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Pricing & Charges

Navigating the pricing for WhatsApp Business API is key to budgeting your customer engagement strategy effectively. As of 2026, the model has evolved to per-message charging (effective since July 1, 2025), focusing on template messages while offering free elements for user-initiated interactions. This setup rewards high-quality, relevant communication and provides cost-saving opportunities through free windows and tiers. For businesses using Chakra Chat, our platform transparently separates WhatsApp fees from our own, with tools to monitor, alert, and optimize spending—ensuring you get maximum value without surprises.

In this section, we'll demystify the pricing structure, charges, free allowances, limits, and how Chakra Chat helps manage it all.

Template Message based Pricing Model​

The WhatsApp Business API uses a template-focused pricing model where charges apply primarily to delivered template messages, categorized by purpose. This encourages businesses to use free non-template messaging within active windows, keeping costs down for responsive support.

Conversation Categories​

Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service, Free Entry Point

  • Marketing: Charged for promotional content like offers or announcements. Higher rates to discourage spam.
  • Utility: For transactional updates (e.g., order confirmations). Often free within customer service windows; otherwise charged at moderate rates.
  • Authentication: For security like OTP codes. Charged but with volume-based discounts.
  • Service: User-initiated support conversations—completely free since November 1, 2024.
  • Free Entry Point: All messages (templates or not) are free within a 72-hour window after responding to a user message from Click to WhatsApp (CTWA) ads or Facebook Page CTAs.

Categories affect rates, which vary by country (e.g., lower in North America, adjusted in India as of January 2026). Chakra Chat auto-classifies templates to optimize for lower-cost categories where possible.

Conversation Charges​

Business-Initiated vs User-Initiated Conversation Charges

  • User-Initiated: Free—starts a 24-hour customer service window (CSW) where non-templates and utility templates are also free. Classified as service category.
  • Business-Initiated: Charged for template messages (e.g., marketing always charged on delivery). Utility and authentication may be free if sent within an open CSW or free entry point. No charge for non-templates in active windows.

This distinction promotes reactive, user-driven engagement to minimize costs.

Free Entry Point Charges​

How CTWA / Free Entry Point Windows Affect Cost

  • CTWA (Click to WhatsApp): User clicks an ad or CTA, sending a message that opens a 24-hour CSW. If you respond within that CSW, it triggers a 72-hour free entry point (FEP) window where all subsequent messages are free—even templates.
  • Impact on Cost: FEP extends free messaging beyond the standard 24 hours, ideal for follow-ups. For example, send marketing templates for free during FEP. Without it, post-24-hour templates incur charges.

Chakra Chat integrates CTWA tracking, alerting you to leverage these free windows for cost-effective campaigns.

Template Message Charges​

Charges kick in per delivered template message, not per conversation, making it crucial to strategize sends.

Open a Paid Conversation​

How Sending a Template Opens a Paid Conversation

Sending a template outside a free window (CSW or FEP) initiates a charged interaction based on its category. For instance, a marketing template is always billed upon delivery, while utility might be free if the window is active. This "opens" the paid element, but subsequent non-templates in the resulting 24-hour window are free.

Multiple Templates in Conversation Window​

Multiple Templates Inside One Conversation Window

You can send multiple templates in an open window, but each is charged individually if not free (e.g., multiple marketing templates rack up separate fees). In FEP, all are free. Use sparingly to avoid escalating costs—group info into one template where possible.

Template Message Charge Scenarios​

Simple Business Scenarios: “If I Send X Templates to Y Customers…”

  • Scenario 1: Send 1 marketing template to 500 customers outside any window: Charged for 500 deliveries (e.g., at $0.05 each in the US = $25 total).
  • Scenario 2: Send 3 utility templates to 200 customers within CSW: Free, as utility in active windows doesn't charge.
  • Scenario 3: Send 2 authentication templates to 100 customers via CTWA-triggered FEP: Free for all, saving potential charges.

Actual rates depend on region—check Meta's rate cards. Chakra Chat simulates these scenarios in its cost estimator tool.

Free Allowances, Tiers & Limits​

WhatsApp offers free elements to ease entry, with tiers scaling your capacity and potentially reducing rates.

Free Service Conversations​

Free Service Conversations and When They Apply

Service conversations (user-initiated support) are entirely free, applying whenever a user messages first and opens a CSW. This includes non-templates and utility templates within the 24-hour window. No monthly cap—unlimited free support chats.

Messaging Tiers​

Messaging Tiers (1k, 10k, 100k, etc.) in Simple Terms

Messaging limits control how many unique customers you can reach with business-initiated messages (templates) in a 24-hour rolling period.

  • Initial/Starting: 250 unique customers.
  • Tier 1: 1,000 unique customers.
  • Tier 2: 10,000 unique customers.
  • Tier 3: 100,000 unique customers.
  • Unlimited: Beyond 100k, no cap.

These are for business-initiated only—user-initiated are unlimited.

Upgrading Tiers​

Upgrading Tiers Automatically Through Good Quality and Volume

Upgrades happen automatically when you:

  • Maintain a high (green) quality rating (low blocks/reports).
  • Send messages to twice your current tier's limit within 24 hours (e.g., 2,000 for Tier 1 to Tier 2).
  • Have a verified business account.

It takes about 48 hours to process. Volume-based pricing tiers (separate) discount rates for utility/authentication based on monthly sends (e.g., lower rates at 10k+). Chakra Chat monitors your tier progress and suggests strategies to scale safely.