{"id":3088,"date":"2026-10-15T15:40:35","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T10:10:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/?post_type=docs&#038;p=3088"},"modified":"2026-10-15T15:40:36","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T10:10:36","password":"","slug":"which-whatsapp-messages-are-free","status":"publish","type":"docs","link":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/kb\/which-whatsapp-messages-are-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Which WhatsApp messages are free?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every WhatsApp message carries a Meta charge. Knowing which ones are free can cut a support-heavy account&#8217;s bill substantially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free: service messages in an open customer service window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When a customer messages you, a <strong>24-hour customer service window<\/strong> opens. Inside it, your ordinary replies (text, image, document and so on, sent without a template) are free. Meta has made these <strong>service<\/strong> messages free for all businesses since 1 November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free: utility templates inside that window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A <strong>utility<\/strong> template sent while the customer service window is open is also free. The same template sent when no window is open is charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Free: the free entry point window<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If a customer reaches you by tapping a <strong>Click to WhatsApp ad<\/strong> or a <strong>WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page<\/strong>, a <strong>72-hour free entry point window<\/strong> opens, and <em>all<\/em> messages in it are free, template messages included. This window runs independently of the 24-hour service window, so one can be open while the other has closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Always charged<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Marketing<\/strong> templates<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Authentication<\/strong> templates (OTPs)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Utility<\/strong> templates sent when no service window is open<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to use this<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Handle support conversations inside the service window with ordinary replies rather than templates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Answer promptly: once the 24 hours lapse, you need a paid template to reopen contact.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If you run Click to WhatsApp ads, respond within 72 hours while messaging is free.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/developers.facebook.com\/docs\/whatsapp\/pricing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Meta: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing<\/a>. Meta changes these rules from time to time, so check the source if something looks different in your account.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not every WhatsApp message carries a Meta charge. Knowing which ones are free can cut a support-heavy account&#8217;s bill substantially. Free: service messages in an open customer service window When a customer messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Inside it, your ordinary replies (text, image, document and so on, sent without a template) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"doc_category":[2339],"doc_tag":[],"class_list":["post-3088","docs","type-docs","status-publish","hentry","doc_category-pricing"],"year_month":"2026-10","word_count":248,"total_views":"31","reactions":{"happy":"0","normal":"0","sad":"0"},"author_info":{"name":"admin","author_nicename":"admin","author_url":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"},"doc_category_info":[{"term_name":"Pricing","term_url":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/kb-cat\/pricing\/"}],"doc_tag_info":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/3088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/docs"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/118"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/docs\/3088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"doc_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_category?post=3088"},{"taxonomy":"doc_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.smsgatewaycenter.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/doc_tag?post=3088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}