A 1,000-contact WhatsApp broadcast costs under $94 SGD.
See the real Meta rates for your country. Estimate your monthly WhatsApp Business API costs in 30 seconds with our free calculator.
What each message category looks like
Meta classifies business-initiated messages into three categories. Each has a different rate. Customer-initiated service messages (not shown) are always free.
Transactional updates
Booking confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders, payment receipts. Triggered by a customer action.
OTP and login codes
One-time passwords, login verification, two-factor authentication codes. Short-lived, security-critical messages.
Promotions and broadcasts
Flash sales, product launches, seasonal offers, re-engagement campaigns. The highest-cost category per message.
Enter your numbers,
see your monthly cost
Plug in how many marketing, utility and authentication messages you send monthly. Customer-initiated conversations are always free.
4 scenarios: when you pay and when you don't
Meta charges per template message delivered, not per text sent. Customer-initiated conversations are free.
- Customer sends "Hi, I saw your ad"
- A 24h service window opens
- You reply with pricing, availability, FAQs
- Unlimited messages within that 24h window
- Customer messaged earlier today
- Your team or AI agent replies
- Back-and-forth continues in the open window
- You send a promotional template message
- Each recipient is charged the marketing rate
- Replies within 24h are included free
- No active conversation in the last 24h
- You send an appointment reminder template
- Charged at the utility rate per recipient
6 businesses, their real monthly costs
Tap each example to see the full cost breakdown by scenario. All figures use SGD rates for the selected country.
$0 / Free
~$4.50
~$113
$0 / Free
~$6.00
~$188
$0 / Free
~$3.75
~$85
$0 / Free
~$12
~$470
$0 / Free
~$3.00
~$282
$0 / Free
~$2.25
~$141
What decision-makers need to know
Customer-initiated chats are free
When a customer messages you first, you get a 24-hour window to reply with unlimited messages at no cost. This includes leads from click-to-WhatsApp ads (72-hour window).
Costs scale with your activity
You only pay for template messages you send outside the free window. Quiet months cost less. Busy campaign months cost more. No fixed commitment.
Broadcasts are the biggest cost driver
Marketing broadcasts to your full contact list account for 80-90% of most businesses' Meta costs. Targeted, segmented sends reduce waste and cost.
Meta bills you directly
WhatsApp conversation fees are billed by Meta, not by your platform provider. Neither Zelix nor respond.io mark up Meta messaging fees.
Who bills what
Three separate costs, three separate invoices. We keep it transparent.
| Cost Type | Billed By | Typical Range |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp message fees | Meta (direct) | Pay-per-message, varies by country |
| Platform subscription | respond.io | From USD $79/mo (Team plan) |
| AI setup, automation, optimisation | Zelix Labs | Project-based or retainer |
Common questions about WhatsApp costs
WhatsApp Business API charges per template message delivered, not per individual text. There are three paid message categories: Marketing (promotions, broadcasts), Utility (transactional updates like reminders and shipping notifications), and Authentication (OTP codes, login verification).
When a customer messages your business first, a 24-hour service window opens. All replies within that window are free, including free-form messages and utility templates. You only pay when you send a template message to someone outside an active window.
Click-to-WhatsApp ad leads get an extended 72-hour free messaging window, making them especially cost-effective for businesses running paid traffic to WhatsApp.
Meta sets WhatsApp Business API rates differently for each country or region based on local market conditions, purchasing power, and WhatsApp adoption levels. Countries with higher business messaging demand (like Germany and the UK) tend to have higher rates, while high-volume markets (like India) have lower per-message costs.
Some countries do not have individual pricing and fall under regional rates. Singapore, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan all use the "Rest of Asia Pacific" regional rate. The United States falls under "North America" pricing.
Rates are set by Meta and apply equally regardless of which platform provider you use (respond.io, WATI, Twilio, etc.).
Yes. When a customer sends the first message, a 24-hour service window opens. During this window, your business can send unlimited free-form messages, images, documents, and even utility template messages at no charge from Meta. The window resets with each new customer message.
This means most customer support conversations cost nothing. The only time you pay is when your business initiates a conversation outside an active window using a pre-approved template message (e.g., sending a broadcast, reminder, or OTP to someone who hasn't messaged in the last 24 hours).
The most effective way to reduce costs is to segment your broadcast lists. Instead of blasting your entire contact database, target only contacts who are likely to engage. Sending to 1,000 engaged contacts costs half of sending to 2,000 contacts where half are inactive.
Run click-to-WhatsApp ads instead of traditional lead forms. Leads from these ads get a 72-hour free messaging window, meaning your first interaction is free. Use AI agents to qualify and respond within the free window so you rarely need to initiate paid conversations.
Send utility messages (reminders, confirmations) promptly after a customer interaction while the free window is still open. If the customer messaged you today, the reminder you send tonight is free. If you wait until tomorrow, it costs a utility fee.
No. Meta bills WhatsApp conversation fees directly to the business through the WhatsApp Business API account holder. Neither Zelix Labs nor respond.io add any markup to Meta's messaging rates.
respond.io charges a separate platform subscription fee for the software (AI agents, workflows, broadcast tools, CRM features). Zelix Labs charges separately for setup, automation configuration, and ongoing optimisation. All three costs are independent and transparent.
We've set up WhatsApp automation for over 50 businesses. Yours could be next.
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