The company has confirmed further details about the pricing model that will take effect on October 1st: how to assess your company’s costs and what you can do to pay less
🔔 As we announced some time ago, Meta has decided that, starting Thursday, October 1, 2026, it will begin charging for replies sent by your business, whether they are sent by a human agent or by the bot, in written or voice form.
ℹ️ However, in recent days, the company that owns WhatsApp has provided further details: it confirmed that there will be 1,000 free replies per month. In other words, each WhatsApp account will be able to send up to 1,000 free messages per month, and charges will only apply starting with message number 1,001.
💡To make it clearer:
▸You have 1,000 free service messages per WhatsApp account per month. If your operation stays within this limit, you will pay nothing that month.
▸Starting with message 1,001, each reply will be charged at a flat rate based on the country where the customer’s account is registered, with no volume-based tiers. For example, if your company is based in Mexico and your customer contacts you from Colombia, the Colombian rate will apply.
▸This flat rate is shown in the following table published by Meta.
COST IN US DOLLARS PER REPLY STARTING WITH MESSAGE 1,001
| COUNTRY | FIRST 1,000 MESSAGES | FROM MESSAGE 1,001 |
| Argentina | Free | $0.0260 |
| Mexico | Free | $0.0085 |
| Ecuador | Free | $0.0113 |
| Colombia | Free | $0.0008 |
| Venezuela | Free | $0.0113 |
| Spain | Free | $0.0190 |
Service fee = the applicable rate for each country, according to Meta’s official pricing list. Check your market using the calculator.
▸Service messages can now be included in Fixed Price Contracts (FPC) with Meta, as the company is now offering a type of corporate flat-rate pricing that allows large companies to communicate with their customers without worrying about their bill increasing if they send more messages than expected.
▸On the other hand, Meta confirmed that two things will remain unchanged:
- Templates (promotions, notifications) already have a cost and will continue to do so. For marketing campaigns, there is also the option to set a maximum price per message.
- Messages received from your customers will never be charged.
📢 What does Meerkat recommend?
- Calculate whether 1,000 outgoing messages are enough for your operation. Enter your tickets and messages per conversation into the calculator (see below): if you stay within the number of free messages, you have nothing to worry about this month.
- If you exceed 1,000 messages, the strategy remains the same: group, consolidate, and simplify your replies. Every message you eliminate from the conversation—whether sent by the bot or a human agent—directly reduces your bill.
- With high volumes, you should ask about fixed pricing: service messages can now be included in FPCs, providing greater cost predictability.
💬If you would like our help calculating your costs or reviewing your operation before September 30, contact us.
📧And if you would like to learn more about Meerkat IA, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Diego Cúneo
Director de Meerkat Media & PR LAB
Periodista y comunicador con una trayectoria de más de 30 años en medios de comunicación masiva de primer nivel. Especialista en Comunicación Corporativa, Relaciones Públicas e Institucionales, con amplia labor en grandes empresas.