WhatsApp replies now cost money: what changed on 1 October

If your shop, clinic, coaching centre or online store answers customers through a WhatsApp bot or the WhatsApp Business Platform, those replies started costing money yesterday. From 1 October 2026, Meta charges for service messages. Each message costs very little, but a bot that sends four bubbles where one would do pays four times. Here is how to work out your own bill and keep it low.

What changed on 1 October

A service message is a free-form reply sent inside the 24-hour window that opens when a customer messages you. Your staff may type it, or a bot may send it. These replies used to be free. The change is for businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform, not the standalone WhatsApp Business app.

• Free allowance: 1,000 service messages per phone number each month, as reported in the business press. Meta's own pricing page does not list it yet, so confirm it with your provider.
• After that, for customers in India: ₹0.115 per delivered message, before GST and before any fee your WhatsApp provider adds.
• Utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window, such as "your order has shipped", are also charged now, at the same ₹0.115.
• Conversations that start when a customer taps your Click to WhatsApp ad stay free.
• Rates depend on the customer's country, so replies to customers abroad are priced differently.

Work out your monthly bill

For each number, take last month's count of replies sent by staff and bot, and the count of utility templates sent inside the window. Your provider's dashboard usually shows both.

The sum: (replies minus 1,000) × ₹0.115, plus in-window utility templates × ₹0.115, then GST on top.

An example: a coaching centre in Trichy answers fee and timetable questions from one number and sends 6,000 replies a month. That is 5,000 charged replies, or ₹575 before tax. Count each number separately, because the allowance is per number.

Cut the waste

• One answer, one message. A bot that sends "Hello!", then "Please wait", then the answer, then "Anything else?" pays for four messages.
• Fewer menu rounds. If a patient taps through three menus to reach clinic timings, that is three paid replies before the answer. Put the top questions on the first menu.
• Combine replies. Send order status, delivery date and payment link together, not as three messages.
• Do not let the bot answer "ok" or "thanks" with another message.
• Use the right template category. Order updates belong in utility, at ₹0.115 in India. A template filed as marketing costs ₹0.8631 each.

For what a bot should and should not try, see our earlier note on what a WhatsApp chatbot can realistically do.

Do this today: check your payment method

Meta said it would stop delivering service messages for businesses with no payment method on file once the charges began on 1 October. If your replies stopped reaching customers yesterday, check this first.

• If you connect to Meta directly, add a payment method in Meta's billing settings for your WhatsApp account.
• If you use a WhatsApp provider, ask them in writing whether a payment method is on file for your number, and how they will bill you for service messages from now on.

How we can help

We build and tune WhatsApp bots on the official Platform for shops, clinics and coaching centres. We can read your message logs, show what each kind of conversation costs, and trim the bot so it answers in fewer, clearer messages. See our services. If you want a second look at your bot before the next bill, talk to us.