Key Takeaways

• New WhatsApp Business Platform Pricing Model: WhatsApp will transition from per conversation to per message pricing in 2025.
• Free Service Conversations: Starting November 2024, there will be no extra Meta fee for customer-initiated service conversations.
• Template-Based Billing: From July 2025, Utility, Marketing, and Authentication messages will be charged per template, not per conversation.
• Cost Adjustments: Businesses using WhatsApp for marketing, utility, and authentication will see slight rate changes as the platform transitions to a more detailed pricing structure.
• Phased Rollout: Per-message pricing will be implemented in two phases, starting in April 2025 for some businesses and ending in July 2025 for all others.

WhatsApp Business Platform in a Nutshell

WhatsApp Business platform is a powerful tool for direct customer engagement. With over 2 billion users globally, it helps businesses connect with customers on a platform they are already comfortable using. Whether you operate in healthcare, e-commerce, or hospitality, the versatile features of WhatsApp Business enable you to deliver personalized and timely messages. Let’s explore what’s changing in 2025.

WhatsApp Business Platform Pricing Model: From Conversations to Templates

Meta recognizes four categories of conversations on the WhatsApp Business Platform:

Read more about WhatsApp Business API here.

Learn more about WhatsApp’s pricing categories here.

1. Utility: Business-initiated messages for transactional purposes, such as purchase confirmations, delivery updates, and billing reminders.
2. Authentication: Security-related messages like One Time Passwords (OTPs) used during login or account setup.
3. Marketing: Promotional messages to opted-in customers, providing information on offers, deals, or restocks.
4. Service: User-initiated messages, typically for customer support or general inquiries.

These categories help businesses deliver more targeted messaging. In 2025, Meta will transition to a new billing approach, starting in July 2025 for many businesses.

Important Changes to Watch

1. Utility Conversations

Utility conversations are all about keeping customers informed regarding their transactions—like appointment reminders or order updates.

• Current Model: Currently charged per conversation window.
• April 2025: Utility templates sent within a 24-hour customer service window will be free, encouraging more seamless customer service.
• July 2025: Utility messages sent outside the customer service window will be charged per individual template, allowing for better cost management.

2. Authentication Conversations

Authentication conversations help ensure secure customer interactions, using messages like OTPs.

• Current Model: Authentication conversations are currently charged per conversation window.
• February 2025: Egypt, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, and the UAE will be subject to international authentication rates if your business is not based in these countries. This extension follows a previous rollout in India and Indonesia earlier this year.
• July 2025: Meta will charge a fee for each authentication template sent, replacing the per-conversation fee structure. This allows for more detailed control over spending, as each message incurs its own cost.

3. Marketing Conversations

Marketing through WhatsApp is known for its effectiveness—high open rates translate to better customer engagement. For e-commerce businesses, WhatsApp can drive significant ROI when implemented correctly. Discover more on WhatsApp Marketing Experiments and how to boost campaign success.

• Current Model: Currently based on a flat fee per business-initiated conversation.
• July 2025: Fees will now be charged per marketing template sent, giving businesses more granular control over spending and optimizing campaign strategies.

4. Service Conversations

Service conversations focus on customer-initiated interactions, providing support and resolving issues.

• November 2024: Service conversations will be free of Meta fees, provided they remain within the 24-hour customer service window. This is great news for customer support teams, as it allows for cost-free resolution of customer enquiries.

Impact on Your Business

1. Customer Support Champions If you focus on providing stellar customer support, eliminating fees for customer-initiated conversations will be a major win. Starting November 2024, you can maintain high standards of customer care without additional costs.

2. Marketing Movers and Shakers Marketers may see increased costs as we transition to template-based billing. However, given WhatsApp’s high open rates and strong ROI, the increased costs are still competitive with other digital marketing channels. The shift allows for greater accountability, as costs are now directly tied to specific messages sent.

3. Security Specialists Businesses using WhatsApp for security features like OTPs will be impacted by the new per-template pricing model. While this might mean higher costs per message, it also offers more control and transparency, allowing you to use authentication messaging more effectively.

4. Integrated Approach For businesses using WhatsApp across multiple touchpoints—marketing, support, authentication—the new per-template pricing provides more granularity. While individual costs may increase, this transparency allows for more detailed cost management and optimization of messaging strategies.

Additional Insights for Better Budgeting

To help businesses manage costs effectively with the shift to per-message pricing, WhatsApp is rolling out several new tools and features:

• Analytics Tools: Starting in April 2025, businesses in Phase 1 will have access to the pricing_analytics field in their API. This feature will offer detailed cost breakdowns, making budgeting simpler and helping you understand where your messaging expenses are going.
• Webhook Updates: Webhooks will be updated to reflect per-message pricing information. These updates will provide more accurate insights, particularly for businesses integrating with tools like Google Calendar or Call Gear.
  • Utility messages sent within a service window will now be marked as free.
  • New pricing types like free_customer_service will indicate when utility templates are sent during an active service window.

Explore more about these integrations:

• Google Calendar Integration
• Call Gear Integration

FAQs

1. What is changing in WhatsApp Business Platform pricing in 2025? WhatsApp will shift from charging per conversation window to a per-template message model for Utility, Authentication, and Marketing conversations.

2. How does this impact customer service conversations? From November 2024, service conversations will be free of Meta fees, provided they are user-initiated and within the 24-hour window.

3. How will marketing messages be charged from July 2025? Marketing messages will be billed per sent template, allowing for more transparent cost per message.

4. What are international authentication rates? International authentication rates apply to specific countries if the sender’s business is not based there. These rates will expand to more countries starting February 2025.

5. Will these pricing changes make WhatsApp Business more expensive? It depends on your use case and how frequently you use templates. While some costs may increase, the new model allows for more granular budgeting and optimization.

WhatsApp’s pricing updates are aimed at giving businesses more control over their messaging strategy while making it easier to calculate ROI. Whether you’re in automotive, travel, or looking to streamline your enquiry management, these changes provide opportunities to better manage your communication budgets. Learn more about Enquiry Management and see how Sanoflow can help you leverage WhatsApp effectively. For businesses ready to adapt, these changes can create opportunities for more personalized, efficient, and effective customer engagement. Learn more about how Sanoflow can help with WhatsApp for Healthcare.

For more details on how these changes might affect your business, feel free to get in touch with Sanoflow today.