What does the WhatsApp Business API cost after Meta's 1 October 2026 change?

What changed on October 1, 2026?

Meta’s own pricing page confirms 2 changes. They took effect at midnight on October 1, 2026, in the time zone of your WhatsApp Business Account. That’s the account at Meta that your number and your message bill belong to.

• Service messages are charged again. A service message is a reply sent inside an open chat without a template. A person or a third-party AI can write it. Service messages had been free since November 1, 2024. Each business phone number now gets 1,000 free delivered service messages a month. Meta charges from the 1,001st, and unused free messages don’t roll over.
• Utility templates sent inside an open chat are charged. They had been free since July 1, 2025.

Meta also says a service message costs the same as a utility or authentication message in each country. A WhatsApp Business Account with no payment method by September 30, 2026 stops getting service messages delivered once its free 1,000 are used. Eligible government bodies and non-profits keep free service messages through December 31, 2027.

How does Meta price each message category?

Meta puts every message you send in 1 category and charges at most once for it. You pay only when a message is delivered. Messages customers send you are free. A template is a message format Meta approves before you can use it.

The first 4 are free inside a free entry point window, explained below. Rates depend on the category and on the country code of the customer’s number. At high volumes, utility and authentication get cheaper. Service messages have no volume discount.

How does the 24-hour customer service window work now?

The customer service window is a 24-hour timer. It starts when a customer messages or calls your business, and it resets each time they message or call again. While it’s open, you can reply without a template. Once it closes, only a template can reach that customer.

Before October 1, 2026, an open window meant free replies. Now replies inside the window are service messages: free for the first 1,000 a month on each number, then charged. A utility template inside the window is charged from the first one.

One thing hasn’t changed. On a number that uses coexistence, messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app don’t touch any of this. Coexistence is Meta’s name for one WhatsApp number that works in the app on your phone and through the API at the same time. Meta says app messages stay free, and they don’t open, extend or affect API windows or API pricing.

Which messages are still free?

• Every message a customer sends you.
• The first 1,000 delivered service messages each month, on each business phone number.
• Chats you send from the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, including on a coexistence number. The app’s paid business broadcasts are the exception.
• Everything in a free entry point window, except replies from Meta Business Agent.

A free entry point window applies when a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Android or iOS. It starts when you reply within 24 hours. Meta’s developer pricing page says the window can stay open for up to 7 days.

Meta’s own pages disagree on 2 details. The pricing page on whatsappbusiness.com still says the free window lasts 72 hours and also opens from a Facebook Page button. That page still calls service messages free, so it predates the change. Meta’s developer page, which carries the October 2026 rules, doesn’t mention a Page button. Treat the Page button as unconfirmed.

What are Meta’s rates in the US, UK, India and Brazil?

These are list rates from Meta’s rate cards effective October 1, 2026, downloaded from Meta’s developer pricing page on October 30, 2026. Each rate is per delivered message, before any tax. A business pays in the currency picked when its WhatsApp Business Account was set up. So each market shows the US dollar card and its local card. North America is Meta’s pricing region for the United States and Canada.

India also has a higher authentication-international rate, $0.0304, that applies only to businesses Meta marks as eligible. Meta changes rates only on January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1, with at least 1 month’s notice. So these rates hold until at least January 1, 2027.

What would a small business pay Meta in a month?

Take a shop with 1 number. In 1 month it sends:

• 2,000 replies inside open chats, from a team inbox or an automation. These are service messages: 1,000 free, 1,000 charged.
• 400 order and booking updates as utility templates. 150 of them went out while the customer’s chat was open.
• 1 promotion to 600 customers who opted in, as marketing templates.
• Every reply the owner typed in the WhatsApp Business app on the phone, which is free.

The last column prices the same messages on Meta’s US dollar card. The October change added the 1,000 service replies and the 150 utility templates sent in open chats. The promotion is most of every bill. Without it, the same shop pays Meta $4.76 in the US, £22.26 in the UK, ₹161 in India and R$49 in Brazil.

What do providers add on top of Meta’s rates?

You pay Meta either way. Providers then charge for their software, and some add to each message. From their own pricing pages, checked October 26, 2026:

Meta’s INR card lists ₹0.8631 and ₹0.115 for the same Indian messages. AiSensy’s page doesn’t say what makes up the difference.

Cosend charges a flat monthly fee for each plan. Cosend does not charge for WhatsApp messages. Meta bills your WhatsApp Business Account directly at their rates. We never mark them up, resell them, or hold your message credit. Cosend has a free plan for 1 person, and plans for a team start at $14.95/month.

How to do it in Cosend

Cosend can’t change Meta’s rates. These steps keep Meta’s part of the bill small on the number you already have.

1. Press Connect WhatsApp, then choose Keep WhatsApp on my phone on the Connect a number page. Replies typed in the app on your phone stay free.
2. Add a payment method to your WhatsApp Business Account in Meta’s Billing Hub. Without one, Meta stops delivering service replies after the free 1,000.
3. Reply while the chat is open. When a chat’s 24-hour window has closed, the inbox shows Template only, and Send from template lists your approved templates.
4. Choose each template’s category with care. On the Templates page, press Create template and pick the Category. Meta charges more for marketing than for utility.

Common questions

Sources

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