WhatsApp Business API (WABA) Pricing Model
Starting February 1, 2022, WhatsApp Business API pricing rules are changing. WhatsApp will now charge for each initiated conversation. WhatsApp Business API conversations are divided into two types, with correspondent difference in cost:
Started by business
Started by user
User-initiated dialogue: A conversation that initiates in response to a user message. Whenever a business replies to a user within the 24-hour customer service window that message will be associated with a user-initiated conversation. Businesses can send free-form messages within this 24-hour customer service window.
Business-initiated dialogue: A conversation that initiates from a business sending a user a message outside the 24-hour customer service window. Messages that initiate a business-initiated conversation will require a message template.
All conversations are measured in fixed 24-hour sessions. Companies and users can exchange any number of messages, including template messages, within a 24-hour window at no additional cost.
Note:
If the company does not respond to the user's message, then the conversationwill not start and there is no need to pay for this incoming message.
If 24 hours have passed from the first message from the user, then the company can only respond with a template message and it will be charged as a dialogue initiated by a business.
Rates
The regional rates for Russian phone numbers are the following:
Business-initiated (outgoing) - 4.86 rubles (€0.0549)
User-initiated (incoming) - 2.91 rubles (€ 0.0329)
The full pricing list can be found on the official Facebook policy page.
Important: Charges for conversations are based on the user’s country code. Rates for business-initiated and user-initiated conversations vary by country or region.
Note: Prices are valid when connecting your corporate number to the WhatsApp Business API (WABA) provided by official WhatsApp solution partner 360dialog.
Free dialogues
The first 1000 conversations each month are free, only the monthly tariff is paid to the WABA provider. Payment for dialogues will start from the 1001st dialogue. They can be initiated by both business and user.
The countdown of free dialogues starts at 00:00 on the first day of each month according to the time zone of the region where the WABA number is registered.
Free first dialogue
Conversations are not charged when users message businesses using call-to-actions buttons on ads that click to WhatsApp or Facebook page call-to-action buttons.
The corporate WhatsApp number must be linked to your Facebook business page in this case.
Important: It’s only the first dialogue that is not paid! All further conversations after 24 hours with this client are charged.
Note: If your clients reach you on WhatsApp through a mini-landing page or a website, your conversations will be charged.
Examples
Example of a user-initiated dialogue
A user starts a dialogue with a company, but the countdown of the 24-hour window has not yet begun.
The company replies at 10:31. This message starts the 24-hour window.
The user continues the dialogue within the open window.
In this example, the company will have to pay for only 1 dialogue initiated by the user.
Example of a business-initiated dialogue
A user starts a dialogue with a company.
The company replies at 5 pm. This message starts the 24-hour window. The company is paying for the dialogue initiated by the user.
The user continues the conversation the next day within the open window, but the company doesn’t answer. The 24-hour window is closed.
The company sends a message every other day. Since more than 24 hours have passed since the last dialogue, the company has to pay for this message as for initiating a new dialogue. And this message is an approved HSM template.
In this example, the company will have to pay twice: for 1 user-initiated conversation and 1 business-initiated (outbound) conversation.
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