💬 Message Pricing

This guide explains how Meta charges for messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform, and how it works when using Convers8.

Unlike per-message billing in traditional SMS, WhatsApp uses conversation-based pricing (charged by category) and template approvals for certain message types. Below is a breakdown so you know exactly when costs apply, and when messaging is free.

📑 Templates & Categories

Some messages require Meta-approved templates — especially if you’re contacting a customer outside the 24-hour support window. Templates are priced according to Meta’s rate card, and fall into three main categories:

📢 Marketing – for promotions, offers, reminders, and retargeting campaigns.

🔔 Utility – for transactional updates, confirmations, or ongoing service messages.

🔑 Authentication – for verifying identity with one-time passcodes or login confirmations.

👉 Every template must be submitted to Meta for approval before use.

💬 Free-Form Messages

Free-form (open text) messages are the regular replies your team sends inside an active customer service window.

They are free of charge as long as the 24-hour window is open.

Once the window expires, you’ll need an approved template to continue the conversation.

⏰ Customer Service Window

Each time a customer messages or calls your business on WhatsApp, a 24-hour timer starts. During this window, you can send unlimited free-form responses, plus templates if needed.

If the window closes, only template messages can restart the conversation.

🎟️ Free Entry Point (FEP)

If a customer reaches you through a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page CTA button, you unlock a Free Entry Point:

Respond within 24 hours → your reply is free.

After that, a 72-hour FEP window opens. During this time, you can send any type of message at no charge.

📊 When Are Messages Charged?

Only delivered messages are billable.

Templates (Marketing, Utility, Authentication) are charged separately per delivery.

Free-form messages inside a customer service or FEP window are free.

Costs depend on the recipient’s country calling code and the message category.

Example:

If you send one Marketing template and one Utility template, you’ll be billed once for each.

If the customer replies, your follow-up messages are free (as long as the 24-hour window stays open).

Businesses can use free entry points to send all messages free of charge.

Example: Once the customer service window is active, you can send free-form messages at no cost. However, if you send an authentication template, it will still be billed. 

📈 Volume Tiers & Bulk Messaging with Convers8

With Convers8, you can send bulk broadcasts to your customers using WhatsApp templates. The more messages you send, the better your pricing gets — thanks to WhatsApp’s volume tiers.

Here’s how it works 👇

Messages add up across your whole business portfolio (all your WhatsApp Business Accounts combined).

Only billable messages count toward tiers.

Once you reach a higher tier, you unlock lower rates for that tier.

Tiers reset every month at midnight (WABA timezone).

Examples of Volume Tiers

Example 1 – Scaling in One Market If you send B authentication messages in India during a month:

The first A messages are billed at the standard list rate.

Messages A+1 to B are billed at the lower Tier 1 rate.

Your total charge = (messages × rate) across each tier.

Example 2 – Switching to International Rates If your authentication traffic switches to international rates mid-month (say, on the 15th):

Day 1–14: Your messages follow the standard authentication rate tiers.

Day 15 onward: The same tiering applies, but using the international authentication rate. If you’re already at Tier 2, your international messages continue at the Tier 2 international rate.

Example 3 – Multiple Accounts or Providers If your business uses multiple WABAs (or different providers):

Provider 1 might send the first B messages — paying list rates and Tier 1, then moving into Tier 2.

Provider 2 might start sending once you’re already in Tier 2 — so all their messages get billed directly at the Tier 2 rate.

✨ With Convers8 Broadcasts, you can easily send large-scale campaigns. As your monthly message volume grows, you automatically move into better pricing tiers.

✨ With Convers8, we pass through Meta’s pricing at cost — no markups, no hidden commissions. You only pay what Meta charges.

👉 For the most up-to-date rates, see Meta’s official pricing: WhatsApp Business Platform Pricing – Meta for Developers