WhatsApp Business API pricing in India
WhatsApp Business API pricing in India has two parts: Meta's per-message charge, which depends on the message category, and whatever your provider adds on top. From 1 Oct 2026 Meta's India rate is ₹0.8631 for a marketing message and ₹0.115 for utility, authentication and service messages. Providers differ mainly in the second part.
How does Meta charge for WhatsApp messages?
Meta charges per delivered message, by category and by the recipient's market. According to Meta's pricing page, charges apply only to messages from businesses to users, and a business is only charged when a message is delivered.
Meta charges by category–market, and only for messages from businesses to users.
There are four categories that matter for most teams. Marketing covers promotions and re-engagement. Utility covers updates tied to something the customer did, such as an order or a booking. Authentication covers one-time passcodes. Service covers any non-template reply sent while a customer service window is open. Meta also lists a fifth category, Meta Business Agent, which is priced per token and is out of scope here.
Meta says it may change prices only on the first day of a quarter: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October.
What are Meta's rates for India from 1 Oct 2026?
Based on Meta's INR rate card, effective 1 Oct 2026, the India row reads as follows. All figures are rupees per delivered message, before any tax.
| Category | India rate (₹ per message) |
|---|---|
| Marketing | 0.8631 |
| Utility | 0.115 |
| Authentication | 0.115 |
| Authentication, international | 2.4971 |
| Service | 0.115 |
Meta's rate card shows the same row in US dollars: $0.0118 for marketing and $0.0014 for utility, authentication and service. Meta also publishes volume tiers for utility and authentication messages, starting at a 6% discount above 25 million utility messages a month or above 750,000 authentication messages a month. Most small and mid-size senders will sit on the list rate. Marketing and service have no volume tiers in the file.
India was not on Meta's list of rate changes for 1 Oct 2026. Earlier in the year, Meta's page records a higher India marketing rate from 1 Jan 2026 and a higher international authentication rate from 1 Apr 2026.
What changed on 1 Oct 2026?
Two kinds of messages that used to cost nothing are billable again. Meta's pricing page says it "resumed charging, on a per-message basis" for service messages, which had been free since 1 Nov 2024. It also says utility messages sent in an open customer service window, free since 1 Jul 2025, are charged from 1 Oct 2026.
To soften the service change, Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month. Per Meta's pricing page, these do not roll over and reset monthly, so Meta charges from the 1,001st service message for each number.
Meta also warns that a business with no payment method on file will have service messages blocked once the free allowance is used. If you send replies through an API, check that your Meta account has a payment method before your first month-end. The 24-hour window post covers which messages are affected and how to avoid the surprises.
What does a provider add on top of Meta's rate?
A provider's charge is its own, separate from Meta's. In general terms, three models exist.
- Markup on Meta's rate. The provider bills you Meta's charge plus a percentage or a fixed amount per message. Your invoice has one line per message category, and your bill rises with volume.
- Platform or subscription fee plus pass-through. A monthly plan fee, often tiered by features or seats, with Meta's charge passed through at cost or at a small markup.
- Flat fee, Meta billed separately. The provider charges a fixed amount for the connected number. Meta bills you directly for messages.
Which model applies depends on how the provider is set up with Meta. A Solution Partner can extend a credit line and invoice you for messages. A Tech Provider cannot: its clients add their own payment method and Meta bills them. The BSP vs Tech Provider post explains the difference.
Always ask for a provider's fee for a month at your own volumes. Per-message markups are small on one message and large on a million.
What would a month actually cost?
Here is a worked example. The volumes below are assumed for illustration, not drawn from any real account: one connected number sending 2,000 marketing messages, 20,000 utility templates, 5,000 authentication codes and 8,000 service replies in a month.
| Line | Volume | Rate (₹) | Amount (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | 2,000 | 0.8631 | 1,726.20 |
| Utility | 20,000 | 0.115 | 2,300.00 |
| Authentication | 5,000 | 0.115 | 575.00 |
| Service (first 1,000 free) | 7,000 charged | 0.115 | 805.00 |
| Meta total | 5,406.20 |
Meta's charges come to ₹5,406.20 for the month. A provider that added a hypothetical 10% to Meta's rate would add ₹540.62 on the same volumes. At ten times the volume that markup is roughly ten times larger, while a flat per-number fee has not moved.
Figures are before any tax Meta or your provider applies.
How does WhaBuzz price this?
WhaBuzz uses the flat-fee model. The fee is ₹500 a month for your first connected number and ₹250 for each additional number, excluding GST, which is added at 18%. There is nothing per message, and a 14-day trial comes first. The details are on the WhaBuzz pricing page and the pricing page.
WhaBuzz is a Meta Tech Provider, so Meta bills the Meta charges to your own Meta account at Meta's rate. WhaBuzz does not mark them up and does not see them on an invoice. For the example above, one number costs ₹500 plus ₹90 GST, which is ₹590. Meta's ₹5,406.20 comes on top, billed by Meta.
WhaBuzz went live on 16 Oct 2026 and is an API gateway, not an inbox or a campaign tool. If you want a shared inbox or a chatbot builder, a provider that includes one may suit you better. See the provider comparisons.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a WhatsApp marketing message cost in India?
According to Meta's rate card effective 1 Oct 2026, a marketing message costs ₹0.8631 in India, before any tax and before any provider fee.
Are WhatsApp service messages free now?
Only up to a point. From 1 Oct 2026 Meta charges ₹0.115 per service message in India, after the first 1,000 free service messages per business phone number each month.
Does WhaBuzz charge per message?
No. WhaBuzz charges ₹500 a month for the first number and ₹250 for each additional number, excluding GST. Meta bills its message charges to your own Meta account.
Do volume discounts apply to marketing messages?
Meta's INR volume-tier file covers utility and authentication messages only. Marketing and service messages are at list rate.
Related reading
- Pricing states exactly what WhaBuzz bills and when a number counts.
- Sending messages shows the request body for each message type.
- BSP vs Tech Provider vs Cloud API explains who invoices what.
- WhatsApp 24-hour window covers the 1 Oct 2026 billing changes in detail.
- All guides by task and the WhatsApp API overview.
- Meta's source: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing, checked 16 Oct 2026.