Per-message pricing, by country
Pricing Calculator
WhatsApp Business API
Enter your volumes and see what you'd pay a month. All four message categories are charged, so what drives your bill is which ones you use, and when.
Set up your scenario
Rate: 0,0125 US$ per message. It's the priciest category.
Rate: 0,0008 US$ per message. Free-form replies inside the window your customer opened.
Rate: 0,0008 US$ per message. When your customer opened the conversation.
Rate: 0,0008 US$ per message. Same rate, but here you can only send a template.
Rate: 0,0008 US$ per message.
All four categories are charged. Service messages go at your market's utility rate with no volume tiers; utility templates are charged inside the customer service window too. What has no delivery cost is the 72-hour window opened by ads — those messages don't belong in this count.
Per-country rates come from Meta's rate card, which is updated quarterly. Treat them as an order of magnitude and confirm the figure before you budget.
Estimated Monthly Cost
Total to pay
0,00 US$
0 total messages
Enter quantities to calculate costs
The two windows and what each one costs
WhatsApp opens two time windows. One decides what you can send; the other is the only one where delivery costs nothing.
Service window (24h)
Customer Service Window
Opens when your customer messages you
Any message you receive opens it
Lasts 24h from the customer's last message
It resets every time they write
Messages inside the window are charged too
Service (free-form): at your country's utility rate, no volume tiers Utility (templates): at full rate
This window doesn't save you money: it decides what you can send. Inside it you reply in free-form text; outside it you can only send templates. In Colombia that's $0.0008 versus $0.0125 per message if the alternative is a marketing template.
Ad window (72h)
Free Entry Point
Opens from a Meta ad
Click-to-WhatsApp ads or a Facebook Page button
Lasts 72 hours, three full days
You have to reply within 24h of the click
Every message free for 72 hours
Marketing: free Utility: free Service: free
It's the only window where delivery costs nothing. Two caveats: the ad that opens it is paid, and if the Meta Business Agent answers, its tokens are billed separately.
Visual Timeline
Hour 0
Your customer messages you
24-hour window opens
Every reply is charged
0-24 hours
Service and utility, at your country's utility rate
After 24h
Window closed
Templates only, at their category's rate
Message Categories
All four are charged, but not alike: the rate differs, so does whether it drops with volume and whether you need an approved template to send it.
Marketing
Promotional Messages
Always charged
Offers, promotions, discounts, product launches
Examples:
- 20% discount coupon
- New collection available
- Flash sale this weekend
- Needs an approved template
- Volume discount
Utility
Transactional Updates
Charged, inside the window too
Order confirmations, shipping updates, reminders
Examples:
- Your order #123 was confirmed
- Your package arrives tomorrow
- Medical appointment reminder
- Needs an approved template
- Volume discount
Authentication
Verification Codes (OTP)
Always charged
OTP codes, 2FA verification, account recovery
Examples:
- Your code: 123456
- Verification code for login
- Confirm your phone number
- Needs an approved template
- Volume discount
Service
Customer Responses
At your country's utility rate
Customer support, query responses, general support
Examples:
- How can I help you?
- Your order is on its way
- Product information
- Needs an approved template
- Volume discount
How to bring the bill down
Getting the customer to write first isn't free, but it's still the cheapest option: a service reply costs the utility rate and a marketing template costs considerably more. The only thing at zero is the 72-hour window opened by ads.
E-commerce
Ask for order confirmation over WhatsApp: it opens the window and drops every later update to the utility rate.
Services
Send the reminder inside the window. Outside it you pay for a template, and if it's promotional you pay marketing.
Marketing
Click-to-WhatsApp: 72 hours with no delivery cost, the only free window.
Rates by Country
Meta's rate card, by recipient country. Service messages are charged at the same rate as utility.
| Country | Code | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | ServiceAt the utility rate, with no volume tiers. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ColombiaMost affordable | +57 | 0,0125 US$ | 0,0008 US$ | 0,0008 US$ | 0,0008 US$ |
| México | +52 | 0,0305 US$ | 0,0085 US$ | 0,0085 US$ | 0,0085 US$ |
| Argentina | +54 | 0,0618 US$ | 0,0260 US$ | 0,0260 US$ | 0,0260 US$ |
| Brasil | +55 | 0,0625 US$ | 0,0068 US$ | 0,0068 US$ | 0,0068 US$ |
| Chile | +56 | 0,0889 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ |
| Perú | +51 | 0,0703 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ |
| España | +34 | 0,0615 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ | 0,0200 US$ |
| Resto de Latinoamérica | LATAM | 0,0740 US$ | 0,0113 US$ | 0,0113 US$ | 0,0113 US$ |
Colombia
+57
Marketing
0,0125 US$
Utility
0,0008 US$
Authentication
0,0008 US$
Service
0,0008 US$
México
+52
Marketing
0,0305 US$
Utility
0,0085 US$
Authentication
0,0085 US$
Service
0,0085 US$
Argentina
+54
Marketing
0,0618 US$
Utility
0,0260 US$
Authentication
0,0260 US$
Service
0,0260 US$
Brasil
+55
Marketing
0,0625 US$
Utility
0,0068 US$
Authentication
0,0068 US$
Service
0,0068 US$
Chile
+56
Marketing
0,0889 US$
Utility
0,0200 US$
Authentication
0,0200 US$
Service
0,0200 US$
Perú
+51
Marketing
0,0703 US$
Utility
0,0200 US$
Authentication
0,0200 US$
Service
0,0200 US$
España
+34
Marketing
0,0615 US$
Utility
0,0200 US$
Authentication
0,0200 US$
Service
0,0200 US$
Resto de Latinoamérica
LATAM
Marketing
0,0740 US$
Utility
0,0113 US$
Authentication
0,0113 US$
Service
0,0113 US$
Price per message
Every delivered message is charged: templates and service replies alike.
Volume discounts
Up to 25% on Utility and Authentication. Service has no tiers.
Recipient's country
Price depends on WhatsApp number's country code
Did you know...?
Colombia is the most affordable
With marketing messages at $0,0125 US$, it's ideal for startups and scaling businesses.
Up to 86% cheaper than the most expensive country in the region
Brazil: excellent for high volume
Utility messages at $0,0068 US$ with progressive discounts up to 25%.
Perfect for operations with millions of monthly messages
6 ways to spend less
Six levers that genuinely move the bill. The first three carry the most weight.
Make the 24-hour window work
Inside the window you reply in free-form text at the utility rate. Outside it you have to send a template, and a promotional one costs marketing rates.
How to implement:
- Put “Message us on WhatsApp” buttons in confirmation emails
- Send the SMS asking them to confirm over WhatsApp
- Reply fast: the window resets with every customer message
Use Click-to-WhatsApp Ads
The 72-hour window opened by ads is the only one where delivery costs nothing, marketing included.
How to implement:
- Run Facebook and Instagram ads with a WhatsApp button
- Send the whole sequence within the 72 hours
- Count the ad spend: delivery is free, the campaign isn't
Reach Volume Discounts
Utility and authentication drop through tiers up to 25%. Service doesn't qualify: its rate is flat however many you send.
How to implement:
- Batch sends monthly rather than weekly
- Consolidate WhatsApp Business accounts if you run several
- Schedule big campaigns early in the month
Consolidate Messages
Every delivered message is charged separately. Merging two notifications into one removes a line from the bill.
How to implement:
- Group confirmation + shipping details in one template
- Avoid redundancy between channels (email, SMS, WhatsApp)
- Use utility messages instead of marketing when possible
Invite the reply
A message that invites an answer opens the window, and inside it the rest of the conversation runs at the utility rate instead of template rates.
How to implement:
- End your updates with a specific question
- Send what you expect answered during active hours
- Chain updates while the window is still open
Classify Correctly
Meta reviews templates daily. A transactional one reclassified as marketing multiplies its price.
How to implement:
- Check transactional templates are filed as “Utility”
- Keep promotional content out of utility templates
- In Colombia, utility to marketing multiplies the message by 15
One case, using this page's rates
Colombian e-commerce
Before
$330
• 60,000 utility alerts outside the window — $48 • 20,000 promotions by marketing template — $250 • 40,000 service replies — $32
What they changed
- Moved the campaign to Click-to-WhatsApp ads
- Asked customers to confirm the order over WhatsApp
- Merged the two shipping alerts into one
After
$56
−$274 a month (83%)
• 20,000 promotions inside the 72-hour window — $0 • 30,000 utility alerts, now consolidated — $24 • 40,000 service replies — $32
Service replies didn't drop: they're paid, and they're the floor of the bill. What moved was the marketing — and it's worth being exact here: what costs nothing is delivery inside the 72-hour window, not the ad that opens it. That's paid separately, in the campaign budget.
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