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What Does WhatsApp Messaging Cost? Meta's Fees, Explained
Meta charges per delivered template message — ₹0.8631 for marketing and ₹0.1150 for utility in India, with replies inside the 24-hour window free. Here's what a full wedding actually costs.
By Wedd.ai Team · Updated August 19, 2026
Quick answer: Connecting your number to Wedd.ai through coexistence is free — Meta charges nothing for the connection itself. What Meta does charge for is template messages, per delivered message: in India ₹0.8631 for a marketing message and ₹0.1150 for a utility message (plus 18% GST), while replies inside the 24-hour service window are free. A 300-guest wedding typically spends a few hundred rupees in total.
This page covers only Meta’s fees — the per-message charges set by WhatsApp itself, which are the same no matter which platform you use. Your Wedd.ai subscription is separate.
How does Meta charge for WhatsApp messages?
Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per message, not per conversation — and only when a template message is actually delivered. Messages that never reach a guest (a number that isn’t on WhatsApp, for instance) cost nothing.
Every message falls into one of four categories, and only some are charged:
| Category | What it is at your wedding | Charged? |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Invitations, save-the-dates, event announcements | Yes — per delivered message |
| Utility | Reminders, RSVP confirmations, schedule updates | Yes — but free if sent inside an open 24-hour service window |
| Authentication | One-time login codes (not used for weddings) | Yes |
| Service | Your free-form replies to guests who messaged you | Always free |
The authoritative reference is Meta’s own documentation: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing explains the model, and the interactive rate lookup shows the exact current price for any country and message category.
What does each message type cost in India?
Meta’s base rates for messages delivered to Indian numbers, current since 1 January 2026:
- Marketing messages: ₹0.8631 each — your invitation to a guest who hasn’t messaged you yet is this type. (This went up about 10% on 1 January 2026, from ₹0.7846.)
- Utility messages: ₹0.1150 each — reminders and confirmations tied to something the guest already agreed to.
- Authentication messages: ₹0.1150 each — not used for weddings.
- Service replies: ₹0 — see the free section below.
18% GST applies on top of these rates on Indian invoices, so ₹0.8631 becomes about ₹1.02 all-in.
Meta revises these occasionally — it raised India’s marketing rate in January 2026 — so always treat the official rate cards (downloadable in INR) as the source of truth. The rates are identical whichever Meta tech provider your platform uses — nobody gets a “cheaper WhatsApp”, platforms only differ in their own subscription pricing.
Which of my wedding messages are free?
More than you’d expect:
- Every guest reply to you — incoming messages are never charged.
- Everything you send within 24 hours of a guest’s message. When a guest replies to your invitation (“Is it OK to bring the kids?”), a 24-hour service window opens, and your free-form answers inside it cost nothing.
- Utility messages inside that open window — a reminder sent while the window is open is free instead of ₹0.1150.
- The connection itself. Coexistence, the QR setup, and keeping your number linked have no Meta fee.
In practice, RSVP back-and-forth — the bulk of wedding messaging — happens inside these free windows.
What will a full wedding actually cost?
A worked example for 300 guests:
| Send | Type | Meta fee |
|---|---|---|
| Invitation to all 300 | Marketing | 300 × ₹0.8631 ≈ ₹259 |
| 3 reminders/updates to all 300 | Utility | 900 × ₹0.1150 ≈ ₹104 |
| RSVP conversations, guest questions, your replies | Service / in-window | ₹0 |
| Total Meta fees for the season | ≈ ₹363 |
About ₹430 once 18% GST is added — less than the cost of printing a single physical invitation card. Larger guest lists scale linearly: 900 guests lands around ₹1,090 before GST.
Do I pay Meta directly?
Meta’s fees are billed through the WhatsApp Business Account your number is connected to, not collected message by message from your phone. Your Wedd.ai subscription is billed separately, and how the WhatsApp Business Account billing is set up is covered during onboarding — contact us if you’re unsure how yours is configured.
For the wider picture of which WhatsApp product charges what, see WhatsApp vs WhatsApp Business vs the API.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is there a charge for connecting or staying connected?
No. Coexistence is a free Meta feature — no connection fee, and no monthly Meta charge for keeping the link alive. Meta only charges for chargeable template messages you actually send, and only when they're delivered.
Do undelivered messages cost anything?
No. Billing happens on delivery. If a guest's number isn't on WhatsApp or a message fails, there's no fee for it.
Are Meta's rates different on other platforms?
No — Meta's per-message rates are the same across every provider and platform. If a tool advertises dramatically cheaper "WhatsApp messages", it isn't sending them through the official WhatsApp Business Platform.
What's the cheapest way to run my guest messaging?
Send reminders as utility messages rather than marketing where possible, and answer guests promptly — replies inside the 24-hour window are free, and utility messages sent inside an open window are free too. Wedd.ai categorises messages for you automatically.
Where do I check the exact current rates?
Meta's interactive pricing page (select India and the message category) at business.whatsapp.com/products/platform-pricing, or the INR rate card CSV/PDF linked from developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing. Both are Meta's official, always-current sources — and note that rates there exclude the 18% GST added on Indian invoices.