WhatsApp Business API pricing in India (2026): what a message really costs

Who charges what

When you send WhatsApp messages through the official Business Platform, two companies are involved. Meta charges for each message your business starts. Your software provider charges for the tool. Most confusion comes from mixing the two, so this post keeps them apart.

Meta's charge depends on what a message is for, not on how long it is. A one-line reminder and a long offer with a picture cost the same if they are in the same category. Your software provider's charge depends on its own plan: some charge a monthly fee, some add a margin on every message, and some do both.

So when you compare providers, ask two questions. What is the monthly price? And what do you charge per message on top of Meta's rate? The second answer is the one that grows with your contact list.

Meta's rates in India

Meta prices a message by its category. Every message your business starts must use a template that Meta has approved, and each template has one of three categories: Marketing, Utility or Authentication. Replies to a customer within 24 hours of their last message are service messages, and they don't need a template. From 1 October 2026, the India rates are:

These rates are before GST: Meta adds 18% GST to its charges in India. Service messages are free for the first 1,000 each month on each phone number. After that, each one costs ₹0.115.

Meta decides the category when it reviews your template. If a template sent in as Utility contains an offer, Meta can change it to Marketing, and every message from it is then charged at the marketing rate. So keep a reminder a reminder: the date, the amount, the batch, and nothing to sell.

Meta changes its rates from time to time. Before you plan a large send, check the current rate card on Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page.

A worked example

Say a coaching class sends a festive offer to 500 students. That is a marketing message, so the sum is 500 × ₹0.8631 = ₹431.55. Add 18% GST (₹77.68) and Meta bills ₹509.23.

The number to remember500 marketing messages ≈ ₹509 with GSTAbout one rupee per student, paid to Meta, not to your software.

A fee reminder to the same 500 students is a utility message: 500 × ₹0.115 = ₹57.50, plus GST ₹10.35, so ₹67.85. Reminders are cheap. Offers are not. Plan your month with that in mind.

Now say some of those students reply with questions about the offer, and your team answers each of them within 24 hours. Those answers are service messages. As long as the month's total stays within the first 1,000 on your number, they cost nothing.

Put together, a month with one offer and one fee reminder to 500 students comes to ₹509.23 + ₹67.85 = ₹577.08 in Meta charges, with the replies free. Send the offer twice and the marketing part doubles; send it to half the list and it halves. The sum is always the same: contacts × rate, plus 18% GST.

What Sendmint charges

Sendmint charges a flat plan price (from ₹499 a month) and nothing per message. Meta's charges are billed by Meta to the card or balance in your Meta account, at Meta's rate, with no markup from us. Before every campaign, Sendmint shows the estimated Meta cost so you decide with the number in front of you.

The estimate counts everyone in the campaign, at the rate of the template's category, and shows Meta's GST separately. Meta charges for the messages it delivers, so its bill is often a little lower than the estimate. Meta's bill is the final amount.

You pay Sendmint for the plan and Meta for the messages, and the two bills never mix. Meta needs a payment method or money in your Meta account before your first campaign. If the balance runs out partway through a campaign, Meta stops sending and Sendmint pauses the campaign. Add money in Meta, press Resume, and nobody gets the message twice. The steps are in Add money or a card for Meta's charges.

Keep the bill small

• Use utility templates for reminders and updates; keep marketing for real offers.
• Reply inside 24 hours of a customer's message: those replies are service messages and the first 1,000 a month are free.
• Send to people who opted in. Fewer blocks, better quality rating, lower cost per result.
• Send an offer only to the contacts it is meant for. A tag such as "Class 10" or "Old customers" turns one big send into a smaller one.
• Look at the estimate before you press send. If the number is higher than you expected, change who gets the message before you change the message.

That is the whole bill: Meta's rate for each message your business starts, 18% GST on top, and your plan price. Work it out once for your own contact list and you will know the number before Meta sends the bill.