Pricing guide · India · October 2026
WhatsApp Business API pricing in India, explained
Meta charges per delivered message, by category, at fixed rates for India. Providers then add their own fees — some on every message. Here are Meta's current rates, what is free, what changed on 1 October 2026, and how to work out a real monthly bill.
Meta's rates, citedWorked examplesUpdated 24 Oct 2026
Meta's rates for India
Per delivered message to an Indian number, in rupees, before tax. Meta's current rate card is effective 1 October 2026; India's rates did not change on that date.
| Category | What it is for | Rate per message |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Offers, launches, newsletters, re-engagement | ₹0.8631 |
| Utility | Order and delivery updates, bookings, reminders, account alerts | ₹0.115 |
| Authentication | One-time passwords and login codes | ₹0.115 |
| Service | Your free-form replies inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes | First 1,000 a month per number free, then ₹0.115 |
| Authentication — international | OTPs to Indian numbers sent by businesses based outside India | ₹2.4971 |
Source: Meta's pricing documentation and rate calculator, read 24 October 2026. Utility gets volume discounts only above 25 million messages a month, authentication above 750,000; marketing has none.
What is free
- 1,000 service messages a month per business number. Meta charges from the 1,001st; unused messages do not carry over.
- Everything in a free entry point window. When a customer comes from a click-to-WhatsApp ad and you reply, Meta charges nothing for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages to them while the window is open — up to 7 days.
- Messages customers send you. Incoming messages are never charged.
- Calls customers make to you. WhatsApp calls a customer places to a business are free; calls a business places are charged per minute in 6-second pulses.
What changed on 1 October 2026
- Service messages are charged again after the free 1,000 a month per number (they had been free).
- Utility templates sent inside an open customer service window are no longer free; they are charged at the utility rate.
- Without a payment method in Meta's billing, Meta stops delivering service messages once the free tier is used.
Rupee billing: the 31 December 2026 deadline
Meta began billing Indian businesses in rupees on 1 January 2026. Every WhatsApp Business Account billed from India must be moved to INR by 31 December 2026; from 1 January 2027 Meta stops delivering messages from accounts still billed in another currency. Check the currency in your WhatsApp Manager billing settings now.
Worked examples (Meta's charge only)
| A month of… | Meta's charge |
|---|---|
| 1,000 marketing messages | ₹863.10 |
| 10,000 marketing messages | ₹8,631 |
| 10,000 order updates (utility) | ₹1,150 |
| 10,000 OTPs (authentication) | ₹1,150 |
| 5,000 replies to customers (service) | ₹460 (first 1,000 free) |
Add your provider's fees on top, and tax.
What providers add to Meta's rates
From each provider's public pricing page, read 24 October 2026; "above Meta" is our arithmetic.
| Provider | Marketing | Utility | Above Meta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trafficaro | ₹0.8631 | ₹0.115 | None — Meta bills you directly; our own ₹0.05 applies only beyond your plan's included messages |
| Interakt | ≈ ₹0.949–₹0.970 | ≈ ₹0.140–₹0.160 | Marketing +10–12%, utility +22–39% (none on Enterprise) |
| Gallabox | ₹0.9926 | ₹0.1323 | +15% |
| AiSensy | ₹1.09 | ₹0.145 | +26% |
Plan fees and seats differ too — see the full comparison.
How to estimate your monthly bill
Count your messages by category for a month: campaigns (marketing), order updates and reminders (utility), OTPs (authentication), and replies (service, after the first 1,000). Multiply by Meta's rates above. Then add your provider's plan fee and whatever it charges per message — a markup on Meta's rate, a fee beyond an allowance, or both.
On Trafficaro, the Starter plan (₹499) includes 10,000 messages and Growth (₹1,999) 50,000; beyond that it is ₹0.05 a message. Meta's charges are billed to you by Meta. See our plans.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
How much does one WhatsApp marketing message cost in India?
₹0.8631 per delivered message at Meta's rate (from 1 October 2026), before tax and before any provider fee.
Is the WhatsApp Business API free in India?
Some of it: 1,000 service replies a month per number, everything in the free window after a click-to-WhatsApp ad, and incoming messages. Marketing, utility and authentication templates are charged by Meta, and providers charge for their software.
Are WhatsApp API charges per conversation or per message?
Per message, by category, since Meta's move away from per-conversation pricing. A delivered message is charged; one that fails to deliver is not.
Does an image or PDF cost more than text?
No. Meta charges by category, not by media: a utility template with a PDF costs the same as a text one.
Do I pay GST on Meta's charges?
Meta's rates are listed before tax; applicable taxes are added on Meta's invoice to your business.
Related
Pricing
Free, then ₹499, ₹1,999 or ₹5,999 a month. No markup on Meta.
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Sources
- Meta — WhatsApp Business Platform pricing (developer documentation) — read 24 Oct 2026
- Meta — WhatsApp platform pricing calculator — read 24 Oct 2026
- Meta — WhatsApp Business Calling pricing — read 24 Oct 2026
- Interakt — pricing — read 24 Oct 2026
- Gallabox — WhatsApp rate card — read 24 Oct 2026
- AiSensy — pricing — read 24 Oct 2026
Competitors' prices and features change. We check them when we update this page; tell us at contact if something here has moved.
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Updated 24 Oct 2026