Meta introduced a conversation-based pricing model to charge businesses that use the WhatsApp Business API.
Free Conversations
The first 1.000 conversations each month are free, so the business can start to set-up their messaging strategy before having to pay. Each WABA gets 1.000 free conversations. Free conversations can be business-initiated or user-initiated.
How It Works
WhatsApp Business API conversations fall into two categories that are priced differently:
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User-initiated, A conversation that initiates in response to a user message. Any time a business replies to a user within the 24 hour customer service window, that message will be associated with a user-initiated conversation.
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Business-initiated, A conversation that initiates from a business sending a user a message outside the 24 hour customer service window. Messages that initiate a business-initiated conversation will require a message template.
All conversations are measured in 24-hour "sessions", that start whenever the first message from a business is delivered. The first message can be initiated by the business (business-initiated) or a business reply within 24 hours of a user message (user-initiated). A user is defined as the person or entity with whom the business is messaging (customer, student, patient, guests)
Not to be confused with the 24 Hour Customer Care Window. These windows are seperate from each other.
Charges for conversations are based on the user’s phone number (countrycode). Rates for business-initiated conversations and user-initiated conversations vary by market (country or region). See Meta's rates for the specific pricing of both user- and business initiated conversations per country/region.
FAQ
Will user-/business initiated conversations be specified per customer on the invoice?
Yes - we break out user/business initiated conversations on the invoice.
Each WABA gets 1000 free tier conversations. If I have contact with a customer (within the free 1000), and we have another conversation a week later. Do we pay for both, one or none?
This is just 1000 free conversations each month (doesn't matter if it is to a repeat number).
How does WhatsApp apply the 1000 free conversations each month?
There will be no WhatsApp conversations charge added for the first 1000 free conversations.
What happens when someone sends spam to a business. Do we have to pay for that message as it’s user-initiated?
User-initiated charges are only incurred if the business replies (so the business can just choose to ignore spam)
What happens when a business receives a message from a user, but does not reply? Will we be charged?
There will be no charge if the business does not reply.
If a user sends in a message and the business replies more than 24 hours later, with a template. Do we have to pay for the user initiated- and the business initiated message (template) or just for the business initiated message?
The 24 hour session starts when the business replies (so it will be charged as one user initiated message).
WhatsApp does not know when a conversation ends. When will the 24H window restart?
The window is fixed to 24hr (once the business sends a message). Messages (even as part of the same logical conversation) sent beyond the 24 hour window will be charged as a new conversation.
How will we be able to know what the current costs are if we’d like to know this mid-month?
No current way - invoices with a breakdown of costs are generated monthly.
I have set up an auto-reply. Will these replies cause my business to respond to spam messages and thus, costs the business a user-initiated conversation?
Yes, an auto reply counts as an actual reply so will be charged as a user-initated conversation.
Source: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/