> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orbit.devotel.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# WhatsApp Pricing
> How WhatsApp conversations are priced — Meta bills you directly; Devotel is a Tech Provider and is free to use.
# WhatsApp Pricing
> **Devotel is a Tech Provider (TP), not a Business Solution Provider (BSP).**
>
> That means your **WhatsApp conversation costs are billed directly by Meta** to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Devotel never takes a cut of message traffic and does not resell conversations.
>
> **WhatsApp on Orbit is free** — templates, flows, inbox, AI assist, campaigns, analytics. You pay Meta for conversations; you pay Devotel nothing for WhatsApp.
***
## Who bills what
| Cost | Who you pay | How |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| WhatsApp conversations (user→business or business→user within 24h) | **Meta** | Meta debits the payment method on your WABA directly |
| WhatsApp phone number purchase (if new) | The carrier / number marketplace | One-time or monthly fee per number |
| Orbit's platform features (inbox, templates, AI, campaigns, webhooks, API) | **Nobody (for WhatsApp)** | Free on every tier, including Starter |
| Other Orbit channels (SMS, voice, email, RCS, etc.) | **Orbit** | Per-unit credit pricing — see [Pricing](https://orbit.devotel.io/pricing) |
So on the Orbit platform, your WhatsApp work incurs no Orbit charges. On Meta's side, you'll see a monthly invoice for the conversations your WABA opened.
***
## How Meta prices conversations
A **conversation** is a 24-hour window of messages between your business and a single user. Meta charges **once per window**, regardless of how many messages flow.
### Four categories
The first template you send sets the category for the entire 24-hour window.
| Category | What it's for |
| ------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Authentication** | OTPs, login codes, password resets, 2FA |
| **Utility** | Transactional — order status, appointment reminder, delivery ETA, payment receipt |
| **Marketing** | Promotional — campaigns, re-engagement, abandoned cart, upsells |
| **Service** | User-initiated conversations (customer support) — **free** the first 1,000/month |
Category drives price. Mis-categorising a template (a marketing template submitted as "utility" to save money) risks WABA suspension — see [Restricted Content Policy](/compliance/whatsapp-content-policy).
### Indicative 2025-Q2 rates
> These are Meta's rates, not Orbit's. Meta updates them **quarterly** (Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1, Nov 1). Check [Meta's conversation pricing page](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing) for live numbers by country.
#### United States (USD per conversation)
| Category | Rate |
| ----------------------------- | -------- |
| Authentication | \$0.0135 |
| Utility | \$0.0150 |
| Marketing | \$0.0250 |
| Service (after 1K/month tier) | \$0.0150 |
#### Brazil
| Category | Rate |
| -------------- | -------- |
| Authentication | \$0.0315 |
| Utility | \$0.0080 |
| Marketing | \$0.0625 |
#### India
| Category | Rate |
| -------------- | -------- |
| Authentication | \$0.0014 |
| Utility | \$0.0011 |
| Marketing | \$0.0123 |
#### Europe (range, varies by country)
| Category | Rate |
| -------------- | ------------- |
| Authentication | $0.046–$0.086 |
| Utility | $0.030–$0.061 |
| Marketing | $0.125–$0.150 |
Rates differ significantly between countries — Egypt is cheaper than Germany is cheaper than the UK. See the full matrix on Meta's page.
### Free entry points
Some conversations are free even outside the service tier:
* **First 1,000 service conversations per month** on every WABA
* **Click-to-WhatsApp ads** — conversations opened from a Meta ad get the first 72 h free
* **Facebook Page "Message on WhatsApp" button** — same 72 h free window
Free entry points are automatic; nothing to configure.
***
## The 24-hour window
```
Day 1, 09:00 Send marketing template
→ MARKETING window opens (charged marketing rate)
Day 1, 09:30 Send utility template
→ Same window, NO extra charge
Day 1, 17:00 User replies "thanks"
→ Still same window, no extra charge
Day 2, 10:00 Send utility template
→ NEW window (marketing window closed at 09:00 Day 2)
→ UTILITY window opens (charged utility rate)
```
Three rules:
1. **One window = one charge.** Multiple messages within the window don't add up.
2. **User-initiated replies are free** (service category), up to 1,000/month per WABA.
3. **The first template fixes the category.** A utility template sent later in a marketing window doesn't reprice it.
***
## How you read the Meta invoice
Meta bills monthly to the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Find your invoice:
1. **business.facebook.com → Billing → Account Spending Limits → WhatsApp**
2. Or **Settings → Payments → Transactions** for line-by-line history
Meta's line items look like:
```
WhatsApp Business Platform — United States — Marketing 412 × $0.0250 = $10.30
WhatsApp Business Platform — United States — Utility 1,205 × $0.0150 = $18.08
WhatsApp Business Platform — India — Authentication 8,847 × $0.0014 = $12.39
WhatsApp Business Platform — Service (free tier) 1,000 × $0.0000 = $0.00
```
These line items come from **Meta's own insights** — not from Orbit. If a conversation appears in Orbit but not on your Meta invoice (or vice versa) within 72 h, it's a reconciliation issue to raise with Meta support, not Orbit.
***
## How Orbit helps you track Meta's billing
Orbit can't invoice you for WhatsApp conversations — but we can mirror Meta's insights so you have an operational view without needing to dig through Meta Business Manager every time.
### Insights mirror
**Dashboard → Channels → WhatsApp → Insights** pulls the conversation count + estimated cost from Meta's Graph API every 6 hours. You'll see:
* Conversations opened today / week / month, split by category
* Estimated Meta spend (using current rates + country mix of your actual traffic)
* Free-tier quota remaining (how many of the 1,000 service conversations you've used)
* Per-template rollup
This is **estimated**, sourced from Meta's Graph API. The **authoritative** invoice is whatever Meta shows in Business Manager.
### Budget alerts (Orbit-side, optional)
You can configure budget alerts in Orbit that fire based on our mirrored Meta numbers:
* Alert email when estimated WhatsApp spend passes a threshold you set
* Alert email when the 1,000 free-tier runway is \< 48h at current pace
These are soft alerts. Orbit does not block sends based on Meta's billing — that's Meta's job, and they do it via their own spending limits.
### Set Meta-side limits
We recommend every tenant set a **Meta-side spending limit** at business.facebook.com → WhatsApp → Payment settings. This is the only hard cap that can actually stop Meta from running up a bill.
***
## Upgrading to a BSP relationship (future)
When Devotel becomes an approved Business Solution Provider later in 2026, tenants will get the option to **route billing through Orbit** — consolidated invoice, credit-wallet integration, single currency. Today, as a Tech Provider, Meta bills you directly.
If you want to be notified when the BSP option becomes available, email [whatsapp-support@devotel.io](mailto:whatsapp-support@devotel.io).
***
## FAQ
No. Devotel is a Tech Provider — we have no billing relationship with you for WhatsApp conversations. Meta bills you directly.
Yes — templates, AI assist, campaigns, inbox, analytics, webhooks, API, flows, catalog. Everything. No feature is behind a paywall for WhatsApp specifically.
Because Orbit doesn't issue it. Your WhatsApp invoice lives in Meta Business Manager → Billing. Orbit's Insights page shows an estimate for operational planning, not an authoritative bill.
Meta's classifier may re-categorise and backbill; a pattern of mis-categorisation can also get your WABA suspended. Worst case, Meta terminates the WABA and you lose the number. Always submit the correct category.
Meta does not offer pre-paid reservations at the rate-card level. You can pre-fund your Meta Payments account, but Meta applies the then-current rate at the moment of conversation.
No. Orbit's WhatsApp feature set is unlimited on every plan. Limits come from Meta's messaging tier (250 → 1K → 10K → 100K → unlimited), which is a function of your quality rating — see [Setup Guide](/guides/whatsapp/waba-setup#messaging-limits).