Archive · 30 Sep 2026
Meta to Charge WhatsApp Business for Messages in India
Meta is changing how some businesses pay to message customers on WhatsApp.
The change starts in India on October 1, 2026.
It applies to the paid WhatsApp Business Platform, not ordinary personal WhatsApp accounts or the free WhatsApp Business app.
Businesses will get 1,000 free service messages for each business phone number every month.
After that, each delivered service message will cost about 11.5 paise.
The free messages will not carry over to the next month.
Utility messages sent during a customer’s 24-hour service period will also become paid.
Businesses must add a payment method by September 30 or their service messages may stop being delivered.
Meta says the new prices are meant to reduce very large automated messaging volumes and align WhatsApp with other customer-service channels.
Meta will begin charging for WhatsApp Business service messages in India from October 1, 2026.
Businesses using the paid WhatsApp Business Platform will receive 1,000 free service messages per phone number each month.
Messages beyond the allowance will cost approximately Rs. 0.115 each, with no rollover or volume discount.
Utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer-service window will also become chargeable.
Businesses must add a payment method by September 30, 2026, or Meta may stop delivering service messages.
- Who
- Meta and businesses using the paid WhatsApp Business Platform, particularly companies with high-volume or automated customer support.
- What
- Meta will introduce per-message charges for service messages and utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer-service window, while providing 1,000 free service messages per business phone number each month.
- When
- The new charges begin October 1, 2026; businesses must register a payment method by September 30, 2026.
- Where
- The reported pricing applies to the WhatsApp Business Platform in India; Meta says service-message rates vary by market.
- Why
- Meta says the changes will help curb high-volume automated messaging and bring WhatsApp support costs closer to those of other customer-service channels.
Business concerns
Meta’s rationale
Higher operating costs
Business concerns
Businesses with high-volume support systems, including AI-based agents, may face substantially higher costs after using the 1,000-message monthly allowance.
Meta’s rationale
Meta says the new pricing brings WhatsApp support economics closer to other customer-service channels.
Per-message billing
Business concerns
A conversation containing several separately delivered message bubbles may create several charges, making support more expensive than under the previous free arrangement.
Meta’s rationale
Meta presents per-message billing upon delivery as a structure aligned with industry standards.
Automated messaging
Business concerns
Businesses may need to reconsider automated support strategies because many AI-generated responses will become chargeable after the free allowance is exhausted.
Meta’s rationale
Meta says the changes are intended to curb high-volume automated messaging and could help reduce spam.
- Start date
- October 1, 2026
- Payment deadline
- September 30, 2026
- Monthly free allowance
- 1,000 service messages per business phone number
- India service-message rate
- Approximately Rs. 0.115, or 11.5 paise, per message after the allowance
- Allowance rules
- The allowance resets each calendar month, with no rollover or volume discount
- Billing basis
- Businesses are charged per message upon successful delivery
- AI agent pricing
- Meta Business Agent messages use a global rate of $2 per 1 million input and output tokens; cached tokens are free
