Setback for WhatsApp Business users: Rates may change from October 1—what will remain free, and what will incur charges?

If you place orders or seek product information from businesses via WhatsApp, this change might be relevant to you. Meta is preparing to revise the pricing for the WhatsApp Business Platform starting October 1, 2026. Consequently, businesses may have to pay for certain "utility messages" that are currently free to send within the 24-hour customer service window. However, there will be no direct impact on regular WhatsApp users. Let’s understand what is changing from October 1, what will remain free, and how much more businesses might have to pay.

What is changing from October 1?
Currently, businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform can respond to a customer's message for free within a 24-hour window. During this period, they can send not only responses to customer queries but also utility messages—such as order confirmations and delivery updates—at no cost; however, this rule will change starting October 1, 2026.

Meta will begin charging businesses for order updates and other utility messages sent within this 24-hour window. That said, service messages responding to customer queries will not become entirely paid; the first 1,000 service messages per business phone number each month will remain free. Businesses will have to pay for any additional service messages once this 1,000-message limit is exceeded. Since utility messages sent after the 24-hour window already incur charges, there will be no new changes in that regard.

What will be the cost for WhatsApp Business?
In India, Meta has set a standard rate of ₹0.115 per delivered utility message (excluding GST). This category includes messages such as order confirmations and delivery updates. After adding 18% GST, the cost of a single message comes to approximately ₹0.136.

Currently, if a business sends "utility messages" within 24 hours of a customer's message, Meta does not levy a messaging charge. However, starting October 1, such utility messages will incur a cost of ₹0.115 per delivered message (excluding GST).

What is the cost for 1,000 order updates?
Consider an example where a business sends 1,000 order updates in a month. In this case, the business would have to pay ₹115 (excluding GST). After adding 18% GST, the total amount would come to approximately ₹135.70.

However, charges on the WhatsApp Business Platform vary depending on the message type. The cost is determined by the category of the message. For marketing messages—such as promotional offers and sale announcements—the rate in India is ₹0.8631 per message. Meanwhile, for authentication messages (like OTPs or One-Time Passwords), the rate is ₹0.115 per message (excluding GST).

1,000 free service replies every month
Starting October 1, 2026, Meta will provide the first 1,000 service replies free of charge each month for every business phone number. Any additional service messages sent beyond this limit will be charged according to the applicable utility and authentication message rates for the specific market. For instance, if a business in India sends 1,500 service replies in a month, the first 1,000 messages will be free, while the remaining 500 messages will have to be paid for.

At a rate of ₹0.115 per message, the cost for 500 messages would be ₹57.50 (excluding GST). After adding 18% GST, this amount will come to approximately ₹67.85.

What will remain free?
Despite the new pricing, businesses will not have to pay for every single message sent via the WhatsApp Business Platform. To begin with, 1,000 service messages per business phone number will remain free each month.

Additionally, customers can continue to message businesses on WhatsApp just as before. Customers will not incur any charges for sending messages to businesses or receiving messages from them.

In other words, these new charges will primarily impact how businesses utilize the WhatsApp Business Platform and affect their messaging costs.

72-hour free window for 'Click-to-WhatsApp' messages
Meta will continue to offer another existing feature. If a business receives a message from a customer via 'Click-to-WhatsApp' ads or 'Click-to-Action' buttons on a Facebook page, the current 72-hour free window will remain applicable. During these three days, the business can message the customer on WhatsApp without incurring Meta's messaging charges.

The objective behind this free window from Meta is to encourage businesses to utilize their advertising tools. This enables businesses to reach potential customers and initiate conversations on WhatsApp.

How will this affect regular WhatsApp users?
This change will not directly impact regular WhatsApp users. Customers will not be charged for sending messages to businesses on WhatsApp. Similarly, customers will not be charged for receiving replies, order updates, or delivery notifications from businesses. The change primarily relates to the costs incurred by businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Disclaimer: This content has been sourced and edited from Amar Ujala. While we modified it for clarity and presentation, the original content belongs to its respective authors and website. We do not claim ownership of the content.