WhatsApp Business · Platform pricing
Meta will charge for every WhatsApp reply. You have until September 30.
Starting October 1, Meta charges per message for the replies you send through the WhatsApp Business API. If your account has no payment method on file, those replies stop being delivered.
By Daniel Aguilar, CEO of Ekua · September 16, 2026 · 4 min read · Issue 01
Deadline
30
Sep 2026
Check that your WhatsApp Business account has a payment method on file
If it doesn't have one by September 30, Meta stops delivering your replies starting October 1.1 It can be registered under your name or your provider's.
How to add a payment methodMeta's official guide. It requires permission to manage the WhatsApp account.
Calendar
1 Nov 2024
Service messages stop being charged.
1 Jul 2025
Utility templates inside the 24-hour window stop being charged.
30 Sep 2026
Last day to have a payment method on file.
1 Oct 2026
Meta charges for both, per message.
What changes
Two changes, one date
Starting October 1, 2026, Meta will charge per message for service messages: the free-form replies an organization sends within 24 hours after a customer writes to it.1 Today they cost nothing.
The same day, Meta starts charging for utility templates sent inside that window, like a confirmation that arrives while the customer is chatting.1 In each market, a service message will cost the same as a utility template, and Meta won't offer volume discounts.1
Who it applies to
Only the API, and you won't always need to act
The change applies to anyone using the WhatsApp Business API, usually through a provider. The free WhatsApp Business app isn't included.
If a provider manages the channel, the payment method may be registered on their side. In that case, your provider should confirm it with you.
“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.”
What it costs
What each service message costs
USD per delivered service message, at the rates in effect from October 1, 2026.3 The market is set by the recipient's country calling code.2
| Market | USD / message |
|---|---|
| PeruUp from 0.0200 on October 1 | 0.0300 |
| Argentina | 0.0260 |
| Chile | 0.0200 |
| Rest of Latin AmericaEcuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Central America and part of the Caribbean | 0.0113 |
| Mexico | 0.0085 |
| Colombia | 0.0008 |
The first 1,000 service messages each month, per number, are free. Unused ones don't carry over to the next month.2
Your provider may add its own per-message fee or a monthly fee.
Sources
- 1Meta for Developers · Pricing for non-template messages
developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages
Verified at sourcePage 25 Aug 2026
Checked 15 Sep 2026
- 2Meta for Developers · Platform pricing
developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
Verified at sourcePage 10 Sep 2026
Checked 15 Sep 2026
- 3Meta for Developers · USD rate card effective 1 Oct 2026 (downloadable file on the pricing page)
developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
Verified at sourceChecked 15 Sep 2026