If your business uses WhatsApp to connect with customers, there’s a big shift coming on July 1, 2025. Meta is updating how it charges for messages on the WhatsApp Business Platform. The good news? These changes create new opportunities to save—if you know how to manage your messaging strategy.
This post walks you through what’s changing, explains the different types of messages, and shows you how to avoid unnecessary spend. And if you're using Fyno, or thinking of moving to a smarter communication stack, we'll show you exactly how to make the most of these updates.
WhatsApp will now charge per message, and not per conversation
Until now, WhatsApp charged businesses based on 24-hour conversation windows. That meant you could send multiple messages during a paid session, and it would still count as one billable interaction.
From July 1, 2025, every message sent is counted and charged. The price depends on two things:
- What type of message it is (Marketing, Utility, or Authentication)
- Where the customer is based, using their phone’s country code
You’ll only be charged when the message is delivered, and Meta publishes the exact rates per country and category on its site.
Understand WhatsApp message categories and how they’ll be charged
WhatsApp divides business messages into three main types. Each category is priced separately, and each has specific use cases.
- Marketing messages: These are promotional. Think: offers, reminders, event invites, upsells. They're typically the most expensive.
- Utility messages: These are transactional and tied to specific user actions. For example, an order confirmation or a payment reminder. These are mid-priced, and often eligible for discounts.
- Authentication messages: These are used to verify identity—like one-time passwords (OTPs). They’re priced similarly to utility messages and can also qualify for volume-based discounts.
Free windows still apply, with some conditions
There are still ways to message users without paying.
- Customer-initiated chats: When a customer messages your business, you have 24 hours to reply for free. These responses can be free-form or utility-based. That window resets every time the customer replies.
- Free entry point windows: If a customer clicks a Facebook ad or page button that opens WhatsApp and sends a message, you get a 72-hour window to send messages—of any type—at no cost. But you must reply within 24 hours of their first message to activate this window.
Volume tiers can reduce your costs, if you message smartly
To encourage more transactional use of WhatsApp, Meta is introducing volume-based discounts for utility and authentication messages.
Here’s how it works:
- Your monthly message volume is counted separately for each country and category (e.g., India-authentication)
- Once your messages in that category cross a certain threshold, you unlock discounted rates for any further messages
- These thresholds reset at midnight on the first of each month (based on your WhatsApp Business Account’s timezone)
- All business accounts under the same company are counted together when determining your tier
Let’s take a look at this with an example. The following table illustrates the proposed tier-based pricing for using authentication messages in India:
If your business sends 3.2 million authentication messages to Indian users in a month:
- The first 250,000 messages are billed at the full list rate
- The next 500,000 are charged at a 5% discount
- The next 1.25 million get a 10% discount
- The remaining 1.2 million (from 2M to 3.2M) are billed at 15% off
The result? A blended cost that’s far lower than flat list pricing—and a strong incentive to manage your volumes centrally across all business units.
Just remember:
- Tiers are market- and category-specific (India-authentication is separate from India-utility)
- The count resets at midnight on the first of each month
- Only paid messages count (so any free messages within a customer service window don’t apply)
What this means for your messaging strategy?
With these changes, managing communication becomes more complex—but also more rewarding if done well.
You’ll need to:
- Track message categories precisely
- Time utility and authentication messages to take advantage of free windows
- Consolidate your templates to avoid unnecessary promotions slipping into transactional messages
- Monitor volume usage per market and category to stay in the best pricing tier
Doing this manually—or across multiple vendors—is time-consuming, error-prone, and expensive.
That’s where Fyno helps.
How to stay cost-effective without compromising on reach
This is where platforms like Fyno can make a significant difference. Fyno helps banks, fintechs, and financial institutions optimize their messaging strategy by orchestrating communication across multiple channels—WhatsApp, SMS, email, in-app, and more.
Here’s how Fyno helps you adapt to WhatsApp’s new pricing model without incurring additional messaging costs:
- Smart routing: Automatically switch between WhatsApp, SMS, email, and other channels based on cost and deliverability.
- Template categorization: Keep promotional content out of utility messages, so you don’t get charged at a higher rate by mistake.
- Volume optimization: Track how many messages you’re sending per tier, and get alerts when you’re close to unlocking discounts.
- Failover built in: If a WhatsApp message fails, Fyno instantly reroutes it through another channel—like email or SMS—so critical messages like OTPs always go through.
- Compliance by default: Fyno comes with built-in audit trails, consent management, data localization, and support for RBI, DPDP, and TRAI compliance.
Banks using Fyno have reported over 40% savings on messaging costs and 100% deliverability on critical alerts like OTPs and transaction updates.
Final word
WhatsApp’s pricing is getting more granular, and that’s not a bad thing. If you can manage your templates, timing, and volumes, you can reach customers effectively—without wasting money.
Platforms like Fyno make this easier. They give you the tools to optimize every message you send—without extra engineering work or compliance risk.
Want to prepare for the new WhatsApp pricing before it rolls out? Get in touch with our team for a quick demo.
