Quick answer
WhatsApp Business API pricing is per message. Meta charges for each delivered template message according to its category (marketing, utility or authentication) and the customer's country, while replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free or much cheaper, depending on Meta's current rules. Messages customers send you are free. Providers then add their own fees, either as subscriptions or as a per-message price.
Key takeaways
- Meta moved to per-message pricing in July 2025: you pay for each delivered template, not per conversation.
- Templates are charged by category: marketing costs the most, utility and authentication far less.
- Replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are the cheapest messages; Meta's rules for them have changed over time, so check its pricing page.
- Messages your customers send you are always free.
- Provider pricing comes in two shapes: monthly subscriptions with Meta's fees on top, or an all-in price per message. chat.or.ke uses the second, with no monthly fee.
WhatsApp Business API pricing is the set of charges a business pays to send messages through the WhatsApp Business Platform: Meta charges per delivered message based on the type of message and where the customer is, and your provider adds its own fees on top. Unlike the free WhatsApp Business app, every message you send has a cost, but the cost varies a lot by what the message is for.
This explainer is for Kenyan owners and finance managers trying to budget for WhatsApp. It explains the model, what makes a message cheap or expensive, how providers charge, and walks through a monthly example you can adapt.
How does Meta charge for WhatsApp Business API messages?
Meta charges per delivered message, and the price depends on two things: the message category and the country code of the customer's number. A Kenyan number (+254) is billed at the rate Meta sets for Kenya or its regional group.
Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per message rather than per 24-hour conversation. It only changes rates at the start of a quarter, with notice. Always check Meta's WhatsApp pricing page for the current rate card rather than relying on figures quoted in blogs, including this one.
What are the WhatsApp message categories?
Every template you send belongs to one category, and the category sets the price. Our guide to WhatsApp template categories covers how Meta decides.
| Category | What it is for | Kenyan example | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotions, offers, announcements, re-engagement | "Weekend sale: 20% off all school shoes at our Moi Avenue branch" | Highest |
| Utility | Updates about a transaction the customer started | "Your order #4521 has been dispatched with our rider" | Low |
| Authentication | One-time passwords and login codes | "Your verification code is 482913" | Low |
| Service | Free-form replies inside the 24-hour window | "Yes, size 42 is in stock. Shall I reserve a pair?" | Lowest; free allowances apply |
Utility and authentication also get volume discounts from Meta once a business sends large numbers each month.
What is the 24-hour customer service window and why does it matter for cost?
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens in which you can reply with any free-form message, without a template. These service messages are the cheapest you can send.
Meta's treatment of them has shifted. Service messages were made free in November 2024. From 1 October 2026, Meta's pricing page describes a monthly free allowance of service messages per business number, with charges beyond it, and utility templates sent inside an open window are now charged too. The practical lesson is the same: the cheapest WhatsApp is the one where the customer writes first. Read more on the 24-hour window.
There is also a free entry point. When a customer messages you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button and you reply in time, Meta does not charge for messages in that window.
How do WhatsApp API providers charge on top?
Providers charge for their software and support in one of two ways.
- Subscription plus Meta fees. A monthly fee, often per agent or per plan, and Meta's charges passed through separately, sometimes with a markup. You may pay Meta directly by card in US dollars.
- All-in per message. No subscription; each message has one price that already includes Meta's charge. You pay only when you send.
Neither is always cheaper. A busy contact centre sending large volumes may prefer a subscription; a business with seasonal or modest volumes usually saves with pay per message. Our comparison of pay-per-message and monthly subscription pricing goes into the trade-off.
How much does chat.or.ke charge per message?
chat.or.ke has no monthly fee. You pay a one-off setup fee of KES 2,500 to go live, which covers your Meta business profile and verification, number registration, starter templates and onboarding. After that each message is deducted from a prepaid wallet you top up with M-Pesa, with Meta's charges included.
| Message type | chat.or.ke price |
|---|---|
| Customer replies (within 24 hours) | KES 0.75 |
| Updates and reminders (utility) | KES 0.90 |
| One-time codes (authentication) | KES 0.90 |
| Promotions and broadcasts (marketing) | KES 4.50 |
| Click-to-WhatsApp ad chats | KES 0.30 |
| Messages from your customers | Free |
Prices exclude VAT, and the minimum top-up is KES 500. The shared inbox, AI assistant, CRM, helpdesk and catalog are included. See the pricing page for the calculator.
Worked example: what would a Nairobi shop pay in a month?
Take a Nairobi electronics shop that, in a typical month, sends two thousand promotional broadcasts to opted-in customers and five thousand replies to customers who message in.
On chat.or.ke, the monthly cost is worked out in two lines:
- Promotions: two thousand messages at KES 4.50 each.
- Customer replies: five thousand messages at KES 0.75 each.
Add the two together for the month's spend, plus VAT. Every message customers send to the shop costs nothing. The setup fee of KES 2,500 is paid once, not monthly.
Now change one thing. If the shop also sends five hundred delivery updates, add five hundred times KES 0.90. If it halves its broadcasts and targets them better by tag, the largest line in the bill halves too. That is why the category mix matters more than the total number of messages.
How can you keep WhatsApp API costs down?
Most savings come from sending the right category to the right people.
- Target broadcasts by tag or segment instead of sending to everyone.
- Keep receipts and reminders purely informational so they stay in the utility category.
- Encourage customers to message you first, through Click-to-WhatsApp ads or a WhatsApp button on your website.
- Let the AI assistant and saved replies handle routine questions quickly inside the window.
- Clean your list: contacts who opted out or keep failing should be removed, which chat.or.ke does automatically.
Our guide on how to reduce WhatsApp API costs goes further.
Published 20 October 2026 Updated 20 October 2026 Plain-text version
