WhatsApp Business API Pricing in India (2026 ₹ Rates)

From 1 October 2026, Meta’s list rates for WhatsApp Business API messages to Indian numbers are ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.1150 per utility, authentication or service message, charged only when a message is delivered. Facebook India adds 18% GST to the invoice.

Each business phone number also gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad are free for a limited window. Two things that used to be free are charged again from October 2026: service messages beyond the free tier, and utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window. This guide explains every rate, with examples.

WhatsApp API prices in India at a glance

All rates exclude 18% GST and exclude your provider’s fees. They come from Meta’s INR rate card effective 1 October 2026; always check Meta’s pricing page before you budget.

How Meta charges for WhatsApp messages

Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per message instead of per 24-hour conversation. A message is charged once, when it is delivered, based on its category and the recipient’s country code. Messages sent to you by customers cost nothing, and attempts to send a paused template are not charged.

The five categories

• Marketing: anything promotional, including mixed messages that combine an update with an offer.
• Utility: non-promotional updates that are specific to the customer or that they asked for, such as order or appointment updates.
• Authentication: one-time passcodes, sent from Meta’s authentication template with a copy-code or one-tap button.
• Service: free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window.
• Meta Business Agent: Meta’s own AI agent, billed by tokens since 1 August 2026.

What’s free, and what stopped being free on 1 October 2026

Free window after Click-to-WhatsApp ads

When a customer messages you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad and you reply within 24 hours, Meta doesn’t charge for messages in the free window that follows (except Meta Business Agent). Meta’s developer pricing page now describes this window as up to 7 days, for ads opened on Android or iOS; older Meta pages still say 72 hours. Check the current terms before you plan a campaign around it.

1,000 free service messages per number

From 1 October 2026 each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. They don’t roll over. After that, service messages to Indian numbers cost ₹0.1150 each.

Newly charged from October 2026

• Service messages beyond the free 1,000 per number per month (they had been free since November 2024).
• Utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window (they had been free since July 2025).
• Accounts without a payment method by 30 September 2026 stop delivering service messages once the free tier is used.

Volume discounts for utility and OTP messages

Utility and authentication messages get cheaper at high volume; marketing messages don’t. Tiers count across your whole business portfolio and reset every month.

GST and INR billing

Meta’s WhatsApp invoices for Indian businesses come from Facebook India and include 18% GST (IGST, or CGST plus SGST if your billing address is in Haryana). INR billing started on 1 January 2026; India accounts must migrate by 31 December 2026, and from 1 January 2027 Meta stops delivering messages for eligible accounts still billed in another currency.

Worked examples: what WhatsApp messages cost

Meta fees only, Indian recipients, INR account, before provider fees:

Meta fees vs provider fees: how to read a quote

A WhatsApp platform quote usually has two parts: Meta’s message charges (the rates above, passed through or marked up) and the platform fee for the software (inbox, campaigns, chatbots, AI, users). Ask every provider:

• Are Meta’s rates passed through at cost, or marked up? By how much?
• Is GST included in the quoted rate?
• What does the platform fee include: users, numbers, chatbots, AI replies, API access?
• Are AI replies charged separately from WhatsApp’s service-message rate?

How to lower your WhatsApp bill

• Use the right category. True order and booking updates are utility, at roughly a seventh of the marketing rate.
• Start conversations from ads. Click-to-WhatsApp chats are free during the free window if you reply within 24 hours.
• Target better. Sending to engaged, opted-in segments cuts undelivered and ignored messages, and protects your quality rating.
• Let a bot or AI answer inside the window. Service replies are cheap and the first 1,000 a month per number are free.
• Retire weak templates. Low-quality templates get paused, and paused sends are not charged, but they also don’t reach anyone.

In Automate AI you can see sent, delivered, read and failed counts for every campaign, so you know exactly what you’re paying for.

Timeline of WhatsApp pricing changes, 2024–2026

• November 2024: service conversations become free.
• 1 July 2025: per-message pricing replaces conversation pricing; utility templates inside the 24-hour window become free.
• 1 January 2026: India marketing rate increases; INR billing launches.
• 1 April 2026: authentication-international rate increases.
• 1 July 2026: Meta Business Agent launches (token billing from 1 August).
• 1 October 2026: service messages charged after 1,000 free per number per month; utility inside the window charged; current India rates take effect.

Meta only changes rates on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October, with notice. We update this guide when it does.