Meta has decided to end free messaging services for WhatsApp Business and will introduce per-message charges starting from October 1, 2026. So the Businesses using WhatsApp Business Platform must get ready to pay for every message they send. The change will take places in many markets including India and Meta confirms that Service Messages will be charged at the same rates as utility and authentication messages.
The company further warns to stop delivering Service Messages for companies without a valid Payment Method by September 30. “For any Solution Provider or directly-integrated businesses that does not have a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, Meta will stop delivering service messages as of when they become charged on October 1, 2026,” Meta confirmed.
What’s changing from October 1?
Utility and authentication messages were free until now, but from October 1 those will be chargeable. For instance, Business using WhatsApp Business platform could reply customers queries free of cost within 24 hours of receiving a message. But from tomorrow, Meta will start charging Businesses per message for sending order updates or for other utility messages. However, replies to customer queries will remain free for the first 1000 services messages per phone number. But utility messages that are sent after the 24 hour window will remain chargeable like before.
How much it costs per Message?
Meta has shared a proper price list for different markets. But in India, the Utility messages such as order confirmation or delivery updates will cost around Rs 0.136 per message with 18% GST. But this will be free till September 30. The price also varies depending on the type of messages. For instance, it would cost ₹0.1150 for Authentication messages, ₹0.8631 for Marketing Messages and so on as per requirements. You can check more on the official WhatsApp Business site.
Despite all these changes, few WhatsApp Business messages will remain free. For example, Meta provides 1000 free service messages per Business Phone Number per month to communicate with customers and offers a 72-hour free window for businesses receiving messages through Click-to-WhatsApp ads or call-to-action buttons on Facebook Pages, during which period Business can send free messages to their customers.
