How much does a WhatsApp utility message cost?
Utility messages are the updates customers expect: order confirmations, delivery and payment updates, booking reminders. Meta prices them far below marketing. Here is the rate in every market, effective 1 October 2026, and what changed for updates sent inside the 24-hour window.
Updated October 2026
Meta charges by the country of the number you message.
Messages you send per month
Offers, launches, reminders to buy
Order, payment and booking updates
One-time passwords
Replies within 24 hours of a customer's message
Each gets 1,000 free replies a month
How you pay
Businesses in India are billed in rupees; everyone else in US dollars.
Your total per month
₹6,814
Two bills. That’s all. GST included.
1 · Paid to Meta, directly
₹5,635
Charged to the card on your own WhatsApp Business Account at Meta’s official rates. This money never passes through Mywa.
- Marketing · 5,000 × ₹0.8631₹5,092
- Utility · 3,000 × ₹0.115₹407
- Authentication (OTP) · 0 × ₹0.115₹0.00
- Service replies · 1,000 × ₹0.115₹136
1,000 service replies free this month (1,000 per number).
2 · Paid to Mywa
₹1,179
One flat subscription. Every feature and 5 team members included.
- No markup on Meta's rates
- No per-message fee from Mywa
- No per-seat or setup fees
Meta’s list rates effective 1 October 2026, before tax. Utility and OTP rates drop at high volume, and chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad are free for up to 7 days. All rates by country
Updates about something the customer already did
Meta puts a template in the utility category when it's about a specific transaction, account or request the customer started: an order, a payment, a booking, a delivery, a change to their account. Meta decides the category when it reviews the template.
Add an offer, a discount or a “you might also like” to an update, and Meta treats it as marketing, at the marketing price. Keeping updates pure is the simplest way to keep your WhatsApp bill low.
- 1
Utility. order confirmed, payment received, out for delivery, appointment tomorrow at 10:00, your ticket was updated.
- 2
Marketing. sale starts today, items left in your cart, new arrivals, “we miss you” offers.
WhatsApp utility message cost in every market (USD)
Meta's list rates effective 1 October 2026, before tax and before volume tiers. Cheapest first.
| Market | Utility | 10,000 updates | Marketing | Marketing costs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colombia | $0.0008 | $8.00 | $0.0125 | 15.6× more |
| Turkey | $0.0009 | $9.00 | $0.0109 | 12.1× more |
| India | $0.0014 | $14.00 | $0.0118 | 8.4× more |
| Sri Lanka | $0.002 | $20.00 | $0.0732 | 36.6× more |
| Nepal | $0.0034 | $34.00 | $0.0732 | 21.5× more |
| United States & Canada | $0.0034 | $34.00 | $0.025 | 7.4× more |
| Egypt | $0.0036 | $36.00 | $0.0644 | 17.9× more |
| Bangladesh | $0.0037 | $37.00 | $0.0732 | 19.8× more |
| Rest of Africa | $0.004 | $40.00 | $0.0225 | 5.6× more |
| Israel | $0.0053 | $53.00 | $0.0353 | 6.7× more |
| Nigeria | $0.0067 | $67.00 | $0.0516 | 7.7× more |
| Brazil | $0.0068 | $68.00 | $0.0625 | 9.2× more |
| Other | $0.0077 | $77.00 | $0.0604 | 7.8× more |
| Iraq | $0.0079 | $79.00 | $0.0341 | 4.3× more |
| Mexico | $0.0085 | $85.00 | $0.0397 | 4.7× more |
| Rest of Middle East | $0.0091 | $91.00 | $0.0392 | 4.3× more |
| South Africa | $0.0095 | $95.00 | $0.0379 | 4.0× more |
| Saudi Arabia | $0.0107 | $107.00 | $0.0576 | 5.4× more |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | $0.0113 | $113.00 | $0.0842 | 7.5× more |
| Rest of Latin America | $0.0113 | $113.00 | $0.074 | 6.5× more |
| Qatar | $0.012 | $120.00 | $0.0341 | 2.8× more |
| Poland | $0.0122 | $122.00 | $0.0366 | 3.0× more |
| Malaysia | $0.014 | $140.00 | $0.086 | 6.1× more |
| Pakistan | $0.015 | $150.00 | $0.0473 | 3.2× more |
| United Arab Emirates | $0.0157 | $157.00 | $0.0576 | 3.7× more |
| Singapore | $0.016 | $160.00 | $0.0732 | 4.6× more |
| Rest of Western Europe | $0.0171 | $171.00 | $0.0592 | 3.5× more |
| Kazakhstan | $0.018 | $180.00 | $0.0604 | 3.4× more |
| Chile | $0.02 | $200.00 | $0.0889 | 4.4× more |
| Spain | $0.02 | $200.00 | $0.0707 | 3.5× more |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | $0.0212 | $212.00 | $0.086 | 4.1× more |
| United Kingdom | $0.022 | $220.00 | $0.0635 | 2.9× more |
| Morocco | $0.023 | $230.00 | $0.0414 | 1.8× more |
| Oman | $0.0247 | $247.00 | $0.0341 | 1.4× more |
| Indonesia | $0.025 | $250.00 | $0.0411 | 1.6× more |
| Argentina | $0.026 | $260.00 | $0.0618 | 2.4× more |
| Hong Kong | $0.026 | $260.00 | $0.0732 | 2.8× more |
| Romania | $0.029 | $290.00 | $0.086 | 3.0× more |
| Ukraine | $0.0298 | $298.00 | $0.086 | 2.9× more |
| France | $0.03 | $300.00 | $0.0859 | 2.9× more |
| Italy | $0.03 | $300.00 | $0.0795 | 2.7× more |
| Peru | $0.03 | $300.00 | $0.0703 | 2.3× more |
| Hungary | $0.035 | $350.00 | $0.086 | 2.5× more |
| Russia | $0.04 | $400.00 | $0.0802 | 2.0× more |
| Kuwait | $0.044 | $440.00 | $0.0792 | 1.8× more |
| Netherlands | $0.05 | $500.00 | $0.1597 | 3.2× more |
| Germany | $0.055 | $550.00 | $0.1365 | 2.5× more |
Regional markets (“Rest of …”) cover the countries listed on the pricing-by-country page.
Utility updates inside the 24-hour window are charged again
From July 2025, Meta didn't charge for utility templates sent while a customer service window was open (within 24 hours of the customer's last message). From 1 October 2026 it does: every delivered utility template is charged at the utility rate, wherever it's sent.
The exception is the free window after a click-to-WhatsApp ad: once you reply to someone who messaged you from an ad, every message, utility included, is free for up to 7 days.
Free-form replies inside the 24-hour window are service messages, not utility: the first 1,000 per business phone number each month are free.
Order and delivery updates a month, by where your customers are
Two updates per order (confirmed and shipped), at Meta's utility rate effective 1 October 2026, before tax.
| Customers in | 1,000 orders | 5,000 orders | 20,000 orders | 5,000 orders with a $0.005 fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States & Canada | $6.80 | $34.00 | $136.00 | $84.00 |
| United Kingdom | $44.00 | $220.00 | $880.00 | $270.00 |
| Germany | $110.00 | $550.00 | $2,200.00 | $600.00 |
| United Arab Emirates | $31.40 | $157.00 | $628.00 | $207.00 |
| Brazil | $13.60 | $68.00 | $272.00 | $118.00 |
| Indonesia | $50.00 | $250.00 | $1,000.00 | $300.00 |
| India | $2.80 | $14.00 | $56.00 | $64.00 |
The last column adds Twilio's listed $0.005 per message (checked 25 October 2026): on utility messages a per-message fee can be bigger than Meta's own rate. Volume tiers can lower Meta's rate at high volume.
Frequently asked questions
Meta's utility rate for the customer's country, effective 1 October 2026: $0.0034 in the US and Canada, $0.022 in the UK, $0.055 in Germany, $0.0157 in the UAE and ₹0.115 in India, before tax.
Not any more. Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges utility templates sent inside the customer service window. They're only free inside the click-to-WhatsApp ad free window, which lasts up to 7 days from your reply.
Yes. Meta's volume tiers apply to utility and authentication messages: the rate drops once you send enough in a month to one market. Marketing and service messages have no tiers.
It's billed at the marketing rate. Meta reviews each template's category; an update with an offer or promotion in it is treated as marketing.
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