Free Entry Point

1. 1

   A customer taps your ad

   They open WhatsApp from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad in the Android or iOS app and send a message. The inbound message carries a webhook referral object (referral) identifying the ad, and it opens a 24-hour customer service window.

2. 2

   You reply inside the service window

   Reply within 24 hours with a marketing, utility, authentication or service message. That reply is itself uncharged, and the FEP window starts at the time of your reply, not at the customer's first message.

3. 3

   Send what the sale needs

   While the window is open every delivered message is uncharged: free-form replies while the service window is open, and templates of any category at any time. Utility and authentication templates delivered in it do not count towards Meta's volume tiers.

4. 4

   Watch the service window separately

   If the customer stops replying, the 24-hour service window closes and only templates can be sent. They still cost nothing until the FEP window ends; check that each status webhook's pricing.type is free_entry_point rather than assuming the full 7 days.

5. 5

   When the window ends, normal pricing returns

   Templates are charged by category again and service replies at the service rate (₹0.145 on InfiQ's India card). Pricing analytics reports the uncharged deliveries under the pricing type FREE_ENTRY_POINT.

Window length

Up to 7 days from the business's reply (Meta pricing docs)

Older documentation

72 hours

Reply deadline

Inside the 24-hour customer service window

Entry point

Click-to-WhatsApp ads (older docs also list Facebook Page CTA)

Customer device

WhatsApp on Android or iOS (not desktop or web)

What carries no charge

Marketing, utility, authentication and service messages

Still charged inside it

Meta Business Agent messages

Analytics pricing type

FREE_ENTRY_POINT

• Replying after 24 hours

  A late first reply means no free window at all. Route ad leads to a queue with a response target well under 24 hours, or send an automated first reply the moment they arrive.

• Assuming uncharged means free-form is allowed

  The FEP window removes charges, not the template rule. After 24 hours of customer silence the service window closes, so send an approved template — still uncharged while the FEP window lasts.

• Planning on the full 7 days

  Meta says the window may remain open for up to 7 days, not that it always does. Put the sends that matter early, and confirm uncharged deliveries from the pricing object on status webhooks or from pricing analytics.

• Expecting every entry point to qualify

  QR codes, website widgets, wa.me links, organic chats and messages from WhatsApp desktop or web do not open a free entry point. Budget those conversations at normal per-message rates, and verify Page-button traffic before counting it as uncharged.

• Counting from the customer's message

  The window starts at your reply. Planning follow-ups from the customer's first message misreads when it opens and leaves uncharged time unused.

Click-to-WhatsApp ads already cost money to run; the free entry point means the conversation they generate adds no message charges while the window lasts. For WhatsApp lead generation and sales teams that is the time to qualify, quote, share a catalogue and confirm an order — often the whole sales cycle — at zero WhatsApp message cost. Missing the 24-hour reply deadline throws that away, which makes response time on ad leads a cost metric as well as a conversion metric, and one of the simplest levers in WhatsApp cost optimisation.

• Send an instant automated first reply to ad leads so the free window always opens.
• Plan the follow-up sequence — catalogue, quote, payment link — to land early in the window.
• Tag conversations by entry point so reports separate uncharged ad traffic from charged traffic.
• Filter pricing_analytics by FREE_ENTRY_POINT to show what ad-led messaging saved.
• Keep AI-agent replies in view: Meta Business Agent messages are charged even inside the window.

How long is the WhatsApp free entry point window?

Up to 7 days from your reply, according to Meta's current pricing documentation. Older documentation and many guides say 72 hours, so schedule important sends early and confirm each delivery's pricing.type (free_entry_point) in status webhooks or pricing analytics.

Are templates uncharged inside a free entry point window?

Yes. Every message delivered while the window is open carries no charge, including marketing, utility and authentication templates sent after the service window has closed.

Did the free entry point change on 1 October 2026?

Not for message charges. Meta began charging for service messages on that date, but messages delivered inside an open free entry point window still carry no charge; Meta Business Agent messages are the exception.

Does a WhatsApp link on my website open a free entry point?

No. Only chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad in the Android or iOS app qualify; QR codes, website buttons and wa.me links do not. Meta's older documentation also listed Facebook Page call-to-action buttons.

Is the free entry point the same as the 24-hour service window?

No. The service window decides whether you may send free-form messages; the FEP window decides whether you pay. They run independently and usually close at different times.