Pricing · 5 min read · Savina Bansal
WhatsApp Replies Now Cost Money: What Changed on 1 October
From 1 Oct 2026, Meta charges for WhatsApp replies and in-chat utility messages. See what it costs an Indian business and 3 ways to keep the bill low.
Building the platform this article is about
From 1 October 2026, Meta charges Indian businesses for replies they send to customers on the WhatsApp Business API, after the first 1,000 a month on each business number. Utility messages sent inside an open chat are charged too, with no free allowance. In India each costs ₹0.1150 — about 11.5 paise — before GST. Ohanvi, a WhatsApp marketing platform, publishes its own price for these replies on every plan, beside Meta’s.
What changed on 1 October
Rekha runs a saree store in Jaipur. Customers ask her about blouse sizes, delivery dates and COD on WhatsApp. About 1,800 times a month, she or her bot replies.
Until September, those replies cost nothing. Meta made them free in November 2024.
On 1 October 2026, that ended. Meta now charges for two things that used to be free:
Service messages — any reply you send inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes to you, whether a person typed it or a bot sent it.
Utility templates inside that window — an order update or a payment reminder sent while the chat is open.
Meta charges both at its utility rate for the customer’s country: ₹0.1150 a message in India. Each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month; they reset monthly and do not roll over. Utility templates have no free allowance.
One charge applies per message. You never pay twice for the same reply.
What this costs you
The table below is Meta’s own charge for replies to Indian customers, after the 1,000 free a month on one number.
| Replies a month | Charged after the free tier | Meta’s charge (excl. GST) | With 18% GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| 500 | 0 | ₹0 | ₹0 |
| 2,000 | 1,000 | ₹115 | ₹136 |
| 5,000 | 4,000 | ₹460 | ₹543 |
| 10,000 | 9,000 | ₹1,035 | ₹1,221 |
Meta’s India service rate of ₹0.1150 a message. A platform adds its own fee on top; Ohanvi’s is shown further down.
Rekha’s 1,800 replies now cost about ₹92 a month in Meta charges — 800 of them are past the free tier. That won’t sink her store. But a D2C brand answering 10,000 “where is my order?” messages a month just picked up a new ₹1,035 bill before GST.
The quotable version: past the first 1,000 a month, every WhatsApp reply now costs an Indian business about 11.5 paise.
Three ways to keep the bill low
Let ads start the conversation. When a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Meta’s Android or iOS app and you reply, Meta opens a free entry point window. Meta’s documentation says it can stay open for up to 7 days, and nothing you send inside it is charged — marketing, utility or service. Meta did not change this.
Answer in one message, not four. “Hi!”, “Let me check”, “Your order is…” and “Anything else?” is four charges once you are past the free tier. One clear message with two quick-reply buttons is one.
Tell customers before they ask. A shipping update sent the moment a parcel leaves your warehouse is one utility message, 11.5 paise. The three or four replies it prevents would cost 34.5 paise to 46 paise.
Who will notice it most
Businesses with lots of customer chat will feel this first: D2C brands in festive season, clinics confirming appointments, coaching centres answering fee questions.
If you mostly send broadcasts and rarely chat — or your replies stay under 1,000 a month — very little changes for you.
How Ohanvi shows this charge
Ohanvi lists a service-message price for every plan on its pricing page, beside Meta’s own rate: to India, ₹0.1380 on Pay as you go, ₹0.1288 on Growth and ₹0.1208 on Pro — Meta’s ₹0.1150 plus the plan’s percentage, the same as every other message category. Meta’s free 1,000 a month pass through to you untouched. Any invoice line can be checked against Meta’s card.
The pricing calculator asks for replies your team types and chatbot replies separately, and shows your own monthly number with Meta’s charge and Ohanvi’s margin on separate lines.
When Ohanvi isn’t the answer: if your only cost worry is reply volume, no platform can remove Meta’s charge. Fewer, better replies will save you more than switching tools.
Work out your own number
Questions this answers
- Are WhatsApp customer replies still free in India?
- Only the first 1,000 a month on each business number. Since 1 October 2026, Meta charges for replies sent inside the 24-hour customer service window after that free tier — ₹0.1150 each in India, plus GST and any platform fee. Chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad stay free while Meta’s free entry point window is open.
- Do I pay for a utility template sent during an open chat?
- Yes, from 1 October 2026. Before that, utility templates sent inside an open customer service window were free. Now Meta charges them at the normal utility rate — ₹0.1150 in India — with no free allowance. Only one charge applies per message, so you never pay twice.
- How much does Ohanvi charge on top of Meta for replies?
- The same percentage as every other message on your plan, from 5% on Pro to 20% on Pay as you go. To India a reply is ₹0.1288 on Growth against Meta’s ₹0.1150, and Meta’s 1,000 free a month pass through untouched. Every feature is on every plan; the pricing page lists each plan’s price beside Meta’s.
