220 | |
| Regions | ||
Includes 2 countries
| $0.0250 | $0.0034 |
Includes 40 countries
| $0.0225 | $0.0040 |
Includes 16 countries
| $0.0842 | $0.0113 |
Includes 16 countries
| $0.0860 | $0.0212 |
Includes 15 countries
| $0.0740 | $0.0113 |
Includes 4 countries
| $0.0392 | $0.0091 |
Includes 9 countries
| $0.0592 | $0.0171 |
| Every country not listed above | $0.0604 | $0.0077 |
Tap a country or region to see its example and discounts.
Rest of Latin America: 1,000 free-form replies cost $11.30 and 1,000 marketing messages, $74.00.
International authentication: in some countries, a verification code sent by a business from another country has a higher rate. It is shown under the country name.
Volume discounts
Utility and authentication templates get cheaper when the business sends many of them to the same country in a month. Free-form replies and marketing have no discount.
The discount works in bands: only the messages past each threshold are charged the lower price. They are counted per month, per country and per category, adding up all of the business’s WhatsApp numbers.
Tiers for Rest of Latin America
| Messages per month | Utility |
|---|---|
| Up to 100,000 | $0.0113 |
| 100,001 – 1,000,000 | $0.0107 |
| 1,000,001 – 4,500,000 | $0.0102 |
| 4,500,001 – 15,000,000 | $0.0096 |
| 15,000,001 – 30,000,000 | $0.0090 |
| Over 30,000,000 | $0.0085 |
| Messages per month | Authentication |
|---|---|
| Up to 120,000 | $0.0113 |
| 120,001 – 400,000 | $0.0107 |
| 400,001 – 1,000,000 | $0.0102 |
| 1,000,001 – 5,000,000 | $0.0096 |
| 5,000,001 – 10,000,000 | $0.0090 |
| Over 10,000,000 | $0.0085 |
Frequently asked questions
Is there a number of free replies per month?
Meta’s official documentation does not mention a free monthly allowance for free-form replies. The only free replies it describes are those inside the 72-hour window.
If I send a promotion as free-form text, is it charged as marketing?
No. A free-form reply is charged once, as service, even if it has promotional content.
Is a message the customer never received charged?
No. Meta charges when the message is delivered. If the phone was off and the message expired without arriving, there is no charge.
With Zaclix you handle WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger from a single inbox
Your whole team replies from one place, with a chatbot, service queues and WhatsApp templates approved by Meta.
Plans do not include what Meta charges for messages sent through the official WhatsApp API.
Official sources
Official Meta pages:
- Pricing for non-template messages — Meta for Developers
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform — Meta for Developers
- Rate cards — Meta for Developers