Pricing
WhatsApp Pricing Change on 1 October 2026: What Indian Businesses Will Pay
Replies inside the 24-hour window stop being free on 1 October 2026. Here is exactly what changes, what does not, and what it will add to a real Indian business's bill.
By the wbm.link teamUpdated 13 September 2026 4 min read
For most Indian businesses on the WhatsApp Business API, the monthly bill has so far had one variable line: template messages — the offers, order updates and reminders you start. Everything your team typed back after a customer wrote in was free. From 1 October 2026, that changes. Meta has told its partners it will start charging for those replies too. This guide sets out what changes, what stays the same, and what it will actually cost, with the India rates.
What changes on 1 October 2026
Two kinds of message that are free today become billable per delivered message:
- Service messages — the free-form replies your team or chatbot sends inside the 24-hour customer-service window that opens when a customer messages you.
- Utility templates sent inside an open window — for example, an order update or payment receipt you send while a conversation is already open. These have been free since July 2025; they stop being free.
Both are charged at the utility rate for the country of the person receiving them. For a customer in India, Meta's rate card lists utility messages at ₹0.115 per delivered message (effective 1 July 2026), before GST. The new rates apply from midnight in your WhatsApp Business Account's time zone.
The free allowance — and what we know about it
Several of Meta's partners, including YCloud and SendPulse, report that each business phone number will get 1,000 free service messages a month, with charging starting from the 1,001st. They describe it as per number, not per company, and say unused messages do not carry over to the next month.
When we checked on 13 September 2026, this allowance was not yet written on Meta's own developer pricing pages — so treat the figure as announced to partners rather than published. We will update this article when Meta publishes the final terms. As reported, the allowance covers service messages; utility templates sent inside the window are charged from the first one.
What does not change
- The 24-hour window itself. You can still reply freely only after a customer messages you, and the window still resets with each new message from them.
- Templates outside the window. Marketing, utility and authentication templates you start were already charged per delivered message, and still are, at the same category rates.
- The 72-hour free entry point. A conversation that starts from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button still gets free message delivery for 72 hours.
- Messaging limits and quality rating. Nothing about the 250 / 2,000 / 10,000 / 1,00,000 tiers changes on this date.
What it will add to a real bill
The worked examples below use Meta's India utility rate of ₹0.115 and the partner-reported allowance of 1,000 free service messages per number per month. They show Meta's charges only — your provider's platform fee is separate.
| Business | Replies a month | Before 1 October | From 1 October (incl. 18% GST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local shop, 1 number | 800 | ₹0 | ₹0 — inside the free 1,000 |
| Clinic, 1 number | 2,500 | ₹0 | 1,500 × ₹0.115 = ₹172.50 → ₹203.55 |
| Coaching institute, 2 numbers | 3,000 each | ₹0 | 2 × 2,000 × ₹0.115 = ₹460 → ₹542.80 |
| D2C brand, 3 numbers | 6,000 each | ₹0 | 3 × 5,000 × ₹0.115 = ₹1,725 → ₹2,035.50 |
Add utility templates sent inside open windows on top. A brand that sends 4,000 order updates a month while customers are already chatting would pay 4,000 × ₹0.115 = ₹460, or ₹542.80 with GST, for those — none of it covered by the free allowance.
For a small business the change is often nothing at all. For a busy support team it is a new but modest line. The businesses that will notice are the ones with many back-and-forth replies per customer — and those are exactly the ones who can bring the number down.
See your own number before 1 October
The free pricing calculator adds service replies, templates, platform fee and GST into one monthly estimate.
Open the calculatorHow to prepare in the next few weeks
- Count your replies per number. Look at last month: how many messages did your team send inside customer windows, on each number? That tells you whether you will cross 1,000.
- Answer in one message, not four. “Hi”, “Please share your order ID”, “Checking”, “It ships tomorrow” is four charged messages. One complete reply is one.
- Let a chatbot handle the routine questions well. Timings, prices, locations and document lists answered correctly the first time save the follow-up messages. A badly built bot that loops costs more, not less.
- Keep order updates as updates. A utility template is still far cheaper than a marketing one. Adding an offer to an order update turns it into marketing and multiplies its price.
- Use Click-to-WhatsApp ads where you already advertise. Conversations that start from them get a free 72-hour window.
- Ask your provider how they will bill it. Some platforms add a markup to Meta's rate; ask what they will charge per service message and whether they pass on the free allowance.
How this works on wbm.link
On wbm.link, service replies are billed from the same prepaid wallet as templates, per delivered message, and the current service rate and free allowance are listed on the pricing page. The platform fee stays ₹999 per connected number per month, with your whole team on it.
For the full picture of every WhatsApp charge in India — categories, GST, platform fees and markups — read WhatsApp Business API pricing in India, or in Hindi, WhatsApp API का खर्च.