WhatsApp Business Charges Change From October 1: What Businesses Need to Know

Businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform need to take note of a major pricing change that takes effect from October 1, 2026. Meta is introducing charges for certain service and utility messages that were previously free.

In India, businesses will receive 1,000 free service messages per phone number each month. After that limit, additional service messages will cost ₹0.115 per delivered message. Utility messages sent within an open 24-hour customer-service window will also be charged at ₹0.115 per message.

The change primarily affects businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform/API, including companies that rely on direct integrations or solution providers for customer communication. It does not simply mean that every ordinary WhatsApp Business app user will suddenly have to pay.

There is another important requirement. Meta has warned businesses using the affected platform that service-message delivery can be stopped if they do not have a payment method on file when the new charges take effect.

For Indian businesses, the change could affect customer-support operations, order updates and other automated communications. Companies will now need to monitor message volumes and factor WhatsApp communication costs into their budgets.

In short: WhatsApp Business is not becoming universally paid, but businesses using the platform’s paid messaging infrastructure are facing new charges from October 1.