WhatsApp Business Pricing Changes in India From October 1
Under the revised structure, businesses in India will receive 1,000 free service messages per business phone number each month.
Meta has revised pricing for the WhatsApp Business Platform in India from October 1, introducing charges for service messages after a monthly free allowance and ending the free treatment of utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer-service window.
Under the revised structure, businesses in India will receive 1,000 free service messages per business phone number each month. Once the allowance is exhausted, additional service messages will be charged at ₹0.115 per delivered message, according to Meta’s updated pricing structure.
Service messages are free-form, non-template responses sent by businesses, including responses generated through third-party AI systems, after a customer has initiated a conversation and while the 24-hour customer-service window is open. These messages had remained free since November 1, 2024. From October 1, businesses will continue to have the 24-hour service window, but service messages beyond the monthly free allowance will be chargeable.
Meta is also changing the treatment of utility messages. Utility template messages sent while the 24-hour customer-service window is open will become chargeable from October 1. These messages had been free within the service window since July 1, 2025. The applicable utility rate for recipients in India is ₹0.115 per delivered message under the current rate card.
The changes apply to businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform, either through direct integration or solution providers. They do not introduce charges for ordinary WhatsApp users sending personal messages. Businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app are also not being moved to this API-based pricing structure simply because of these changes.
Meta has also required businesses using the platform to keep a payment method on file. Businesses that had not added a payment method by September 30 were warned that their service messages could stop being delivered once the new pricing takes effect on October 1.
Not every business message will be affected in the same way. Messages sent by customers to businesses remain free, while the first 1,000 delivered service messages per business phone number each month are covered by the new free allowance. Eligible conversations originating through certain free-entry-point mechanisms, including Click-to-WhatsApp Ads, also retain their existing 72-hour free-entry-point window.
The revised pricing therefore primarily affects businesses that handle large volumes of customer-support conversations through the WhatsApp Business Platform. Companies using chatbots, AI agents or human support teams will need to account for service-message volumes above the monthly allowance, while businesses that rely heavily on utility templates inside the 24-hour window will also see a change in their messaging costs.
The new structure comes as Meta continues to move WhatsApp Business Platform pricing toward per-message billing across different message categories. For businesses in India, the financial impact will depend on the number of customer conversations, the number of messages sent per interaction and the extent to which their existing workflows use service and utility messages.