WhatsApp Is Getting Costlier For Businesses: Meta's New Charges Start October 1
Businesses in India that rely on WhatsApp to reach customers will face revised charges from October 1, with Meta rolling out a new pricing structure for its WhatsApp Business Platform. The company says the change is intended to link rates to the type and quality of each interaction, instead of a single flat rate.
WhatsApp is one of the most widely used messaging services in the country, and businesses use it for order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders and promotional offers. The platform has also drawn complaints over unsolicited messages, a concern that pricing changes alone do not address.
Payment method needed by September 30
Meta has said that solution providers and directly integrated businesses must add a payment method to their messaging accounts by September 30. For any such provider or business without a payment method on file, the company will stop delivering service messages once charges take effect on October 1.
Billing applies when a message is delivered
Charges apply only to messages sent by businesses to WhatsApp users, and billing takes place only after successful delivery. Messages sent by users to businesses are not charged.
When a customer messages or calls a business, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and each new message or call from the customer resets the timer. Inside this window, a business can send free-form, non-template messages — replies to a query, for example, or automated responses. Non-template messages can only be used to respond to a customer, not to start a conversation.
Once the 24-hour window closes, free-form messages are no longer permitted. A business can still send pre-approved templates — marketing, utility or authentication messages — but these are billed.
What the new rates cover
Meta has said its charges are on a per-message basis for both template and non-template communication, in line with industry practice.
Marketing, utility and authentication templates are charged on delivery. Utility messages sent inside an open 24-hour window, which had been free since July 1, 2025, will now be charged per message. Service messages — the routine, non-template replies a business sends under the platform's framework — will also carry charges from October 1, according to the company's notice, and accounts without a payment method will see delivery stopped.
How it works, according to Meta's example
A business sends a marketing template promoting a new product. The marketing message is charged. The customer replies to ask about the product, opening a 24-hour customer service window.
The business answers with a free-form text describing the product in more detail. Messages from the customer are free, and the free-form reply inside the open window is also free.
Suppose 24 hours pass since the customer's last message and the window closes. The business can no longer send free-form messages. If it wants to send a utility template updating the customer on the order, that message is charged, as no open window exists between the two.
What businesses should check
Firms using the platform should confirm their billing details before the deadline, review how often they send templates, and ensure customers have opted in to receive messages. Where consent is missing, both the message and the recipient's goodwill may be lost — and the new pricing does not, by itself, reduce the risk of spam.
For consumers, the change is indirect: businesses may send fewer promotional messages, or seek to pass on higher costs. Users who receive unwanted messages can still report and block the sender through the app.
Meta has said it will keep its rate details for the Indian market updated, and businesses are advised to check the current guidance for their own accounts before October 1.
