Glossary · 35 terms
Pricing & billing
How WhatsApp Business Platform messaging is charged: per-message pricing by category, service-message charges, free entry points, volume tiers and billing — and the conversation-based model it replaced in July 2025.
Foundation· 14
Start here — the concepts everything else builds on.
- Business-Initiated ConversationA WhatsApp thread the business opens with an approved template. Once a billing unit, today each delivered template is simply charged by its category.Read definition
- ConversationThe 24-hour business-customer thread WhatsApp billed as one unit until 30 June 2025; since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered message instead.Read definition
- Conversation CategoryThe label — marketing, utility, authentication or service — that decides which rate Meta charges for a delivered WhatsApp message in each market.Read definition
- Free Tier ConversationsThe retired allowance of 1,000 free WhatsApp conversations per account each month, withdrawn on 1 November 2024 when service conversations became free.Read definition
- Per-Message PricingPMPMeta's WhatsApp billing model since 1 July 2025: each delivered message is charged by its category and the recipient's market, with no conversation fee.Read definition
- Platform FeeA provider's own charge for its WhatsApp software — inbox, automation, analytics, agent seats — billed separately from Meta's per-message charges.Read definition
- Prepaid WalletA balance topped up in advance with a WhatsApp provider and drawn down per delivered message; when it runs out, sending stops until it is recharged.Read definition
- Rate CardMeta's published table of WhatsApp per-message rates, one row per recipient market and one column per message category, dated and revised by quarter.Read definition
- Service MessageA free-form WhatsApp reply sent inside an open 24-hour customer service window; charged per delivered message since 1 October 2026, after a monthly free tier.Read definition
- User-Initiated ConversationA WhatsApp thread the customer starts by messaging first, opening a 24-hour window in which the business may reply without a template.Read definition
- WABA Payment MethodThe card or other payment method a business attaches to its WhatsApp Business Account so Meta can charge it directly for delivered messages.Read definition
- WhatsApp InvoiceThe periodic bill for WhatsApp Business Platform usage, from Meta or a partner, listing delivered messages by account, category and market, plus tax.Read definition
- WhatsApp Pricing CalculatorA tool or method that forecasts a month's WhatsApp spend by multiplying planned deliveries per category and market by the per-message rates.Read definition
- WhatsApp Pricing HistoryWhatsApp Business pricing went from per-template fees (2018) to conversations (2022), per-message pricing (2025) and charged service replies (2026).Read definition
Practitioner· 18
What you need once you are running it day to day.
- Billable MessageA WhatsApp message Meta actually charges for: delivered, with pricing type regular. Failed, expired, inbound and free-bucket messages are not billable.Read definition
- Billing CurrencyThe currency a WhatsApp Business Account is invoiced in, such as INR or USD. The business sets it; the recipient's country decides which rate applies.Read definition
- Business Eligibility Payment IssueWhatsApp Cloud API error 131042: sends fail because the account's billing is not in order — no valid payment method, an over-limit credit line or missing setup.Read definition
- Calling API PricingHow Meta bills WhatsApp Business Calling: calls customers place are free, calls the business places cost per 6-second pulse at the called country's rate.Read definition
- Conversation-Based PricingCBPWhatsApp's billing model from 1 February 2022 to 30 June 2025: one fee per 24-hour conversation, set by its category and the customer's country.Read definition
- Credit LineA Meta line of credit a Solution Partner shares with client WhatsApp Business Accounts, so Meta bills the partner and the partner invoices the business.Read definition
- Effective Cost per MessageThe all-in amount you actually pay per delivered WhatsApp message once category mix, tiers, free windows, platform fees and tax are counted.Read definition
- Free Entry PointA window, opened by replying to a chat that began from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, in which Meta charges nothing for the messages you send that customer.Read definition
- GST on WhatsApp BillingGSTHow India's 18% GST applies to WhatsApp message charges and provider fees, what the tax invoice must show, and how businesses claim input tax credit.Read definition
- Max Price (WhatsApp Marketing Messages)Max price is a ceiling a business sets on what Meta charges per delivered WhatsApp marketing message. Meta charges that amount or less.Read definition
- Pass-Through PricingA provider pricing model in which Meta's per-message charges reach the business at cost, and the provider earns only from a separate platform fee.Read definition
- Pricing Effective DateThe moment a new WhatsApp rate card or pricing rule starts to apply — for Meta, only on the first day of a quarter, after a fixed notice period.Read definition
- Pricing MarketThe country or regional bucket Meta assigns a WhatsApp recipient from their phone number's country code; it picks which rate-card row prices the message.Read definition
- Reach Estimation Tool (Max Price)Meta's forecast of likely deliveries and costs at several max-price levels, based on recent data, used to choose a ceiling for marketing messages.Read definition
- Service ConversationThe legacy WhatsApp billing unit for a customer-initiated 24-hour thread, charged per conversation until 1 November 2024 and retired on 1 July 2025.Read definition
- Volume Tier PricingMeta's monthly volume tiers that lower the per-message rate for utility and authentication templates as a business portfolio sends more in one market.Read definition
- WhatsApp Cost OptimisationLowering WhatsApp Business Platform spend through category choice, free windows, suppression, volume tiers and max price, while keeping the results.Read definition
- WhatsApp vs SMS OTP CostA comparison of what a one-time passcode costs in India as a WhatsApp authentication template versus a DLT-registered SMS, per verified login.Read definition
Expert· 3
Edge cases, internals and the details that matter at scale.
- Authentication-International RateA higher rate Meta charges for OTP templates delivered to users in certain markets, India included, by eligible businesses based in another country.Read definition
- Billing ReconciliationMatching every billable WhatsApp message in your logs and Meta's pricing data to the invoice, so each charge is explained and each gap is investigated.Read definition
- Pricing AnalyticsThe pricing_analytics field on a WhatsApp Business Account in the Graph API, which returns delivered volume and approximate cost by category, market and period.Read definition
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