Major change in Jan 2026
Meta replaced the old per-conversation pricing with per-template-message billing on January 1, 2026 for India. The headline rate for marketing messages jumped ~10% to ₹0.8631 (+ 18% GST). Utility messages (order updates, OTPs) sit much lower at ~₹0.115. The biggest win: any reply you send within the 24-hour customer service window is now FREE.
Pricing breakdown
Marketing (promotions, offers): ₹0.8631 per delivered message + GST. Utility (transactional, OTP, order updates): ₹0.115 per message + GST. Authentication (OTP for login): ₹0.115. Service (any reply you initiate within 24h of customer message): ₹0. Customer-initiated conversations: free for the first 1,000/month.
What BSPs add on top
AiSensy, WATI, Interakt, Gallabox typically add ₹2,000-7,000/month base subscription + a small per-message markup. For most Indian SMBs sending 5,000-20,000 marketing messages/month, total monthly bill: ₹6K-25K. Higher-volume D2C brands sending 100K+ messages should negotiate direct Meta pricing.
How to cut WhatsApp costs
Move promotions to utility templates wherever defensible (order updates often work as promotions in disguise). Trigger more 24h service-window replies — every reply you send within that window is free. Use template carefully — Meta rejects ~12% of marketing templates that look promotional.