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.
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Cost per Template Message in Different Regions
WhatsApp has compiled the usage fees in 6 currencies, including USD, EUR, INR, IDR, GBP and AUD. Amongst all supported countries, India enjoys the lowest cost as each template message only costs $0.0042 USD for the first 250K messages. Meanwhile, the cost per message is the most expensive in Germany, where every template message costs $0.0858 USD, which is roughly 20 times that of India’s cost.
Asia | Europe | North America | South America | Africa
Asia
| Destination | Cost/ Message (USD) |
|---|---|
| India | $0.0042 |
| Indonesia | $0.0240 |
| Malaysia | $0.0407 |
| Pakistan | $0.0253 |
| Israel | $0.0232 |
| United Arab Emirates | $0.0235 |
| Saudi Arabia | $0.0260 |
| Rest of Asia-Pacific | $0.0505 |
| Rest of Middle-East | $0.0514 |
Europe
| Destination | Cost/Message (USD) |
|---|---|
| France | $0.0768 |
| Germany | $0.0858 |
| Italy | $0.0420 |
| Holland | $0.0800 |
| Russia | $0.0477 |
| Spain | $0.0380 |
| Turkey | $0.0100 |
| United Kingdom | $0.0398 |
| Rest of Western Europe | $0.0750 |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | $0.0619 |
North America
| Destination | Cost/Message（USD） |
|---|---|
| United States of America | $0.0085 |
| Canada | $0.0085 |
South America
| Destination | Cost/Message（USD） |
|---|---|
| Argentina | $0.0415 |
| Brazil | $0.0473 |
| Chile | $0.0586 |
| Columbia | $0.0100 |
| Mexico | $0.0266 |
| Peru | $0.0444 |
| Rest of Latin America | $0.0515 |
Africa
| Destination | Cost/Message (USD) |
|---|---|
| Nigeria | $0.0319 |
| South Africa | $0.0200 |
| Egypt | $0.0687 |
| Rest of Africa | $0.0576 |
As for all other countries that are not listed in the tables above, a flat rate of $0.0541 is charged for every business message sent. It is important to note that WhatsApp Business should not be used in Crimea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
WhatsApp Business in Hong Kong: Cost per Message is about HK$0.4
Hong Kong and China are classified under “Rest of Asia Pacific”, thus, the Template Message cost ranges between $0.0415 to $0.0505 USD, depending on the total volume of messages delivered.
According to the exchange rates on 11/10/2020, the cost per message is about $0.32 to 0.39 HKD. In other words, if you plan to send one Template Message to 10 thousand customers every month, the approximate monthly cost will be $3,900 HKD.
As the price is not fixed, the higher the volume of messages, the lower the cost per message.
| Message Volume | Cost/Message (USD) |
|---|---|
| First 250K | $0.0505 |
| Next 750K | $0.0497 |
| Next 2M | $0.0489 |
| Next 3M | $0.0464 |
| Next 4M | $0.0440 |
| Next 5M to 25M | $0.0415 |
WhatsApp Business API Provider Pricing
The above table represents the price determined by WhatsApp and every WhatsApp Business Solution Provider has its own subscription plans and pricing. Twillo, one of the authorised providers, has a user-friendly pricing.
For Template Messages, Twilio charges an additional $0.005 USD on top of WhatsApp Business’s Template Message charge, bringing the cost to $0.0555 USD ($0.43 HKD) per Template Message to Hong Kong.
As for Session Messages, Twilio charges a flat fee of $0.005 USD for each inbound and outbound Session Message worldwide.
Understand the Billing Process
Once your business starts implementing the WhatsApp Business API, it is of utmost importance for you to learn how to view payments and understand the invoice.
When creating a WhatsApp Business Account, the system requires you to apply for a line of credit. After the application has been approved, a monthly invoice will be shown in the Payment Settings section within your WhatsApp Business Manager.
As mentioned above, the invoice that includes all spending associated with the same WhatsApp Business Manager will be emailed to users during the first week of each month. The payments can then be settled by bank transfer to the Facebook bank account listed on each invoice. To avoid late payment charge, fees should be paid within 30 days following the invoice date.
The billing process is even simpler for SleekFlow customers! All you need to do is to top-up your WhatsApp credits through the SleekFlow platform and the WhatsApp fees will be automatically deducted depending on your usage.
About Us
SleekFlow is an Omni-Channel Social Commerce Platform that helps companies manage communication channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Line, Live Chat, SMS and Email all in one place. Use smart routing rules and targeted campaign messages to streamline sales, customer support and marketing workflows while integrating with 2500+ tools including eCommerce platforms and payment gateways to automate the whole customer journey with ease.
Read More:
Quick Read: Official WhatsApp Business API
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