From 1 October 2026, Meta is updating its WhatsApp pricing. From that date, every message you send will carry a cost. |
What's changing on 1 October 2026? |
From 1 October 2026, Meta is adjusting its WhatsApp message rates. This change comes directly from Meta and applies uniformly to every WhatsApp Business API provider. The key change: two things that are currently free will start being billed: Service messages: free-form messages sent within the 24-hour customer service window have been free until now. From 1 October, the first 1,000 outbound messages per phone number, per month, remain free. From message 1,001 onward, the standard regional rate applies.
Utility templates: utility templates sent within the 24-hour window will also be billed per message from 1 October, at the regional utility rate.
Right now, replying to a customer within that 24-hour window is free, whether the reply comes from your team, from Saysimple's AI, or from a utility template. Both service messages (free since November 2024) and in-window utility templates (free since July 2025) lose that free status on 1 October.
Service messages will be charged at the same rate as your country's existing utility and authentication rate.
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There's a free allowance. |
Every business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month before any charges apply. This resets monthly and doesn't carry over if unused. It applies to service messages only, utility templates sent within the window are billed from the very first message.
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Utility and service message rates |
From 1 October, service messages will cost the same as today's utility and authentication rate, per market, once you're past your 1,000 free messages for that number.
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If your team sends 10,000 service replies a month to customers in the United Kingdom, that works out to roughly €164 a month, up from €0 today. The same volume to the UAE comes to about €117 a month, and to South Africa about €57 a month.
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Tips to keep your costs in check |
A few practical steps can meaningfully cut the impact: Bundle your messages. Where you can, combine several replies into one clear message without hurting the customer experience.
Streamline your automated workflows. Check your workflows for unnecessary service messages sent within the 24-hour window, and consider automatic welcome and away messages based on your opening hours.
Avoid sending by accident. Turn off "send on Enter" while typing, so you don't send a message before you're actually finished. Message length itself has no bearing on cost, so there's no need to keep replies artificially short.
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Messages your customers send to you remain free, as always. The 72-hour free window that opens when someone messages you via a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button is unaffected.
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What this means for your account |
