Summary
This article explains the updates to Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform pricing model, effective November 1, 2024. It details the new conversation categories, including service, business-initiated, and referral conversations, as well as the changes in how they are charged. Additionally, it covers free messaging limits, how businesses can adapt to these changes, and the specific pricing for older and newer plans.
Starting November 1, 2024, Meta has introduced updates to its pricing model for the WhatsApp Business Platform. Here’s a breakdown of the updates and how you can adapt to them.
Instructions
How Does the New Pricing Model Work?
As a WhatsApp Business Solution Provider (BSP), we at Wati are committed to informing you about important updates and changes that may impact your business. Starting November 1, 2024, WhatsApp updated its message-based pricing. Here’s what you need to know:
Note: Wati charges based on the first message sent by the business within the 24-hour window. For example: sending a marketing template will be charged as a marketing conversation.
Types of Conversations and Template Categories
WhatsApp Business Platform conversations are categorized based on who initiates them and the purpose of the communication. Here’s a breakdown:
1. Service (User-Initiated) Conversations
These occur when users reach out to your business for support, inquiries, or general questions.
2. Business-Initiated Conversations
These involve notifications or broadcast messages sent by your business to users.
The pricing for these conversations depends on the type of template used. All existing WhatsApp template messages have been migrated into three new categories:
Marketing:
Designed to promote your products or services through business-initiated conversations.
Utility:
Focused on transaction-related messages, such as purchase notifications, billing statements, or order updates, sent to opted-in customers.
Authentication:
Enhances security by delivering one-time passcodes (OTPs) for user verification. Ideal for account registration, recovery, and addressing security concerns. These categories help streamline communication and ensure appropriate pricing based on the message type.
InfoWarningTip
How Conversations Are Opened
Marketing, utility, and authentication conversations are initiated when you send an approved template message of the corresponding category to a customer, provided there is no existing open conversation of the same category between you and that customer. Example:
If an authentication conversation is already open with a customer and you send another authentication template within 24 hours, a new conversation is not opened.
However, if you send a marketing template while the authentication conversation is still open, a new marketing conversation is initiated. This results in two open conversations: one for authentication and one for marketing. This structure ensures that conversations are categorized and billed appropriately based on their purpose and timing.
2. Referral Conversations
These are conversations generated through:
Click-to-Action buttons on Facebook pages.
Click-to-WhatsApp Ads. Key Notes for Referral Conversations:
The session expires 24 hours after the customer’s last message.
Free messaging is allowed for 72 hours from the conversation start time, but only if the business replies within 24 hours.
User initiated - Service Conversation
Business-initiated Conversation
InfoWarningTip
Important Notes
Conversation Expiry and Charges: Subsequent conversations with the same user after 72 hours will be charged according to the conversation-based pricing model.
CTWA Ads: Conversations initiated through Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA) Ads are free. However, the ad campaign itself incurs separate charges. This ensures transparency in pricing while allowing businesses to leverage CTWA Ads for customer engagement without additional conversation costs.
What’s Free Under the New Model?
For Older Plans (Standard, Professional, Enterprise):
The first 1,000 service (user-initiated) conversations per month are free.
User-initiated conversations from Meta Click-to-Ad campaigns are free.
For Newer Plans (Growth, Pro, Business):
All service-initiated conversations are free.
Messaging limits for Facebook ad campaigns apply. Messaging limit for your Facebook Ad Campaign
How Can Businesses Adapt?
Here are some tips to maximize value under the new pricing model:
For Customer Support:
Resolve queries quickly using WATI’s Multi-Agent Dashboard.
Consider building a WhatsApp Chatbot to handle basic queries outside business hours.
For Marketing Efforts:
Revamp your notification strategy to provide more value in fewer messages.
Avoid daily notifications to prevent misuse and potential account bans. To discover how the WhatsApp Business API can benefit your business, click the link to schedule a demo with our experts - Book a Demo
Conversation Fees
Charges are based on the end user’s phone number and country code. Starting November 1, 2024, new rates will apply:
Updated Rate Cards
Growth/Pro - INR rate card | USD rate card
Business - INR rate card | USD rate card
Want to estimate your costs? Use our Conversation Cost Estimator.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General Pricing Information
#. What are the new conversation categories under the updated pricing model?
→ The new conversation categories are:
Service (User-Initiated): Conversations initiated by users reaching out to your business for support or inquiries.
Business-Initiated: Conversations initiated by your business, including notifications or broadcast messages to users.
Referral Conversations: Conversations triggered by Click-to-Action buttons or Click-to-WhatsApp Ads on Facebook.
Marketing, Utility, and Authentication Templates: These are the three new categories for template messages used in business-initiated conversations.
2. How is the pricing for business-initiated conversations determined?
→ Pricing for business-initiated conversations depends on the type of template used. The three template categories are:
Marketing: Promotional messages.
Utility: Transaction-related messages like purchase updates.
Authentication: Security-related messages like OTPs for user verification.
Conversation Handling
3. What happens if I send different types of templates to the same customer?
→ If a conversation is already open for a certain category (e.g., Authentication), sending another message from the same category will not open a new conversation. However, sending a message from a different category (e.g., Marketing) will open a new conversation.
4. What is a "Referral Conversation" and how is it charged?
→ Referral conversations are those initiated through Click-to-Action (CTA) buttons or Click-to-WhatsApp Ads. They have a 72-hour free messaging window from the initial conversation start time, as long as the business responds within 24 hours. After 72 hours, conversations will be charged according to the pricing model.
Free Messaging and Limits
5. Are there any free messaging limits under the new model?
For older plans:
The first 1,000 service (user-initiated) conversations per month are free.
User-initiated conversations from Meta Click-to-Ad campaigns are free.
For newer plans:
All service-initiated conversations are free.
Facebook Ad campaigns are subject to messaging limits.
Adapting to the New Pricing Model
6. How can my business adapt to the new pricing model?
→ To maximize the value of the new model:
For customer support: Resolve queries quickly using Wati’s Multi-Agent Dashboard or consider using a WhatsApp chatbot.
For marketing: Limit notifications and focus on delivering value in fewer messages to avoid misuse or account bans.
Pricing and Tools
7. Is there a tool to estimate my conversation costs?
→ Yes, you can use the Conversation Cost Estimator tool to estimate your messaging costs.
Referral Conversations and Ad Campaigns
8. How long do referral conversations last for free messaging?
→ Referral conversations allow free messaging for 72 hours after the initial conversation start time. After this window, the conversation will be charged based on the applicable pricing model.
9. What charges apply for Click-to-WhatsApp Ads (CTWA)?
→ Conversations initiated through CTWA Ads are free, but the ad campaign itself incurs separate charges.