WhatsApp Business Pricing Update

Overview:

Facebook is introducing a new conversation-based pricing structure starting 1 February 2022. There will be a fee per 24-hour conversation replacing the fee per message template.

What are the different Business Conversation types?

• WhatsApp defines two types of business conversations, each with different rates:

User-initiated conversations (now called service conversations)

• A scenario where an end-user initiates a conversation with your business via WhatsApp

• E.g.: Customer care, post-purchase assistance, general support queries

Business-initiated conversations (triggered by Marketing, Authentication (coming soon), and Utility templates)

• A scenario where your business sends an update or initiates a conversation with the end-user using a message template via the WhatsApp Business Platform

• E.g.: Flight alerts, account notifications, and appointment reminders (examples of utility templates); product updates and special promotions (examples of marketing templates).

How are conversations charged?

Conversations are measured in 24-hour increments or “sessions”. These 24-hour conversation sessions start whenever the first message is delivered by a business, either in response to a user inquiry or if a business-initiated message template is delivered.

Charges depend on several factors, including an end-users’ phone number (i.e., where it's registered), whether it's a business or user-initiated conversation, as well as the specific market. During a conversation, there are no additional fees.

Each WhatsApp Business Account gets 1,000 free service conversations each month across all of its business phone numbers. This number is refreshed at the beginning of each month, based on the WhatsApp Business Account time zone. Marketing, utility, and authentication conversations are not part of the free tier.

Have questions? Check out WhatsApp's pricing overview here.

How does this impact Clickatell’s fees?

When using our WhatsApp Business API solution, the total fee comprises Facebook's and Clickatell's fees. Although Clickatell’s fee will remain the same and be charged per outbound message, how Facebook charges you will change.