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WhatsApp Business Charges Begin: Meta Prices Service Messages from Today!
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Firstpost•01-10-2026, 09:35
WhatsApp Business Charges Begin: Meta Prices Service Messages from Today!
- •Meta will start charging businesses for certain service messages on WhatsApp Business from October 1, impacting customer message billing.
- •The change is part of Meta's broader WhatsApp Business pricing update for the second half of 2026, with an immediate deadline for payment methods.
- •Service messages, previously free since November 1, 2024, will now be charged per delivered message, with rates varying by market.
- •Businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform through Solution Providers or direct integrations must add a payment method by September 30, or service messages may stop being delivered.
- •This update does not affect regular WhatsApp users, and a free entry-point window for ad-initiated conversations remains unchanged.
Key Questions Answered
Starting October 1, 2026, Meta is beginning to charge businesses for certain service messages and utility messages sent within the 24-hour customer service window that were previously free.
Businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform or working through Solution Providers must have a payment method on file by September 30, 2026, or risk having their service messages stop being delivered starting October 1.
While standard service and utility messages incur per-message or delivered-message charges starting October 1, Meta Business Agent messages are billed on a separate token basis covering AI processing and message delivery, which began on August 1, 2026.
