WhatsApp Conversation-Based pricing explained

Charges per country

Charges for conversations are based on the user’s country code. A user here is defined as the customer that your business is communicating with. Rates for business-initiated and user-initiated conversations vary by country or region. EUR Rate Card is listed below.

How it works

The WhatsApp Business API gives medium to large businesses the ability to connect with customers at scale. You can start conversations with customers, send service notifications or purchase updates, offer your customers a level of personalised service and provide support in the channel that your customers prefer to be reached on.

Conversations

Conversations are message threads between you and your customers. Conversations can last up to 24-hours and must be initiated by you (business-initiated) or your customers (user-initiated). Customers can initiate a conversation by sending you any type of message, but you can only initiate a conversation with a template message. Once the conversation has begun, you can then send any type of message to the customer.

User initiated conversations

A user-initiated conversation is a message thread started by a customer who sends any type of message to a business. No prior opt-in is required. When the business responds to the customer it begins a 24-hour customer service window. All messages sent back and forth between the customer and the business within this window are associated with the conversation.

Business initiated conversations

A business-initiated conversation is a message thread started by a business that sends an approved template message to a customer. Prior opt-in is required. When the business sends the template message it begins a 24-hour customer service window. All messages sent back and forth between the customer and the business within this window are associated with the conversation. Once the customer replies to the business’s template message, the business can begin sending any type of message to the customer.

There are three business-initiated conversation categories (all of which require customer opt in):

• Utility conversations: Facilitate a specific, agreed-upon request or transaction or update to a customer about an ongoing transaction, including post-purchase notifications and recurring billing statements
• Authentication conversations: Enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes
• Marketing conversations: Include promotions or offers, informational updates, or invitations for customers to respond / take action. Any conversation that does not qualify as utility or authentication is a marketing conversation

The fourth category is service conversations – all user-initiated conversations will be categorized as service conversations, which help customers resolve enquiries.

Free tier conversations

The first 1,000 conversations each month are free so your business can build experiences your customers will love before having to pay. Each WhatsApp Business account (WABA) will receive 1,000 free user initiated conversations per month. Even if a WABA has multiple numbers attached, the free tier threshold is still 1000, as the free tier is provided at the WABA level. The free tier is refreshed monthly based on the timezone associated with the WABA.

 

*Rate cards for utility, marketing, authentication, and service conversations: Effective June 1, 2023

View EU rate card