WhatsApp Pricing And Billing
How WhatsApp messages are priced and charged when you broadcast or automate from Serlzo.
Overview of WhatsApp billing
WhatsApp messaging is billed by Meta, not by Serlzo. Your Serlzo plan covers the platform - building broadcasts, workflows, and templates - while every message that leaves your account is charged separately at Meta's rates.
Charges are per delivered message. A message that fails to deliver isn't billed, and rates vary by the recipient's country and by the category of the message you send.
Because pricing is per message rather than per conversation, you only pay for what's actually delivered. From 1 October 2026 that includes service replies beyond a free monthly allowance - see the October 2026 pricing update below.
October 2026 pricing update
Meta's rate card effective 1 October 2026 changes what's free as well as what some markets cost. The full rates table further down already shows the October rates.
What stops being free
Service messages - the free-form replies you send from Inbox, or that a chatbot sends for you - are charged at the recipient market's utility rate after the first 1,000 each month. The allowance is per business phone number, resets monthly, and doesn't roll over.
Utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour customer service window are charged at the market's utility rate, with no free allowance.
Keep a payment method on your Meta business account. Without one, Meta stops delivering service messages once a number has used its 1,000 free messages for the month.
| Message type | Until 30 Sep 2026 | From 1 Oct 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Service reply (free-form) | Free | First 1,000 free per number each month, then the utility rate |
| Utility template inside an open CSW | Free | Utility rate |
| Templates sent outside a window | Charged | Charged |
| Any message inside a FEP window | Free | Free |
Rate updates
Seven markets change rate. Marketing rises in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Rest of Asia Pacific, and Rest of Middle East; utility rises in Pakistan and South Africa, which also raises what service messages cost there.
| Market | Category | Previous rate | New rate | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexico | Marketing | $0.0320 | $0.0417 | +30% |
| United Arab Emirates | Marketing | $0.0524 | $0.0605 | +15% |
| Saudi Arabia | Marketing | $0.0526 | $0.0605 | +15% |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | Marketing | $0.0769 | $0.0884 | +15% |
| Rest of Middle East | Marketing | $0.0358 | $0.0412 | +15% |
| Pakistan | Utility | $0.0105 | $0.0158 | +50% |
| South Africa | Utility | $0.0080 | $0.0100 | +25% |
New named markets
Nine markets leave their regional “Rest of” rate and get a dedicated utility rate, which also applies to service messages. It's cheaper than before in Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Iraq, and more expensive in Kazakhstan, Morocco, Oman, Ukraine, and Kuwait.
| New market | Utility rate |
|---|---|
| Sri Lanka | $0.0021 |
| Nepal | $0.0036 |
| Bangladesh | $0.0039 |
| Iraq | $0.0083 |
| Kazakhstan | $0.0189 |
| Morocco | $0.0242 |
| Oman | $0.0259 |
| Ukraine | $0.0313 |
| Kuwait | $0.0462 |
Message-based pricing
Meta sorts every message into one of four categories, and the category decides the rate. Serlzo sets the category when you pick or submit a template.
Each message is charged on its own. If you send one marketing message and one utility message to the same contact, that's one charge in each category.
Marketing
Promotions, offers, product announcements, and retargeting campaigns. This is the most expensive category and it's what most broadcasts fall under.
Utility
User-requested updates tied to something the customer already did: order confirmations, delivery updates, payment receipts, appointment reminders.
Authentication
One-time passcodes and account verification codes. Priced separately from utility, and rates differ sharply between countries.
Service
Free-form messages that resolve a customer inquiry - typically your replies in Inbox. Free until 30 September 2026; from 1 October 2026, charged at the utility rate after the first 1,000 each month per business phone number.
Template messages vs. non-template messages
Marketing, utility, and authentication messages must use an approved template and can be sent at any time. Non-template (free-form) messages are service messages, and can only be sent while a customer service window is open.
Whether a message is billable depends on which window it lands in. The table shows the rules from 1 October 2026.
| Message type | Category | When can it be sent? | Billable outside CSW | Billable inside CSW | Billable inside FEP window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Template | Marketing | Anytime | Yes | Yes | No |
| Template | Authentication | Anytime | Yes | Yes | No |
| Template | Utility | Anytime | Yes | Yes | No |
| Non-template (free-form) | Service | Only inside an open CSW | N/A | After 1,000 free per month | No |
Service conversations
When a contact messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and it resets each time they message again. Free-form replies can only be sent while it's open.
From 1 October 2026 the window no longer makes those replies free. Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month; after that, each reply is charged at the recipient market's utility rate. Utility templates sent inside the window are charged too, and marketing and authentication templates are charged whether the window is open or not.
Once 24 hours pass without a new message from the contact, the window closes. To reach them again you have to use an approved template, charged at its category rate.
Free entry point conversations
If someone reaches you by tapping a Click to WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action button, and you respond within 24 hours, a free entry point conversation opens instead.
That window lasts 72 hours, and every message inside it - any category, template or free-form - is free. Driving first contact through those entry points is the cheapest way to start a conversation, and it stays free after the October 2026 changes.
Messaging rates by market/country
Rates are per delivered message and depend on the recipient's country, not yours. From 1 October 2026, service messages beyond each number's 1,000 free a month are charged at the market's utility rate.
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Service (after 1,000 free) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argentina | $0.0649 | $0.0273 | $0.0273 |
| Bangladesh | – | $0.0039 | $0.0039 |
| Brazil | $0.0656 | $0.0071 | $0.0071 |
| Chile | $0.0933 | $0.0210 | $0.0210 |
| Colombia | $0.0131 | $0.0008 | $0.0008 |
| Egypt | $0.0676 | $0.0038 | $0.0038 |
| France | $0.0902 | $0.0315 | $0.0315 |
| Germany | $0.1433 | $0.0578 | $0.0578 |
| Hong Kong | $0.0769 | $0.0273 | $0.0273 |
| Hungary | $0.0903 | $0.0368 | $0.0368 |
| India | $0.0124 | $0.0015 | $0.0015 |
| Indonesia | $0.0432 | $0.0263 | $0.0263 |
| Iraq | – | $0.0083 | $0.0083 |
| Israel | $0.0371 | $0.0056 | $0.0056 |
| Italy | $0.0835 | $0.0315 | $0.0315 |
| Kazakhstan | – | $0.0189 | $0.0189 |
| Kuwait | – | $0.0462 | $0.0462 |
| Malaysia | $0.0903 | $0.0147 | $0.0147 |
| Mexico | $0.0417 | $0.0089 | $0.0089 |
| Morocco | – | $0.0242 | $0.0242 |
| Nepal | – | $0.0036 | $0.0036 |
| Netherlands | $0.1677 | $0.0525 | $0.0525 |
| Nigeria | $0.0542 | $0.0070 | $0.0070 |
| North America (US & Canada) | $0.0263 | $0.0036 | $0.0036 |
| Oman | – | $0.0259 | $0.0259 |
| Pakistan | $0.0497 | $0.0158 | $0.0158 |
| Peru | $0.0738 | $0.0210 | $0.0210 |
| Poland | $0.0384 | $0.0128 | $0.0128 |
| Qatar | $0.0358 | $0.0126 | $0.0126 |
| Romania | $0.0903 | $0.0305 | $0.0305 |
| Russia | $0.0842 | $0.0420 | $0.0420 |
| Saudi Arabia | $0.0605 | $0.0112 | $0.0112 |
| Singapore | $0.0769 | $0.0168 | $0.0168 |
| South Africa | $0.0398 | $0.0100 | $0.0100 |
| Spain | $0.0742 | $0.0210 | $0.0210 |
| Sri Lanka | – | $0.0021 | $0.0021 |
| Turkey | $0.0114 | $0.0009 | $0.0009 |
| Ukraine | – | $0.0313 | $0.0313 |
| United Arab Emirates | $0.0605 | $0.0165 | $0.0165 |
| United Kingdom | $0.0667 | $0.0231 | $0.0231 |
| Rest of Africa | $0.0236 | $0.0042 | $0.0042 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | $0.0884 | $0.0119 | $0.0119 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | $0.0903 | $0.0223 | $0.0223 |
| Rest of Latin America | $0.0777 | $0.0119 | $0.0119 |
| Rest of Middle East | $0.0412 | $0.0096 | $0.0096 |
| Rest of Western Europe | $0.0622 | $0.0180 | $0.0180 |
| Other | $0.0634 | $0.0081 | $0.0081 |
WhatsApp calling pricing
Calls you place to a customer are charged per minute, metered in 6-second pulses, at the rate for the destination market. Calls a customer places to you are free.
Business-initiated calling isn't available in Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Vietnam, the United States, or Canada.
| Market | Country code | Rate per minute |
|---|---|---|
| Argentina | +54 | $0.0106 |
| Brazil | +55 | $0.0113 |
| Chile | +56 | $0.0127 |
| Colombia | +57 | $0.0117 |
| France | +33 | $0.0104 |
| Germany | +49 | $0.0108 |
| India | +91 | $0.0056 |
| Indonesia | +62 | $0.0254 |
| Israel | +972 | $0.0133 |
| Italy | +39 | $0.0127 |
| Malaysia | +60 | $0.0113 |
| Mexico | +52 | $0.0099 |
| Netherlands | +31 | $0.0066 |
| Pakistan | +92 | $0.0125 |
| Peru | +51 | $0.0127 |
| Russia | +7 | $0.0102 |
| Saudi Arabia | +966 | $0.0133 |
| South Africa | +27 | $0.0113 |
| Spain | +34 | $0.0135 |
| United Arab Emirates | +971 | $0.0133 |
| United Kingdom | +44 | $0.0104 |
| Rest of Africa | Various | $0.0108 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | Various | $0.0120 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | Various | $0.0100 |
| Rest of Latin America | Various | $0.0122 |
| Rest of Middle East | Various | $0.0133 |
| Rest of Western Europe | Various | $0.0108 |
| Other | Various | $0.0139 |
| Egypt | +20 | Not available |
| Nigeria | +234 | Not available |
| Turkey | +90 | Not available |
| North America (US & Canada) | +1 | Not available |
What you're charged for in Serlzo
Broadcasts are the main driver: a broadcast to 1,000 contacts is 1,000 charged messages, priced by category and by each recipient's country. Test sends are charged the same way as real ones.
Workflow messages follow the same rules. A WhatsApp step that fires outside an open window sends a template and is billed. From 1 October 2026 a step inside an open window is billed too, unless it's a free-form message covered by your 1,000 free service messages.
Replies you type in Inbox, and chatbot replies, are service messages. They're free until 30 September 2026; from 1 October 2026 each business phone number gets 1,000 free a month and the rest are charged at the utility rate.
Keeping costs down
Segment before you send. Filtering a list down to the contacts who will actually act on a campaign costs less than broadcasting to everyone, and protects your sender quality rating.
Use the right category. Sending an order update as a utility template rather than a marketing one is cheaper and less likely to be blocked by a contact's marketing opt-out.
Resolve in fewer messages. Once service replies are billed, a three-message answer costs three times a one-message answer.
Check your current rates
Meta updates country rates at most once a quarter - on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, or 1 October - so the price you paid last quarter may not be the price today. Your account's billing settings at serlzo.com show your current usage and charges.
If a charge doesn't look right, reach the Serlzo team from the live chat bubble in your dashboard with the broadcast name and the date - we can walk through the message-level breakdown with you.
Frequently asked questions
What are the different conversation categories?
Marketing for promotional messages and retargeting campaigns. Utility for user-requested updates such as delivery or payment notifications. Authentication for verifying users with one-time passcodes. Service for resolving customer inquiries - free until 30 September 2026, then charged at the utility rate after 1,000 free per business phone number each month.
What changes on 1 October 2026?
Service replies stop being free beyond 1,000 per business phone number each month, and utility templates sent inside an open customer service window are charged. Marketing rates rise in Mexico, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Rest of Asia Pacific, and Rest of Middle East; utility rates rise in Pakistan and South Africa. Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Oman, Ukraine, and Kuwait move from regional rates to dedicated ones.
What is a customer service window?
A 24-hour timer that starts when a customer messages you and resets with each new message. While it's open you can send free-form messages. From 1 October 2026 those replies are charged at the utility rate after 1,000 free per number each month, and utility templates sent inside it are charged.
What is a free entry point conversation?
One that starts when a customer contacts you through a Click to WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action button and you reply within 24 hours. It lasts 72 hours and every message inside it is free, including after the October 2026 changes.
Are WhatsApp calls charged per minute or per call?
Business-initiated calls are charged per minute in 6-second pulses, based on the destination market. Inbound calls from customers are free. Business-initiated calling isn't available in Egypt, Nigeria, Turkey, Vietnam, the United States, or Canada.
Can multiple conversations be open with the same customer?
Yes. A new template message of a different category opens its own conversation, so a service conversation and a marketing conversation can run at the same time - and each is billed on its own terms.