WhatsApp conversation (billing)
In WhatsApp Business API billing, the conversation was the unit of charge until 2025: a 24-hour session opened by the first message, with the price determined by the category (marketing, utility, authentication, service) and the user's country. Meta then moved to pricing per delivered template message, keeping service replies to customers who write in free until September 30, 2026; from October 1, 2026 each number gets 1,000 free service messages per month, and beyond that they are charged at the utility rate.
In the conversation model, all messages exchanged within the 24-hour session fell under a single charge, and opening multiple categories generated separate sessions. The model was superseded because it was hard to predict with mixed volumes. With per-message pricing, every delivered marketing, utility or authentication template has a unit price from the rate card, while free-form messages sent within the customer service window are free until September 30, 2026 and, from October 1, 2026, up to 1,000 per month per number, after which they cost the same as a utility message.
Some inherited rules remain: messages the user sends to the business are not charged; service replies are free up to 1,000 per month per number from October 1, 2026 (before that they were always free); utility templates sent within an open window are charged from October 1, 2026; entry points from Click-to-WhatsApp ads open a free period that can last up to 7 days. To estimate a campaign budget, you therefore multiply the number of recipients by the template's unit rate for the category and destination country.
SendApp applies Meta's per-message price list with no markup whatsoever: the business pays for the platform and only the actual Meta costs, whatever the conversation volume.
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