From 1 October 2026, Meta charges for WhatsApp service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window) from the 1,001st message each month, for each business phone number. The first 1,000 a month are free and do not roll over. After that, each delivered message costs the same as a utility message in the customer’s country: for example US$0.0014 in India, US$0.0157 in the UAE and US$0.022 in the UK. This applies to the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API), not the free Business app.
What changed, in Meta’s own terms
These are the rules on Meta’s pricing page (updated 30 September 2026, checked by us on 2 October 2026):
- Service messages are billable again. Any non-template message that is not powered by Meta Business Agent is a service message. They had been free since 1 November 2024.
- 1,000 free per business phone number per month. Meta charges from the 1,001st delivered service message. The allowance resets at 12am in the account’s timezone each month and unused messages do not roll over.
- The price is the utility rate for that country. Service messages use the same per-message rate as utility and authentication messages. Meta does not offer volume tiers for service messages.
- Utility templates sent inside an open window are charged too. They had been free since 1 July 2025. From 1 October they are billed like any other utility message.
- Still free: messages inside a free entry point window (opened when you reply to a customer who messaged you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad; it can stay open up to 7 days), and every message a customer sends to you.
Some vendor write-ups describe October as “all service messages are now billable” with no allowance. Meta’s own page states the 1,000 free tier, so we use Meta’s version. If your provider bills differently, ask them to show the line on Meta’s rate card.
What it costs: Meta’s published rates
Meta publishes rate cards by market and currency, effective 1 October 2026. The service rate equals the utility rate in each market. These are the markets our service pages cover, in US dollars with the local-currency figure Meta lists beside it:
| Customer’s country | Service message (USD) | In local currency (Meta’s card) |
|---|---|---|
| India | US$0.0014 | INR 0.115 |
| United Arab Emirates | US$0.0157 | AED 0.0576 |
| United Kingdom | US$0.0220 | GBP 0.0159 |
| United States and Canada | US$0.0034 | Same on the USD card |
| Singapore | US$0.0160 | SGD 0.0205 |
| Australia (priced as Rest of Asia Pacific) | US$0.0113 | AUD 0.0148 |
Rates are by the country of the customer you message, not where your business is. Meta may change rates only on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October, so check the card each quarter. Your provider’s own fee is separate.
Worked example: what a month actually costs
Only messages past the first 1,000 on a phone number are billed. A business that sends 3,000 service messages in a month on one number pays for 2,000. One that sends 10,000 pays for 9,000. Using Meta’s USD rates above (our arithmetic, rounded to the cent):
| Customers in | 3,000 sent (2,000 billed) | 10,000 sent (9,000 billed) |
|---|---|---|
| India | US$2.80 | US$12.60 |
| United States / Canada | US$6.80 | US$30.60 |
| Australia | US$22.60 | US$101.70 |
| UAE | US$31.40 | US$141.30 |
| Singapore | US$32.00 | US$144.00 |
| United Kingdom | US$44.00 | US$198.00 |
The cost is small per message and uneven by market. The same 10,000 messages cost about sixteen times more to UK customers than to Indian customers. If you want the exact figure for your mix, the message cost calculator applies the free tier and the rates you enter.
What counts toward the 1,000: messages, not conversations
Meta charges per delivered message. A single customer conversation where your team and bot send six replies uses six of the 1,000. At six replies per enquiry, one phone number covers about 166 whole conversations a month before billing starts. Past that, in the UAE each such conversation costs about US$0.094 (six messages at US$0.0157).
- 01Count business replies, not customer messages. Inbound messages are free and never use the allowance.
- 02Bot and human replies both count. Any non-template message you send inside the window is a service message.
- 03The allowance is per phone number. Each number has its own 1,000 a month.
- 04Ad-driven chats can be free. Replies inside a free entry point window are not charged.
- 05Utility templates now count as paid. A booking confirmation sent inside the window is billed at the utility rate, not covered by the 1,000.
Before it bites: a short checklist
- 01Add a payment method in Meta’s Billing Hub. Without one, Meta delivers service messages within the free tier but stops delivering them after it is used.
- 02Find your monthly count. Pull delivered service messages per phone number from your provider or Meta’s pricing analytics, where they appear as the service category.
- 03Multiply the excess by your country rate. Use the table above for a first estimate.
- 04Trim messages, not quality. Merge three short replies into one clear one; stop bots sending “got it” acknowledgements nobody needs.
- 05Check how your provider passes the charge on. Ask whether Meta’s fees are shown at cost on the invoice.
This is a rule about message volume, so the 24-hour window now matters for cost as well as for what you may send. For the full pricing picture see what a service business actually pays, and for UAE specifics the UAE pricing guide. We do not claim any saving from automation; we build WhatsApp flows on the official API, and the point of design is to resolve a conversation in fewer, clearer messages. See WhatsApp automation.