WhatsApp will begin charging businesses for customer replies sent through its Business Platform from October 1, 2026, in a move that could increase communication costs for businesses that rely heavily on the messaging service. The new pricing will apply to businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform (Business API), not individuals or businesses using the standard WhatsApp Business app.
Businesses will pay for delivered service messages that were previously free under WhatsApp's customer service window: a utility-type message to a Nigerian number will cost about $0.0101 (roughly N14), while marketing messages will cost about $0.062 (approximately N84). A Nigerian fintech sending 500,000 chargeable messages at $0.0101 could incur about $5,050 in Meta messaging fees alone.
This particularly affects Nigerian businesses - banks, fintechs, airlines, retailers, telcos and SMEs - that use WhatsApp as a customer service, sales, order-update and payment confirmation channel. Meta has been moving towards per-message pricing since July 2025. The change does not mean ordinary WhatsApp users will be charged for messages, nor a general fee for the standard Business app. https://thesun.ng/whatsapp-to-charge-businesses-per-message-from-october-1/
