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WhatsApp shifts to per-message billing for businesses from per-conversation

Starting July 1, WhatsApp has shifted from a per-conversation to a per-message billing model for businesses using its platform. This marks a major change in how the Meta-owned app monetises business communication. Previously, businesses were charged ₹0.78 for an entire 24-hour conversation window, regardless of how many marketing messages were exchanged. Under the new system, each message is individually priced at ₹0.78. However, utility and authentication messages—used for non-promotional purposes like one-time passwords (OTPs) or account updates—will cost ₹0.11 per message, replacing the earlier flat rate for unlimited messages within a 24-hour session. Moreover, Meta-owned WhatsApp has also introduced volume-based pricing to "incentivise and reward growth" for businesses. Under it, businesses sending up to 25 million messages per month will be charged ₹0.115 per message, while those sending over 300 million messages will be billed at a reduced rate of ₹0.080 per message. The new pricing model is expected to make WhatsApp communication more expensive for businesses. However, Nikila Srinivasan, vice-president, Business Messaging at Meta, told the Economc Times that these measures will make the prices even more attractive. She further added that the pricing model has been updated to simplify structure. "It's how most businesses think of how they allocate their budgets and per message pricing just makes it a lot simpler for them because it brings more predictability. It's more valuable and utilitarian,' Srinivasan said, as quoted by the Economic Times. This pricing update comes amid a broader monetisation push by WhatsApp. Just last month, the platform introduced ads and subscription models in the Status and Channels section under the 'Updates' tab. For the first time, businesses now have the opportunity to run ads directly within WhatsApp itself — marketing a significant expansion of the platform's marketing. Until now, brands could only reach users in two primary ways: by sending paid messages, typically used by larger enterprises to share updates or promotions, and through click-to-WhatsApp ads on Facebook and Instagram, which directed users to open a chat on WhatsApp. This new feature marks a major step forward in making WhatsApp a standalone advertising channel.