Meta is changing how businesses pay for WhatsApp. From 1 October 2026, replies that businesses send through the WhatsApp Business Platform inside the 24-hour customer service window will be charged.
If your agency uses the official WhatsApp Business Platform, directly or through a software provider, this affects you.
What is a service message?
When a customer messages your business, a 24-hour customer service window opens. The replies you send in that window are called service messages. Until now, they have been free.
What changes on 1 October
- Service messages become chargeable. Each reply sent inside the 24-hour window will be billed, at the rate Meta sets for your market.
- 1,000 free each month. Each business phone number gets its first 1,000 service messages free every month. Charges start from message 1,001, and unused free messages do not roll over.
- Utility templates inside the window are charged too. Utility template messages sent inside an open 24-hour window will also be billed.
What stays free
- Conversations that start from Click-to-WhatsApp ads and Facebook Page call-to-action buttons stay free for 72 hours, under Meta's free entry point rules.
- The regular WhatsApp Business app on your phone is a separate product. This change is about the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API).
How to prepare
- Know your volume. Count roughly how many replies your team sends each month. Many smaller agencies will stay inside the free 1,000.
- Reply with purpose. One clear, complete answer is better for your customer, and now also for your costs, than several short messages.
- Use ads that open WhatsApp. Conversations that start from Click-to-WhatsApp ads keep their free 72-hour window.
- Check the official rates. Prices differ by country. Meta publishes them on its WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page.
