> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.dapta.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.dapta.ai/ai-text-agents/channels/whatsapp-billing-and-meta-charges.md). # WhatsApp billing What a WhatsApp message costs on a Dapta line: what Dapta charges, what Meta charges, the rates by country, and how to keep the bill down. Two companies charge you, for two different things, and nothing is charged twice. * **Dapta charges for the agent.** The platform, the AI that reads and answers, sequences, the Inbox, template management and your integrations. In credits, on your Dapta invoice. * **Meta charges for delivery.** Putting each message on WhatsApp. In money, through your own Meta account. Meta's charges do not consume Dapta credits and do not appear on your Dapta invoice, so you see the two amounts in two places. For what Dapta charges, see [How Credits Work in Dapta](/my-account/how-credits-work-in-dapta.md). The rest of this page is Meta's side. {% hint style="info" %} A direct line needs a payment method with Meta. Without one, your agent cannot reply: Dapta holds its replies and shows a banner in **WhatsApp numbers** until Meta reports the payment method. See [Add a WhatsApp payment method](/ai-text-agents/channels/add-whatsapp-payment-method.md). {% endhint %} *** ## What Meta charges for Meta charges per **delivered** message, and the rate follows the **recipient's** country, not yours. | Message | Charged? | | ------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ | | A customer messages you | **Free**, always | | Your agent replies inside the 24-hour window (a *service message*) | Free for the first 1,000 per number each month, then charged | | A **utility** template — order update, reminder, confirmation | Charged, inside or outside the window | | A **marketing** template — offers, campaigns, re-engagement | Charged | | An **authentication** template — one-time codes | Charged | | A message that fails to deliver | **Free** | | Anything inside the 72-hour window opened by a Click-to-WhatsApp ad | **Free** | **Your first 1,000 service messages each month are free.** The allowance is per business phone number, counts across all countries, resets monthly, does not roll over, and the month begins at midnight in your WhatsApp Business Account's time zone. Charging starts at the 1,001st. {% hint style="success" %} This is why answering costs so little in practice. A customer writing to you is free, most small lines never exhaust the 1,000 free replies, and a failed message costs nothing. The charges that add up are the ones **you** start — campaigns and reminders. {% endhint %} *** ## Meta's rate card USD per delivered message, first volume tier. | Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service | | ------------------------ | ------------- | ------------- | -------------- | ------------- | | Colombia | 0.0125 | 0.0008 | 0.0008 | 0.0008 | | Mexico | 0.0397 ¹ | 0.0085 | 0.0085 | 0.0085 | | Brazil | 0.0625 | 0.0068 | 0.0068 | 0.0068 | | Peru | 0.0703 | 0.0300 ¹ | 0.0300 ¹ | 0.0300 | | Chile | 0.0889 | 0.0200 | 0.0200 | 0.0200 | | Argentina | 0.0618 | 0.0260 | 0.0260 | 0.0260 | | Spain | 0.0707 | 0.0200 | 0.0200 | 0.0200 | | Rest of Latin America | see rate card | see rate card | see rate card | 0.0113 | | United States and Canada | see rate card | see rate card | see rate card | see rate card | ¹ Changed on 1 October 2026: marketing in Mexico rises from 0.0305, and utility and authentication in Peru rise from 0.0200. Every other market keeps its rates. **Rest of Latin America** covers Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Venezuela. {% hint style="info" %} Rates verified on **2 September 2026** against [Meta's official rate card](https://business.whatsapp.com/products/platform-pricing). Meta changes rates only on the first day of a quarter — 1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October — with at least one month's notice. Check the rate card for current figures and for any market not listed here. {% endhint %} *** ## What changed on 1 October 2026 Meta's pricing change, and Meta's date. If you are setting up now, this is simply how billing works — it is listed here so older material still makes sense. * **Service messages became billable**, after the 1,000 free per number each month. They used to be free. * **Utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window became billable.** They had been free since July 2025. * Inbound messages, failed messages and the 72-hour ad entry window stayed free. *** ## Set up your payment method in Meta Meta bills you through your own Meta account. **Dapta cannot add this for you** — Meta requires the business itself to do it. 1. Sign in to Meta Business Suite with the account that owns the business portfolio holding your WhatsApp Business Account. 2. Go to **Billing and payments**, then **Payment methods**. 3. Select **Add**, and complete the business and tax information your country requires. ### Currency and taxes Meta can bill in local currency where it is available, including COP, MXN, BRL, ARS, CLP and PEN. In Brazil, eligible businesses are invoiced in BRL by Meta's local entity. Whether Meta charges VAT, and how you account for it, depends on your country and your company. **Check with your accountant** and with Meta's billing help — we cannot give tax or legal advice. ### How a payment problem appears in Dapta In **WhatsApp numbers**, a banner appears for each WhatsApp Business account with the problem: **Agent replies are blocked: add a payment method**. Its numbers show **Payment needed** under **Agent replies**, and **Blocked** under **Business-initiated**. Click **Add payment method** to open the account in WhatsApp Manager, or **Need help?** to book a session with Dapta. Once Meta reports the payment method, your agent replies again on its own. If the banner says **Templates and sequences blocked by a payment issue** instead, the account has another payment problem, such as an outstanding balance, and the messages you start cannot send. Review it in Meta Business settings, then check the number again. {% hint style="warning" %} If several lines in your workspace share one WhatsApp business account, a payment problem can affect them together. The absence of a reported payment error does not by itself confirm that billing is set up correctly. {% endhint %} *** ## Sending fewer billable messages 1. **Combine replies.** Every delivered message counts. An agent that answers in one message instead of three costs a third as much. 2. **Keep utility templates strictly transactional.** Meta can recategorize a utility template as marketing if it reads as promotional, and the charge follows the category at the time of sending. Marketing is the most expensive category in every market. 3. **Use Click-to-WhatsApp ads** where they fit. Conversations they open carry a 72-hour free entry point window. Want to see this as a monthly figure for your own business? Every [use case](/ai-text-agents/use-cases.md) carries a worked cost example. *Source review: September 21, 2026.* *** ## Connected before the direct route existed? If your line was connected before numbers connected directly with Meta, it is a *legacy line*, listed on the **WhatsApp (legacy)** card in **Channels**: Dapta bills its messaging in credits on a single invoice, and it is unaffected by the October change. Nothing you need to do. {% content-ref url="/pages/Aomhji5xNSZLpTwVUlUl" %} [Billing on legacy lines](/ai-text-agents/channels/legacy-line-billing.md) {% endcontent-ref %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://docs.dapta.ai/ai-text-agents/channels/whatsapp-billing-and-meta-charges.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.