WhatsApp Business pricing changes for 2024 and 2025

WhatsApp is one of the most popular global messaging channels. With 2 billion active monthly users sending 100 million messages daily, it’s no surprise businesses are choosing to interact with their customers via WhatsApp more and more.

WhatsApp Business has become a big part of business-to-customer (B2C) communication with its fast online message exchange through connected smartphones, laptops, desktop computers, tablets, and even smartwatches. It allows businesses to create meaningful one-on-one conversations with great customer journeys that lead to successful conversion.

According to Meta, 67% of respondents in marketing report that WhatsApp led to higher conversion rates than alternative channels, and they want businesses to continue to focus on these high ROI marketing use cases​.

Meta strives to deliver the ultimate customer journey on WhatsApp Business, allowing businesses to communicate with their customers on multiple touchpoints and for various use cases. In order to match its pricing to the use cases and experiences the WhatsApp Business Platform offers, Meta created a pricing model that is both conversation- and template-based. However, that pricing model is changing for the remainder of 2024 and 2025.

WhatsApp Business Platform in a nutshell

Before diving into pricing model changes, knowing how the WhatsApp Business Platform operates is important.

Meta recognises two types of conversations on the WhatsApp Business Platform: user-initiated conversations and business-initiated conversations. Business-initiated conversations always start with message templates, which need to be pre-approved by Meta.

A messaging session can start with a user-initiated or business-initiated message. When a messaging session starts, your business gets a 24-hour conversation window or customer care window. As a business, you can keep interacting with customers if they also keep interacting with you up to 24 hours after the last customer interaction. Within the session, you can personalise and/or automate the conversation with templates, customer care employees and chatbots at your wish (within reason, of course).

Once the conversation window closes, you will be able to send business-initiated messages (again) to restart the conversation with customers who present an active opt-in.

This setup allows the creation of a rich conversational experience that your customers want. Offer them service, support and good deals in a personalised environment to boost your business.

WhatsApp Pricing Model

Conversation Categories

Meta recognises four conversation categories to differentiate between the various use cases of WhatsApp Business:

1. Utility (business-initiated)

2. Authentication (business-initiated)

3. Marketing (business-initiated)

4. Service (user-initiated)

Because business-initiated conversations always start with message templates, the template used will determine the conversation type of the 24-hour conversation window. It is possible to switch between categories, starting a new 24-hour conversation window after the switch. Please note that this will also be charged as such.

For example, if you send out a message to boost sales on your new products, you will probably use a marketing template, starting a marketing conversation. The marketing conversation fees apply here. Halfway through the conversation, however, the need arises to use a utility message template. This will start a 24-hour utility conversation window, where the utility conversation fee applies.

Let’s dive into the four categories and the fees attached to them:

Utility

Utility conversations are business-initiated conversations, often relating to a transaction. Consider purchase information, confirmations, post-purchase notifications and recurring billing statements to customers who have opted in.

Currently, utility conversations are being charged per conversation. Starting July 2025, Meta will start charging utility conversations per templated message instead of per conversation. Each utility template will have a Meta fee. From April 1st 2025, however, utility templates sent within an open 24-hour customer service window will be free of Meta fees. The CM.com subscription and bundle pricing will stay the same before and after July 2025.

Important dates:

• April 2025: Utility templates sent within the 24-hour customer service window are free of charge

• July 2025: Utility conversations will be charged per template

Authentication

In authentication conversations, security is key. With authentication templates, you can authenticate users with One Time Passwords at multiple touchpoints during the login or verification process, such as account registration, account recovery and other situations where the customer’s identity needs confirmation.

Authentication conversations are currently being charged per conversation. Starting July 2025, Meta will charge a fee for every authentication template sent.

Are you sending authentication templates to Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates while your business is not based in those countries? From February 1st, 2025, those countries will be subject to authentication-international rates. This means there will be a different template Meta fee if your business is eligible for authentication-international rates and based in another country. This is a continuation of the rollout that began in India and Indonesia earlier this year.

Important dates:

• February 2025: Specific countries will be subject to international authentication rates

• July 2025: Authentication conversations will be charged per template

Marketing

As the name suggests, marketing conversations are business-initiated conversations to market a product or service to customers. You can send your opted-in customers relevant offers, good deals or information about product restocking.

The rates for marketing conversations are currently based on business-initiated conversation fees. Similar to utility and authentication, this will change in July 2025 to a fee-per-template pricing model.

Important date:

• July 2025: Marketing conversations will be charged per marketing template

Service

Service conversations are all user-initiated conversations, often to resolve a customer inquiry. The key factor here is the customer or user initiates initial contact.

The fees for service conversations are currently based on user-initiated conversation fees, but starting November 1st, 2024, that fee expires.

Important date:

• November 2024: There will be no extra meta fee for customer-initiated conversations

You will still need to reply within the 24-hour customer service window though. This means you will only pay for the CM.com subscriptions or messages bundles plan.

What is the impact on you and your business?

Customer support

Is your customer support set up to respond to incoming messages from your customers, helping them in their time of need? Then, you will be delighted to hear that after November 2024, there will no longer be a fee for customer-initiated conversations. Continue to offer the support your customers need and create the optimal customer experience.

Marketing managers

Are you in marketing? Do you send your customers updates and news about your new products and services? Unfortunately, the rates for your business-initiated marketing conversations will increase compared to before once you start paying per template.

WhatsApp marketing conversations have a higher ROI than any other channel, though, and even though the rates go up, they don’t differ much or at all from other marketing messaging channels.

Security team

Do you use WhatsApp mainly for its authentication features? Then you'll start paying per sent template in 2025, and you'll be subject to international authentication rates if you're authenticating users in Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates if your business is not also located there.

Cross-functional usage

Are you using the WhatsApp Business Platform at multiple touchpoints in your customer journey? Then, first, congratulations. This is the exact use case that Meta envisioned and optimised their platform for. You’ll benefit greatly from all its features.

Your marketing, utility, and authentication conversation rates will increase slightly in 2025, as you'll start paying per template instead of per conversation, regardless of the 24-hour conversation window. So will it cost you more? That's hard to say. It is greatly dependent on how you use and implement WhatsApp Business into your communication strategy.

WhatsApp Business Pricing at CM.com

CM.com will continue to invoice these fees on WhatsApp directly to you. CM.com pricing will still apply. Do you want to know more about the price changes and the impact it has on your specific use case? Don’t hesitate to get in touch with us via the button below or contact your account manager.