WhatsApp Business API costs in India, explained
Using the WhatsApp Business API has two costs. Meta charges for each delivered message your business sends, at a rate set by the message category and the customer's country, and bills your own WhatsApp account. Qubox charges a monthly or yearly plan for the software and adds nothing to Meta's message charges.
The two parts of the bill
There are two separate costs when you use WhatsApp through a provider like Qubox:
- Meta's message charges. Meta charges for messages your business sends.
- The software. You pay your provider for the inbox, campaigns, chatbot and so on.
Some providers mix the two, for example by selling you Meta credit with a margin. Qubox does not. It helps to look at each part on its own.
How Meta charges for WhatsApp messages
Meta's pricing page says that since 1 July 2025 it charges per message, and only for messages from businesses to users. It does not charge for messages customers send to businesses. It charges only when a message is delivered, not when it is sent (checked November 2026).
The rate depends on two things: the message category, and the country calling code of the customer's WhatsApp number.
The message categories
Every template you make has a category, and the category sets the price. Replies you type inside the 24-hour window are not templates. Meta calls them service messages.
| Category | What it is for |
|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotion: from making people aware of you to driving sales and bringing customers back |
| Utility | Following up on something the customer did or asked for, such as an order or an account update |
| Authentication | Checking a customer's identity, for example with a one-time code |
| Service | Non-template replies, which can only be sent in the 24-hour window after a customer writes |
These follow Meta's Template categorization page and its pricing page (checked November 2026). Meta also has a fifth category for replies made by its own AI agent, Meta Business Agent, charged by the tokens it uses.
Which messages are free
Meta's pricing page says this (checked November 2026):
- Messages customers send you are not charged.
- The first 1,000 service messages each month on each business phone number are free. Meta charges from the 1,001st. Unused free messages do not roll over.
- Messages in a free entry point window are not charged. This window opens when a customer writes to you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad on the Android or iOS app and you reply within the 24-hour window. It can stay open for up to 7 days. Meta Business Agent messages are still charged in it.
Two things changed on 1 October 2026. Meta started charging again for service messages, which had been free since 1 November 2024, and added the 1,000 free a month. It also started charging for utility templates sent inside an open 24-hour window, which had been free since 1 July 2025 (Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform; Upcoming pricing updates, Meta for Developers).
Utility and authentication messages also get lower rates at higher monthly volumes, per country. Marketing messages do not.
Meta says it may change prices only on the first day of a quarter: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October (checked November 2026). Read the pricing page again when you plan your budget.
What it costs in India
India has its own rates on Meta's rate card, and Meta publishes rate cards in Indian rupees as well as US dollars. Find them under "Rate cards and volume tiers" on Meta's pricing page. We have not copied the numbers here because Meta updates them.
One more India point from the same page (checked November 2026): businesses whose billing country is India must move all their WhatsApp messaging accounts to INR billing by 31 December 2026. From 1 January 2027, Meta says it will not deliver messages from their accounts that are not in INR.
Who sends you Meta's bill
With Qubox, Meta bills you directly. Your WhatsApp Business account is your own, you add your own payment method to it in Meta's settings, and Meta charges it at Meta's rates.
Qubox is a Meta Tech Provider. It does not resell Meta credit, and it adds nothing to Meta's price for any message.
Until your first message goes out, Qubox reminds you to add a payment method to your WhatsApp account. This matters: Meta's pricing page says that without a payment method, it does not deliver service messages once the 1,000 free ones are used up (checked November 2026).
What Qubox charges
Qubox charges a monthly or yearly plan for the software. A few things to know:
- Every feature is on every plan. Plans differ only in limits: how many numbers, team logins, contacts and messages a month.
- Only messages you send count. Messages customers send you are never counted against your plan or refused.
- Prices in India are before 18% GST. You get a GST invoice.
- No markup per message. Meta's charges stay between you and Meta.
The current plans and their limits are on the Qubox pricing page.
How to estimate your monthly Meta bill
You can work out a rough figure in three steps:
- Count the messages you expect to send in a month, split by category. For example, order updates are utility, offers are marketing, and typed replies are service.
- Look up Meta's current India rate for each category on the rate card.
- Multiply and add. Leave out the first 1,000 service messages on each number.
In Qubox you can type Meta's ₹ rate for marketing and utility messages into Settings. Then each campaign shows an estimate before you send: the number of people it will reach, times your rate. Qubox also shows who will be skipped and why, such as no consent or a STOP, so you are not estimating for people who will not get the message.
Ways to keep Meta's charges down
- Use the right category. An order update is a utility message. Do not send it as marketing.
- Send offers only to people who said yes. Fewer, better-aimed messages cost less and get fewer blocks.
- Answer inside the 24-hour window. That is where a typed reply is allowed, without a template.
- Follow up only where it helps. Qubox can send a follow-up just to people who did not read a campaign, or read it and did not reply, instead of sending everything again.
Sources
- Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta for Developers — per-message charging, free messages, 1 October 2026 changes, volume tiers, rate cards, pricing calendar, INR billing in India
- Upcoming pricing updates for Meta Business Agent, service and utility messages, Meta for Developers — service messages charged per message, payment method needed
- Template categorization, Meta for Developers — marketing, utility and authentication definitions
Questions
Does Qubox add a margin to Meta's message price?
No. Meta bills your own WhatsApp account at Meta's rates, and Qubox adds nothing per message.
Do I pay for messages my customers send me?
No. Meta's pricing page says Meta does not charge for messages customers send to businesses (checked November 2026). Qubox never counts incoming messages against your plan.
Are replies inside the 24-hour window free?
Not all of them since 1 October 2026. Meta's pricing page says each business number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and charges after that (checked November 2026).
Are Qubox prices shown with GST?
Prices for India are shown before 18% GST. See the pricing page.
Do higher Qubox plans unlock more features?
No. Every feature is on every plan. Higher plans give more numbers, logins, contacts and messages a month.