For a general overview of WhatsApp integration with Freshchat, see Overview of WhatsApp Business Integration.
The article contains the following sections:
Understanding WhatsApp Pricing Policy
WhatsApp has a conversation-based pricing policy that charges businesses using the WhatsApp platform and API based on the conversation initiator (user-initiated or business-initiated) and categories.
Types of WhatsApp Message Categories
- Service (or User-initiated) Conversations:
Includes conversations initiated by customers. For example, customers reaching out to businesses for support or queries. Starting November 1, 2024, service conversations are free for all businesses (free tier conversations are now unlimited instead of capped at 1,000). Note that, a customer service window must be open between you and a WhatsApp user before you can send the user a non-template message. - Business Conversations (Template Messages):
Includes all interactions initiated by businesses for purposes such as delivering customer notifications and promotional marketing. This conversation type is further classified into the following subcategories based on the intent of the messages.
Types of Business Conversations:
| Category | Description |
| Marketing | Use this for your product and service promotions. For example, new product or feature announcements, targeted offers, and cart abandonment reminders. |
| Utility | Use this to follow up on user actions or requests. For example, send order status or delivery notifications directly to customers. |
| Authentication | Authenticate your users with one-time passcodes (OTPs) for various purposes, such as account registration and recovery. |
For more details, see WhatsApp Conversation Categories.
Note: Effective July 1, 2025, WhatsApp is rolling out changes to their WhatsApp Business Platform pricing model:
- The conversation-based pricing model will be deprecated.
- WhatsApp will charge per-message for template messages instead of per-conversation.
- Utility templates sent within an open customer service window will be free.
- Freshworks will continue to apply a 20% markup to the total WhatsApp cost billed from Meta. For more details, see Pricing Updates on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
WhatsApp Pricing Rates
The charges for business-initiated and user-initiated conversations on WhatsApp vary by country or region. To find the specific rates applicable to your location, please check the USD rate cards on the WhatsApp pricing page.
For customers billed in currencies other than USD, the following exchange rates will apply when processing the monthly WhatsApp invoices.
| Source Currency | Destination Currency | Exchange Rates |
| USD | AUD | 1.56 |
| USD | BRL | 5.30 |
| USD | EUR | 1.01 |
| USD | GBP | 0.86 |
| USD | INR | 82.79 |
| USD | ZAR | 18.28 |
Note: Effective April 1, 2025, WhatsApp is lowering the international authentication rates in Egypt, Nigeria, Pakistan, and South Africa. Meta frequently updates their WhatsApp pricing. We recommend that you check the WhatsApp pricing page regularly for the updated rates.
WhatsApp Usage Metrics
With WhatsApp usage metrics, you can now monitor the usage metrics for every WhatsApp number integrated with Freshworks from a unified screen. You can get complete visibility into the total conversations consumed, with a clear distinction between business-initiated, user-initiated, and free conversations on a monthly basis and the costs incurred.
To check your WhatsApp usage metrics:
- Go to Admin Settings > Channels > WhatsApp.
- Click on the Utilization icon. Here you get a summary of total conversations and a breakdown of business-initiated, user-initiated, and free conversations every month.
Learn more: