Shift spend to Click-to-WhatsApp.
Conversations that start from an ad get 72 free hours. Going from 15% to 40% would take about 2,000 messages a month out of billing.
WhatsApp pricing change · October 1, 2026
How many messages you'll pay for from October.
From October 1, 2026, Meta charges for every message your company sends inside the 24-hour customer service window. But each number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. Work out where your operation lands.
The calculator
What you'll pay, with your own numbers and volume.
Estimated billable messages
5,240 – 7,960messages a month
≈ US$ 59.21 – 89.95per month
Out of 8,000 service messages, 1,000 fall inside the free tier and 1,200 inside the 72 h window.
- Service messages sent
- 8,000
- Click-to-WhatsApp 72 h window
- −1,200
- Free tier (1 × 1,000)
- −1,000
- Billable service
- 5,800
- Utility templatesBilled from the first one · outside the free tier
- +800
- Total billable
- 6,600
The result is shown as a range because real volume varies month to month. The estimate assumes ±20% variability.
Why that number
The three rules that set your bill.
1,000 free per number
Each number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, non-cumulative; billing starts at message 1,001.
72 free hours from ads
Conversations that start from Click-to-WhatsApp ads keep 72 hours entirely free.
What's billed changes, not the category
No market changes category on October 1. Separately from this adjustment, Meta announced rate increases for that same date in Peru (utility and authentication) and Mexico (marketing only).
How to reduce it
What moves the number, in order of impact.
Review your in-window templates.
From October, a utility template sent inside an already open conversation is billed from the very first one: it doesn't count against the free tier, which only covers service messages. That's why a number with 10 of its 1,000 messages used can still be billed. If the information fits in the agent's reply, don't send a template.
Consolidate your replies.
Every bubble is billed separately. Short acknowledgements — “ok”, “one moment”, “I'll check” — are usually 25-30% of outbound volume and almost never carry information.
Resolve in fewer turns.
Replace chains of open questions with interactive lists and buttons in the Flow Builder. A 9-step flow cut down to 4 costs less than half.
This is an estimate, not a final price
The preloaded rates correspond to the official prices published by Meta in its WhatsApp Business Platform rate card, consulted on September 2, 2026. The calculations are approximate and not exact: Meta determines the final charge based on the messages actually delivered, the market of each recipient and the rates in force at the time of sending. Meta updates its rates periodically, so they may differ from the ones shown here.
In addition, the cost you see on your platform may vary from this calculation due to additional charges, taxes, commissions, exchange rate differences or other items specific to each provider. This tool does not constitute a quote, an invoice or a billing guarantee.
Meta does not endorse or sponsor this tool. Rate source: business.whatsapp.com/products/platform-pricing. If your WhatsApp service is billed through Shimli, your rate is the one in your contract: check it with your account executive.
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