WhatsApp Business pricing change from October 1: What businesses and users need to know

Meta is set to change the pricing structure for businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform from October 1, 2026, with certain customer service and utility messages becoming chargeable.

The changes will primarily affect businesses that use WhatsApp for customer communication, including companies, banks, e-commerce platforms and large startups. Ordinary WhatsApp users will not be charged for sending messages to friends and family, while customers interacting with business accounts will also not have to pay for receiving or sending messages.

Under the revised system, utility messages sent during the 24-hour customer service window will no longer remain free. Such messages include order confirmations, delivery updates, payment-related notifications and other service communications.

At present, businesses can send utility messages without a charge when they are delivered within the 24-hour window after a customer initiates a conversation. From October 1, these utility messages will attract the applicable utility-message rate even when the customer service window is active.

The pricing change will also introduce charges for service messages, which are free-form replies sent by businesses within the 24-hour customer service window. However, each business phone number will receive 1,000 free service messages per month. Charges will apply once that monthly allowance is exhausted. The allowance applies separately to each business phone number and resets every month.

WhatsApp Business charges in India

For messages delivered to Indian numbers, the utility-message rate is currently ₹0.115, or 11.5 paise, per message before taxes. With 18 per cent GST, the effective cost is about 13.6 paise per message.

Marketing messages, which include promotional offers, advertisements and sale announcements, are priced at about ₹0.8631 per message before GST. Authentication messages, including OTPs, are charged at ₹0.115 per message before applicable taxes.

From October 1, service messages sent after the monthly free allowance will also attract the applicable charge. For Indian recipients, the rate is reported at ₹0.115 per delivered service message before GST.

The 1,000-message allowance applies specifically to service messages and does not make utility templates sent within the 24-hour window free. Those utility messages will be charged separately at the applicable utility rate.

Will regular WhatsApp users be affected?

For ordinary WhatsApp users, there will be no direct change. Messaging friends and family will continue to be free, and customers will not be charged by Meta for communicating with businesses or receiving messages from business accounts.

The existing 72-hour free messaging window associated with certain Click-to-WhatsApp advertisements and call-to-action buttons on Facebook Pages will also continue, according to the current pricing information. Messages covered by that window will remain exempt from the applicable Meta messaging charges.

The changes therefore concern the businesses that use the WhatsApp Business Platform to send customer-service, utility, marketing and authentication messages. For companies handling large volumes of customer interactions, the revised pricing structure could add a new messaging cost from October 1.

WhatsApp has continued to expand its role as a business and customer-service platform in India. Meta said in 2025 that 91 per cent of online adults in India chat with businesses weekly, highlighting the scale of business messaging in the country.