Published by Tadlo AI, checked 11 October 2026. Every rule below links to Meta's own page. Meta's developer pages can lag behind, so open each link in your browser before acting.
1. Service messages: 1,000 free a month, then charged
Service messages are your replies to customers who message you first. From 1 October 2026, Meta says that for each business phone number, "the first 1,000 service messages are free each month". After that, every service message is charged. Unused free messages do not roll over. In India, service messages are charged at the utility rate, ₹0.115$0.0014 per message. Source: Meta's WhatsApp Business FAQ.
What to do: count how many customer replies your team sends a month. A store with a busy support inbox can go past 1,000 quickly.
2. India: switch to INR billing by 31 December 2026
Businesses whose billing country in Meta's Billing Hub is India must move every WhatsApp Business Account in their portfolio to INR by 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, Meta says it "will no longer deliver the messages of non-INR WABAs". Source: Meta's WhatsApp pricing documentation.
What to do: check the currency of your WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Settings, and ask your WhatsApp provider when they will move you. Don't leave it to the last week of December.
3. Utility messages inside the 24-hour window: check before you rely on them being free
Several WhatsApp providers say that utility messages sent inside an open customer service window became chargeable on 1 October 2026. When we checked on 11 October 2026, Meta's developer page still showed the earlier rule, which made them free. Until Meta's page confirms it either way, budget as if every utility message is charged. Our pricing calculator does exactly that.
4. Meta moves templates between categories on its own
Meta's rule is that a utility message must be non-promotional. If a message mixes an order update with an offer, Meta treats it as marketing, which costs much more: in India, ₹0.8631$0.0118 instead of ₹0.115$0.0014. Meta re-checks templates regularly and can move a utility template to marketing with one day's notice. Source: Meta's template categorisation rules.
What to do: keep order confirmations and delivery updates free of discounts and offers, and send offers as separate marketing messages.
5. Still in place: no marketing messages to US numbers
Meta paused marketing template messages to US (+1) numbers on 1 April 2025, and the pause is still in place. Utility and service messages to US numbers still work. Source: Meta's marketing message limits.
When rates can change next
Meta changes its rate card only on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October, with at least a month's notice, so 1 January 2027 is the earliest the next change can happen.
What this means for your WhatsApp bill
More of your messages are now charged, so the markup your WhatsApp tool adds matters more than before. A tool that charges 15% to 26% above Meta's rate takes that cut on every one of them. Tadlo AI adds no markup: Meta bills you directly. See what you pay today in the WhatsApp pricing calculator, and compare tools in Best WhatsApp API providers in India.