From per-conversation charges to per-message charges
For years, WhatsApp API billing worked like this: the first template you sent opened a "conversation", a 24-hour window billed once at the category rate, and everything else inside that window rode free.
Meta retired that model on 1 July 2025. Now every delivered template message is billed individually. Send three marketing templates to the same person in one day and you pay three times, under the old model you'd have paid once.
Why does everyone, including Meta's own documentation trail, still say "conversation pricing"? Partly habit, and partly because the conversation concept didn't die, it just stopped being the billing unit. The 24-hour customer service window still exists and still matters enormously to your bill, as we'll get to below. If you're new to the window mechanics, read the 24-hour window guide alongside this one.
Meta's pricing categories, in plain terms
Every template you create is assigned one of three paid categories when Meta approves it, and the category, not the content length or media, sets the price:
- Marketing, anything promotional: offers, festival broadcasts, new-arrival announcements, winbacks, abandoned-cart nudges. The most expensive category, because it's the one businesses would otherwise abuse.
- Utility, messages tied to a transaction the customer already has with you: order confirmations, delivery updates, payment receipts, booking changes.
- Authentication, one-time passcodes for login and verification.
The fourth category, service, isn't a template type at all, it's your free-form replies to customers who messaged you first. Meta's reviewers recategorise templates that are mislabelled, so writing a discount offer and submitting it as utility doesn't work; it gets approved as marketing and billed as marketing.
What each category costs in India
| Category | What it covers | India rate, as of August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
Marketing | Offers, broadcasts, festival campaigns, cart recovery | ₹0.8631 per delivered message |
Utility | Order updates, receipts, booking changes tied to a transaction | ₹0.115 per message, free inside the 24-hour window |
Authentication | One-time passcodes for login or verification | ₹0.115 per message |
Service | Your replies to customer-initiated chats | Free inside the 24-hour window |
Meta's published per-message rates for India, checked August 2026. Meta revises this rate card periodically, so treat these as indicative and check the credit estimate in your dashboard before a large send.
How the 24-hour window changes your bill
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour service window opens. Inside it, two things are free as of August 2026: your free-form service replies, and utility templates. That has a practical consequence people miss, an order-update template sent while the customer's window is open costs ₹0, while the identical template sent cold costs ₹0.115. Support-heavy businesses that answer promptly can run most of their messaging at zero Meta cost.
There's a second free window worth knowing: when someone starts a chat by tapping a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook page call-to-action, all messages are free for 72 hours. For businesses running Facebook lead campaigns into WhatsApp, those three days are the cheapest selling time you'll get.
Marketing and utility conversation rates in practice
Some worked examples at the August 2026 India rates:
- Diwali broadcast to 2,000 opted-in customers (marketing): 2,000 × ₹0.8631 ≈ ₹1,726 in Meta fees.
- Order confirmation + shipping update + delivery alert for 500 orders (utility, sent outside any open window): 1,500 messages × ₹0.115 ≈ ₹173.
- A week of support replies to customers who messaged first (service): ₹0.
Two line items to remember on top: GST at 18% applies on your invoices in India, and delivery is what triggers billing, messages that never deliver aren't charged.
What platforms add on top of Meta's rates
Meta's fees are only half the bill. The platform subscription is the other half, and that is where providers differ. Some quote a blended per-message rate, which means Meta's fee and the platform's margin arrive as one number you cannot separate. Growcord passes Meta's fees through as credits at Meta's published rate, zero markup, and earns on the subscription instead.
Basic is ₹299/month (₹99/month billed yearly) with 200 conversations included; Startup is ₹799 (₹399 yearly) and covers 1,000. Extra volume is ₹399 per 1,000 conversations. The India pricing page lists every plan. When you compare providers, ask one question: what is your price per message above Meta's rate card?
See what your messaging would actually cost
Every campaign shows its credit estimate before you confirm. The free tier covers 1 number and 50 conversations a month, so you can price a real segment before paying anything.
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Frequently asked questions
How much does a WhatsApp conversation cost in India?
As of August 2026, Meta charges per delivered template message rather than per conversation: about ₹0.8631 for a marketing message, ₹0.115 for utility and authentication messages, plus 18% GST. Replies to customers within the 24-hour service window are free, and utility templates sent inside an open window are also free.
Is WhatsApp API pricing per message or per conversation now?
Per message. Meta switched from per-conversation billing to per-delivered-message billing on 1 July 2025. The conversation categories survived as message categories, marketing, utility, authentication, and each message is billed at its category rate. The 24-hour window still exists, but as a rule about what's free and what needs a template, not as the billing unit.
Are replies to customer messages free on the WhatsApp API?
Yes. When a customer messages you, a 24-hour service window opens, and your free-form replies inside it carry no Meta charge. As of August 2026, utility templates sent inside that open window are free too. Once the window closes, reaching out again requires an approved template billed at its category rate.
Why is a marketing message costlier than a utility message?
Meta prices by intent. Marketing messages are promotional outreach the business initiates, so they carry the premium rate, about ₹0.86 in India versus ₹0.115 for utility. It's deliberate economics: transactional updates customers want stay cheap, while bulk promotion has a real cost that discourages spray-and-pray sending. Writing promotional copy into a utility template doesn't dodge this; reviewers recategorise it.
Does Growcord charge on top of Meta's rates?
No. You pay Meta's published rate exactly, billed as prepaid credits with zero markup; Growcord's revenue is the monthly plan, which covers campaigns, the shared inbox, bots and analytics. Conversations beyond your plan's allowance are ₹399 per 1,000. Invoices are GST invoices through Razorpay, and subscriptions carry a 7-day money-back guarantee.
Do I pay for messages that aren't delivered?
No. Billing triggers on delivery, so messages to switched-off phones or invalid numbers that never deliver aren't charged. This is also why keeping your contact list clean saves money, a list full of dead numbers costs nothing extra in Meta fees, but it drags your campaign metrics and tells you nothing.
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Indian pricing, GST invoice
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Last updated: 2026-08-07