The WhatsApp 24-Hour Customer Service Window and Pricing Basics
1 November 2026 · 5 min read · Türkçe oku
Two rules shape almost every WhatsApp Business Platform integration: the 24-hour customer service window, which decides what you're allowed to send, and per-message pricing, which decides what it costs. Both have changed in the last two years, and the latest change took effect on 1 October 2026. This guide explains how they work as of November 2026.
We don't quote prices here. Rates vary by country and Meta updates them quarterly, so always check the official pricing page and the rate card linked from it.
The 24-hour customer service window
Meta defines it simply: when a WhatsApp user messages or calls your business, a 24-hour timer starts. If they message or call again before it runs out, the timer resets to 24 hours.
Inside the window
While the window is open you can send service messages, meaning free-form messages that don't need a template:
- Text, images, audio, video, documents, stickers
- Location, contacts, reactions, address messages
- Interactive messages: reply buttons, lists, CTA URL buttons, location requests, call buttons and Flows
You can also send templates inside the window.
Outside the window
Once the window closes, you can only send pre-approved template messages. If you try to send free-form text, the request fails with error 131047 ("more than 24 hours have passed since the recipient last replied"). The fix is to send a template. If the user replies, a new window opens and you're back to free-form messages.
This is why a WhatsApp inbox needs to know the state of each conversation. An agent typing a normal reply to a customer who wrote yesterday morning will get a failure, not a delivered message.
Where templates come in
Templates have one of three categories, and each is priced differently:
| Category | Typical use |
|---|---|
| Marketing | Promotions, offers, announcements, re-engagement |
| Utility | Order updates, account alerts, appointment reminders: non-promotional and specific to the user |
| Authentication | One-time passcodes only |
The category also affects approval, which we cover in why WhatsApp templates get rejected.
From conversations to per-message pricing
Until mid-2025, Meta charged per 24-hour conversation. Since 1 July 2025, the platform has used per-message pricing: each delivered template message is charged according to its category and the recipient's country. Meta calls the old conversation-based model deprecated.
The current rules from Meta's pricing page:
- You're charged only when a message is delivered.
- Messages users send to you are not charged.
- The rate depends on the category and the recipient's country calling code. The rate card lists individual markets plus regional groups; countries not listed fall under "Other."
- Volume tiers (lower rates at higher volume) apply only to utility and authentication messages. Tiers are counted across all messaging accounts in a business portfolio and reset monthly.
- Meta changes prices only on the first day of a quarter (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October) and gives at least a month's notice of rate card changes.
What changed on 1 October 2026
If you set up WhatsApp a while ago, this is the part that may catch you out. Two kinds of message that used to be free are now charged:
- Service messages. Free-form replies inside the customer service window were free from 1 November 2024. Since 1 October 2026, Meta charges for them per message. Meta's pricing page says every business phone number gets a free tier of 1,000 service messages per month; charging starts from the 1,001st, and unused messages don't roll over. Meta's pricing page also notes that eligible government and non-profit organisations can keep service messages free beyond the free tier, for a limited period.
- Utility templates sent inside an open window. These were free from 1 July 2025 and are now charged per message from 1 October 2026.
Meta also set a deadline of 30 September 2026 for adding a payment method to messaging accounts and warned that, without one, service messages stop being delivered once charging begins. If replies have quietly stopped going out since October, check billing first. Error 131042 points to a payment method problem.
Because this is recent and Meta keeps refining it, read the upcoming pricing updates page for the details that apply to your markets.
Free entry point conversations
One exception remains. When a user messages you from a Click to WhatsApp ad and you reply within the customer service window, Meta opens a free entry point window. While it's open, your marketing, utility, authentication and service messages to that user aren't charged. Meta's pricing page sets out exactly how long the window lasts and which surfaces qualify, so check there before you build a campaign around it.
Messaging limits: the other cap
Separate from cost, Meta limits how many unique users outside a customer service window you can deliver messages to in a moving 24-hour period. New business portfolios start at 250. Verifying the business, or delivering 2,000 messages to unique users outside customer service windows within 30 days using well-rated templates, can unlock 2,000. After that, limits rise automatically (10,000, 100,000, unlimited) if quality stays high and you use at least half your limit. The limit applies to the whole business portfolio, so all numbers in it share it.
Practical checklist
- Reply fast. Free-form replies only work while the window is open, and the window resets every time the user writes back.
- Use utility templates for transactional updates and keep them non-promotional. A promotional line turns them into marketing.
- Use authentication templates only for codes.
- Budget for service messages beyond the 1,000 free per number per month.
- Check the rate card for each country you send to. Rates differ between markets.
- Keep a payment method on every messaging account.
- Respect opt-in. Meta requires you to get opt-in before messaging people, state your business name, and honour opt-out requests.
How a multi-tenant setup handles billing
On an agency platform, the cleanest arrangement is for each client to connect their own WhatsApp Business Account, so Meta bills them directly and your platform fee stays separate from their messaging costs. Mesvilo is built that way: each workspace connects its own number, Meta bills the messaging charges to that workspace's WhatsApp Business account, and you charge your clients a subscription through Stripe or PayPal. In the inbox, the composer switches to templates automatically once the 24-hour window has closed, so agents don't run into 131047.
See it in the live demo or on the product page.
Sources
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