Ever since Facebook announced its acquisition of WhatsApp for over $140 billion in 2014, it had never revealed its revenue system. Everything changed in 2018 when WhatsApp finally confirmed to start charging for their WhatsApp Business service.
The WhatsApp Business app is still free to download, but in return, companies have to pay a fee for each end-to-end message sent. For every WhatsApp Business API account, a fixed price is charged per message and the pricing depends on the destination country.
Interested in using WhatsApp for your business? It’s not that complicated! We have put together a complete guide to show you how. Check out the pricing and billing process here.
What is the WhatsApp API?
Users are strongly encouraged to partner with global business solution providers that are messaging experts in the field of enterprise business to customer communications. Simply put, an API is a must if you wish to connect with customers via WhatsApp.
As of October 2020, there are 65 WhatsApp Business Solution Providers (BSPs) in total, with 21 of them also offering Facebook Messenger Service.
Factors that Affect the Message Fees Pricing
Before we dig deeper, you should first understand what “Template Messages” are. According to Facebook, businesses need to follow specific formats when drafting a notification send-out, more importantly, the content has to be consistent with its terms and policies.
As for the pricing, a clear Price Schedule has been released. Here are the key elements that affect the messaging costs:
Message Types
1. Template Messages
Template Messages are pre-approved message templates for outbound notifications like delivery alerts and appointment reminders and cannot be used for marketing purposes.
You must use a WhatsApp Template Message if more than 24 hours has elapsed since the user’s last response to you. Any other types of messages sent outside the 24-hour window will fail to reach the user.
For example, if you want your customer to receive this message:
“Hi Harry! Your Order Number: 20200120 has been dispatched. Thank you!”
You will need to submit the following template:
“Hi {{1}}! Your Order Number: {{2}} has been dispatched. Thank you!”
2. Session Messages
Session Messages are any messages sent and received in response to a user-initiated message and do not require pre-approval.
A messaging session starts when a user sends you a message and lasts for 24 hours from the most recently received message.
You can wait for users to message you, or you can send a Template Message to invite the user to respond.
Country/ Region
The fee depends on the country code/ area code of the receiver, together with the volume of Templated Messages delivered in a calendar month to a given country or region.
Customer Care Window
If a customer sends a message to you, the 24 hours following the last message received from the customer is known as the Customer Care Window. Although WhatsApp itself will not charge you for any messages you send to that customer during the window, some WhatsApp API providers do charge a small fee. However, WhatsApp does charge for extra messages sent beyond the Customer Care Window and the charges will be put on credit.
Pricing Effective Date
WhatsApp has the authority to renew the rate card on a monthly basis, and updates will take effect the first day of the calendar month following such changes.