WhatsApp Business API pricing
Two independent costs: Meta charges per delivered message, on your customer’s own account, and the Hub charges a monthly subscription starting at R$ 97. Most comparisons blur the two — this page keeps them apart.
Two separate bills
Every discussion about WhatsApp API pricing gets muddy for the same reason: it mixes two things charged by different companies, to different people.
| Who charges | Who pays | For what |
|---|---|---|
| Meta | Your end customer | Each delivered message: templates and, since October 1, 2026, service replies above the monthly allowance |
| CRPRO Hub | You | The monthly subscription for API and webhook access |
What Meta charges
- Meta charges per message, not per conversation — Since July 1, 2025, billing is per delivered message rather than per 24-hour conversation. A lot of the content written about WhatsApp pricing still describes the old model.
- Price depends on the template category — Marketing, utility and authentication are priced differently, and each varies by country. Meta’s official table is the only source that holds for today’s number.
- Replies inside the service window have been billable since October 1, 2026 — Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges per delivered message for non-template messages sent inside an open customer service window and for utility templates sent inside it; until September 30, 2026, both were free. Service messages come with an allowance: each business phone number gets 1,000 free ones per month, which do not roll over. After that, service is priced at the same rate as utility and authentication in the same market, with no volume tiers. Utility templates inside the window do not count toward the allowance.
- Without a payment method, service messages stop going out — Meta asked for a payment method on the WhatsApp Business Account by September 30, 2026. Without one, Meta delivers service messages only until the number’s monthly allowance runs out. After that, they are not delivered — not billed later, simply not sent. The account belongs to your customer, so your customer is the one who adds it.
- Only delivered messages are charged — Meta charges on delivery, and only for what the business sends — a message a user sends you is never charged. Anything that never reaches the recipient costs nothing, which is why the final state of a message arrives over the webhook, not in the send response.
What the Hub charges
A monthly subscription, billed in Brazilian reais, with no setup fee and no per-message charge. What changes between plans is how many numbers you connect and how many webhook endpoints you register.
| Plan | Per month | Numbers | Webhooks | Additional number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | R$ 97 | 3 | 10 | R$ 32,50 (+3 webhooks) |
| Pro | R$ 147 | 5 | 15 | R$ 29,50 (+3 webhooks) |
There is no charge per message sent through the Hub and no message cap in the subscription — the practical ceiling is Meta’s own, plus the per-endpoint rate limit documented in rate limits (Portuguese).
Frequently asked questions
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost?
There are two independent costs. Meta charges per delivered message, directly on your customer’s own WhatsApp Business account, at a rate that varies by category and country: since October 1, 2026 service replies are charged too, after 1,000 free ones per month on each number (until September 30, 2026, only templates were). CRPRO Hub charges a monthly subscription starting at R$ 97 (Brazilian reais) for API access, webhooks and the dashboard. Neither passes through the other.
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
Meta’s Cloud API has no monthly fee — you pay per delivered message. Since October 1, 2026, a non-template reply sent inside an open customer service window is charged once the business phone number has used its 1,000 free service messages for the month; until September 30, 2026, it was free. What was never free is the layer connecting your application to the API, whether you build it or buy it.
What changed in Meta’s pricing on October 1, 2026?
Two things that were free through September 30, 2026 have been charged per message since October 1, 2026: service messages — non-template replies sent inside the customer service window — and utility templates sent inside that same window. For service, each business phone number gets 1,000 free messages per month, which do not roll over; after that, the rate is the same as utility and authentication in the same market, with no volume tiers. What did not change: messages a user sends to your business are still free, and the 72-hour free entry point window from Click to WhatsApp Ads still applies.
What happens if the account has no payment method?
Meta asked for a payment method on the WhatsApp Business Account by September 30, 2026. Without one, Meta delivers service messages only until the number’s monthly allowance runs out; after that, the message simply does not go out. The account belongs to your customer, so your customer is the one who adds it.
Who pays Meta for the messages?
Your customer does, on their own WhatsApp Business account. The account is theirs, the number is theirs and Meta’s invoice is theirs. You never sit in the middle of that billing — which also means you never have to front or re-bill it.
Are there still 1,000 free service conversations per month?
Not in that form. The 1,000 free conversations belonged to the conversation-based pricing model, which Meta switched off on July 1, 2025, and a lot of content about WhatsApp pricing still describes it. Since October 1, 2026 there is a new allowance: 1,000 free service messages per month on each business phone number.
In which currency is the subscription billed?
Brazilian reais (BRL). The subscription is charged through Stripe. What Meta charges for messages is billed separately, in your customer’s own account and in the currency Meta applies to their country.