Welcome, business owners and marketers! If you’re a business that uses WhatsApp to reach your customers, get ready for a significant change. The Facebook-owned company has set the new WhatsApp Business API pricing from July 1, 2025. At GMCSCO Media Group, we’re here to translate it to the simple terms – be it living in India or Saudi Arabia or anywhere else! I’m going to break this down by giving an example of what’s new in a new way, and what it means for your business, if perhaps you are targeting customers in the GCC Middle East region, e.g. KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and UAE.
What’s New with WhatsApp Business API?
Meta has gone from the old “conversation-based” pricing to a new “per-message” pricing. That means you are no longer paying for any one of those 24-hour chat windows individually, but for each message depending on its type. It’s a shift that goes into effect July 1, 2025 with the hope that it will be clearer about costs and that it will get you to plan better. But don’t be afraid—it comes with a few savvy perks too! WhatsApp Business API users, both existing as well as new, globally will be affected by this change.
Understanding the Five Message Categories
Meta categorizes messages across five categories. Here’s what they are:
- Marketing: Promotional communications such as promotions, special products and offers.
- Utility: Functional updates such as order confirmations or delivery alerts.
- Authentication: Security messages, such as one-time passwords (OTPs).
- Authentication-International: OTPs sent to particular international regions, where different rules apply.
- Price: Free messages customers kick off, such as support requests.
These are the things that help Meta determine how to charge, so it is helpful to understand them.
What is the 24-Hour and 72-Hour Windows?
Meta’s website verifies two key dates after July 1, 2025:
- 24-Hour Customer Service Window (CSW): Opening a 24-hour Customer Service Window by the customer either messaging you or the user responding yourself, you are then allowed a 24-hour window to respond template messages free of cost (as long as they fall under the Utility or Service category). This window gets reset after the arrival of every subsequent customer message.
- 72-hour Free Entry Point (FEP) Window: If a user messages you via a “Click to WhatsApp” ad or by using the Facebook Page button, you get 72 hours of free messaging (of any kind) if you respond within 24 hours.
These windows are where you’ll want to save on costs, however messages templates is all that works outside them.
Also Read About Whatsapp Business API Services
What’s free Starting July 1, 2025?
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Meta provides a few free messaging choices:
- Service Messages: Free for all customer-initiated service messages (unlimited & no time limit, as long as you respond within the 24-hour CSW).
- Utility Templates in CSW: Utility templates within CSW like order updates in 24-hour are free.
- FEP Window: A 72-hour window following click activity or button engagement during which you don’t pay to deliver any message type when activated within 24 hours.
So if you’re a business based in India or KSA and you’re looking to save $$.
Volume Discounts for High Usage
If you’re a heavy sender, Meta will charge less per message the more you send each month. This is a cellular data tally for all your WhatsApp accounts, and it resets every month. For large companies in Saudi Arabia or the UAE, scaling up might entail big savings.
Stricter Template Rules
Meta is cracking down even more from July 1, 2025:
- Utility templates can’t be promotional (no sales copy).
- Mislabeling (i.e., labeling a marketing message “Utility”) can result in preventable bans on the sending of specific messages.
- Meta will inspect and modify your templates with notifications via email or webhooks.
Also Read About Whatsapp Marketing
Key Changes for July 1, 2025
Here’s everything every WhatsApp Business API user, new and existing, needs to know from today:
- Per-Message Price: Template messages (Marketing, Utility outside CSW, Authentication, and Authentication-International) are all charged per message and have replaced the existing 24 hour chat charge.
- Free Utility Templates in CSW: Utility templates within the 24-hour window are free, a change confirmed by Meta.
- FEP Window Expansion: 72-hour free is becoming available by default for ad or button-initiated chats when there’s a reply within 24 hours.
- Not Applicable Phase Rollout: Unlike some previous plans, per-message pricing applies to all users at the same time, on and after July 1, 2025 (based on the time zone associated with your WhatsApp Business Account).
- Volume Tiers: Discounts apply on total monthly messages calculated on all your accounts.
- Compliance Attention: Non-compliant templates can be re-classified and will impact the pricing and delivery.
How This Affects You
- Challenge: You’ll have to make messages fit in free windows, or risk extra charges.
- Opportunity: Free Service chats and FEP windows = conversations w/ customers w/o cost = doubly in KSA or India.
Tips to Adapt
Here’s GMCSCO Media Group advice on this:
- Quick Reply: Post within 24 hours to keep the CSW open and save on Util messages.
- Ads: Run “Click to WhatsApp” campaigns in Saudi Arabia to unblock 72-hour free windows.
- Chatbots: Automation of answers for Service chats to respond to more queries for free.
- Combine Updates: Combine multiple updates within a single template to decrease message volume.
- Remain Compliant: Allow us to audit your templates so that you don’t get banned.
Why become a Member of the GMCSCO Media Group?
We are WhatsApp experts catering to India, Saudi Arabia and the GCC. For large companies in the UAE or KSA, we have:
- Custom Plans: Take advantage of free windows and discounts.
- AI Tools: Chatbots to supercharge free Service chats.
- Compliance Support templates make sure templates conform to Meta rules.
- C.C. Spotlight: Custom tactics for generating leads in the Middle East.
Ready to adapt? Call now or WhatsApp us at +91-9513351353 for a free consultation!
Get the Details
Please refer to Meta’s official page for the most recent pricing and complete terms: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing. We work with clients from around the world, so look there to find rates in your area.
Also Read About WhatsApp Business API Providers in Saudi Arabia
Note: All information is sourced from Meta’s official documentation (https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing) as of July 1, 2025. Verify with Meta’s latest updates before taking action.