From 1 October 2026, Meta charges again for two kinds of WhatsApp Business Platform messages that had been free: service messages, and utility templates sent inside an open customer service window. This guide explains what changed, what is still free, and how to estimate your bill in any market.
The short answer: what changed?
- Service messages are charged. Free-form replies you send within 24 hours of a customer's message are billed again. Each business phone number gets its first 1,000 service messages free every month.
- Utility templates in an open window are charged. They had been free since 1 July 2025.
- A payment method is required. Without one on your WhatsApp Business account, Meta stops delivering service messages once the free tier is used up.
- Still free: messages from users to your business; conversations that start from click-to-WhatsApp ads, while Meta's free entry point window is open; and, for eligible government and non-profit organizations, service messages beyond the free tier until 31 December 2027.
Message categories: who pays for what
Meta charges per delivered message, not per conversation. The rate depends on the message category and on the recipient's country calling code (the "market"), and each message carries a single category charge. Messages that users send to your business are free.
| Category | Used for | From 1 October 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing template | Promotions, announcements, offers, product suggestions | Charged per message (unchanged) |
| Utility template | Follow-ups on a user's action or request: order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders | Charged per message, including inside an open customer service window |
| Authentication template | One-time passcodes | Charged per message (unchanged) |
| Service message | A free-form, non-template reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message | First 1,000 per business number each month free, then charged |
You choose a template's category, but Meta can change it if the content doesn't fit. An order update that includes a discount code, for example, counts as marketing, not utility. Our post on the 24-hour window and templates covers the categories in detail.
How the 1,000 free service messages are counted
- The free tier is per business phone number: two numbers get two free tiers.
- Only delivered service messages count. Charges start with the 1,001st service message of the month.
- Unused free messages don't roll over. The tier resets every month at midnight in the time zone of your WhatsApp Business account.
- After the free tier, Meta says that in each market, service messages are priced at the same rate as utility and authentication messages. There are no volume tiers for service messages.
Utility templates inside the window are charged again
Between 1 July 2025 and 30 September 2026, utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour customer service window were free. Since 1 October 2026 they are billed at the normal utility rate. A note for developers: in Meta's status webhooks, the pricing type for these messages changes from free_customer_service to regular.
In practice: when the window is open and you only need to tell the customer something short, a free-form reply (a service message) usually stays within your free tier. Templates remain the only way to write after the window has closed.
The free entry point window for click-to-WhatsApp ads
When someone messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook or Instagram using the Android or iOS app, Meta opens a free entry point window. It starts when you reply within the customer service window and lasts up to 7 days. During the window, marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are free. Conversations started from the desktop or web apps are not covered, and messages from Meta's own AI agent are still charged.
Government and non-profit organizations: free until the end of 2027
For eligible government and non-profit organizations, service messages remain free beyond the monthly free tier. The policy runs from 1 October 2026 through 31 December 2027, and Meta decides who is eligible. Meta has said it plans to introduce a way to check eligibility across the accounts you manage by 30 October 2026. The policy covers service messages only; templates are charged at normal rates.
What happens without a payment method?
If your WhatsApp Business account has no valid payment method, Meta delivers service messages within the free tier but does not deliver them once the free tier is used up. Check your payment method now, before your team finds out mid-month that replies aren't arriving.
Mind the currency too: as of 1 July 2026, Meta bills in 16 currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, AED, SAR, INR, BRL and MXN. The currency is chosen when the account is created and can't be changed directly; Meta offers a migration process for that.
A worked example: 10,000 service messages a month
Take a support team that sends 10,000 service messages a month from one number:
- The first 1,000 are free.
- The remaining 9,000 are charged.
- Each is priced at the utility rate for the recipient's market in Meta's rate card (no volume tiers for service messages).
- Monthly service message cost = 9,000 × the utility rate for that market.
We don't print rates here: use the current figure in Meta's official rate card, because rates differ by market and change over time. One dated example from our home market: Meta lowered the utility and authentication rates for Türkiye on 1 April 2026, and the 1 October 2026 rate card update did not change Türkiye. Meta can only change prices on the first day of a quarter and announces rate card changes at least one month ahead.
Replies written by bots and AI are service messages too
By Meta's definition, any non-template message that isn't sent through Meta Business Agent is a service message, whether a person or a third-party AI wrote it. Replies from your own bot, or from an assistant in the software you use, are counted against the same free tier and charged at the same rate. Meta's own AI agent (Meta Business Agent) is priced separately at $2.00 per 1 million tokens, which Meta estimates at about 4 to 5 cents per message.
How these fees work with UPPU
UPPU runs on the official WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API). You connect your own WhatsApp Business account and number through Meta's signup flow, and the UPPU team enables WhatsApp for your workspace.
- WhatsApp message fees aren't included in UPPU's price; Meta charges them separately.
- The 24-hour window is counted by Meta's clock, and UPPU shows the time left above each conversation. After the window closes, only approved templates go out.
- You create utility and marketing templates in the panel; they sync with Meta every 6 hours and on demand.
Our pricing page explains UPPU's plans and Meta's fees, and the WhatsApp page shows how you connect your number.
Sources
- Meta: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform per-message pricing, categories, the service message free tier, the free entry point window, the government and non-profit policy, payment methods, currencies (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Meta: Pricing updates on the WhatsApp Business Platform the 1 October 2026 changes, the 1 April 2026 rates for Türkiye, the quarterly update rule (accessed 22 October 2026)
- Meta: Pricing for non-template messages what a service message is, its rate, Meta Business Agent pricing (accessed 22 October 2026)