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WhatsApp Business Pricing in 2026: Are Broadcasts Still Free?

Writer: OZY Digital Consultants
OZY Digital Consultants
6 days ago
4 min read

Partly. WhatsApp Business pricing now depends on which version you use. On the free WhatsApp Business app, WhatsApp has been rolling out a monthly limit on free broadcasts, with paid credits once you use it up. On the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API that tools like WATI run on), broadcasts have always cost money, about 61 cents a message in South Africa. What changed on 1 October 2026 is that replies on the API now cost money too, once a number has used its 1,000 free replies for the month.

If clients or friends have told you "WhatsApp started charging for broadcasts", they have usually bumped into one of these two changes. Here is what each one means and what to do about it.

What changed on 1 October 2026

Meta's developer documentation confirms that from 1 October 2026 it charges per message for service messages on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Service messages are the normal replies you send when a customer messages you first. They had been free since November 2024.

The details, as reported by South African and partner sources:

  • Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. You pay from the 1,001st, and unused messages don't roll over (A2Z Communications, 3 September 2026; 360dialog).

  • The South African service rate is US$0.0095 a message, roughly 15 cents (A2Z, at R16.03 to the dollar on 3 September 2026). MyBroadband's August report used the older rate of about 12 cents.

  • Utility messages (order updates, booking reminders) sent inside an open 24 hour chat window are now charged as well. Before 1 October these were free (Meta developer docs).

  • Marketing messages, which is what a broadcast is on the API, stay at US$0.0379, roughly 61 cents each. That rate didn't change (A2Z).

Your platform may add its own fee on top of Meta's rate, so check your WATI or other provider plan and invoice rather than relying on the Meta figure alone.

Is the free WhatsApp Business app charging for broadcasts?

Replies in the free app are not affected. A2Z notes the October change applies to the API, so a shop owner answering customers by hand in the app does not pay per reply.

Broadcasts are a different story. In March 2025 TechCrunch reported that WhatsApp would start testing monthly caps on broadcast messages, including for business accounts, with a paid option for businesses that want to send more. In May 2026 WABetaInfo reported a "message credits" system rolling out to more countries: a free monthly allowance of broadcasts, then credits once it runs out. Channel Mobile, a South African messaging provider, covered the same rollout in July 2026.

What we could not confirm:

  • The exact free allowance in South Africa. Reports mention roughly 35 broadcast messages a month, but say it varies by region.

  • The price of credits. We couldn't find a published rand price.

  • Whether every South African account has it yet. The rollout is gradual.

If your app shows a credits or limit screen when you send a broadcast, this is why.

WhatsApp Business pricing at a glance

Free WhatsApp Business app

  • Replying to customers by hand: free.

  • Broadcast lists: up to 256 contacts a list, and a monthly cap on free broadcasts is rolling out, with paid credits after that.

WhatsApp Business Platform (WATI and similar tools)

  • Broadcasts and promotions (marketing templates): about 61 cents each, unchanged.

  • Replies to customers: free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then about 15 cents each.

  • Order and booking updates (utility): about 15 cents each, now charged inside the chat window too.

  • Plus whatever your platform charges.

Rand figures move with the exchange rate. Meta bills South African accounts in US dollars or another supported currency, since rand is not on its list of billing currencies.

What a month of WhatsApp could cost you

Two simple examples using the rates above. Your own numbers depend on your provider and the exchange rate on the day.

  • A broadcast to 1,000 customers on WATI: about R610 in Meta fees.

  • A busy shop sending 3,000 replies a month through WATI on one number: the first 1,000 are free, the other 2,000 cost about R300.

What still stays free

  • Manual replies in the free WhatsApp Business app.

  • On the API, a 72 hour free window opens when someone messages you from a Click to WhatsApp ad or the WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page, using their phone, and you reply within 24 hours. Every message in that window is free (Meta developer docs).

That second point matters if you run ads. A customer who starts a chat from your ad costs you nothing in WhatsApp fees for the next three days.

What to do about it

  1. Find out which one you use. If you send messages from the green WhatsApp Business app on a phone, you're on the app. If you use WATI, a chatbot or a shared inbox for your team, you're on the API.

  2. App users: send fewer, better broadcasts. Save broadcasts for news people actually want, like new stock or a sale, and use your Status for everyday updates.

  3. API users: look at your October bill. Count how many replies each number sends in a month. If you're well past 1,000, look at where your bot sends extra messages that don't help the customer.

  4. Make sure a payment method is on your Meta account. 360dialog warned that service messages stop being delivered without one.

  5. Let ads start the conversation. Chats that start from a Click to WhatsApp ad get the free 72 hour window, which makes ads a cheaper way to get new conversations than cold broadcasts.

  6. Keep promotions for people who opted in. Fewer blocks and reports keeps your number healthy, whichever version you use.

Not sure what this means for your business?

If you use WhatsApp to sell and want to know what these changes will cost you, or whether you should move from the app to an automated setup, book a free Digital Audit with OZY Digital Consultants.

WhatsApp 082 784 0375, hello@ozy.co.za, ozy.co.za.

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