Meta's 1 October 2026 change: service messages are no longer free
From 1 October, replies inside the 24-hour customer service window start costing money beyond a monthly allowance. Here's what changes for Indian businesses and how to prepare this week.
For the last two years, one rule made WhatsApp support cheap: when a customer messaged you first, your replies for the next 24 hours cost nothing. From 1 October 2026, that changes.
What exactly changes
Meta is starting to charge for service messages, the free-form replies you send inside the 24-hour customer service window. Based on Meta's rate card as reported by Indian solution providers:
- Each business phone number gets a monthly free allowance of service messages, widely reported as 1,000 per number per month. It resets each calendar month and doesn't roll over.
- Service messages beyond the allowance are charged at the same rate as utility and authentication messages in that country. For India that's about ₹0.115 per message, plus GST.
- Utility templates sent inside an open service window, which were free, are also charged at the normal utility rate.
- Marketing, utility and authentication rates for India are unchanged by this update: marketing stays around ₹0.8631 and utility and authentication around ₹0.115.
Why it matters: a support chat with five replies used to be free. After 1 October, once you're past the allowance, it's five billable messages. Support-heavy businesses will feel this most.
What stays free
- Incoming messages from customers are still free to receive.
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads: when a customer starts a chat from a Facebook or Instagram ad, messages in the free entry-point window (reported as 72 hours) remain free.
- Your first block of service messages each month, within the allowance.
A quick cost check
Say your support team sends 6,000 replies a month on one number. With a 1,000-message allowance, 5,000 are billable: 5,000 × ₹0.115 = ₹575, plus 18% GST, about ₹679 a month. Manageable, but worth planning for as volume grows.
Five things to do this week
- Measure your service volume. Check how many replies each number sends per month so you know whether you'll exceed the allowance.
- Let the chatbot handle routine questions in one message. A single clear reply with order status and a tracking button beats three back-and-forth messages.
- Combine replies. Train agents to answer fully in one message instead of several short ones.
- Review utility templates sent during open chats. They now cost the utility rate, so send them only when they add value.
- Top up your message balance so replies never fail mid-conversation.
How MessageGrid helps
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Sources and accuracy: Rates and the 1 October 2026 change are based on Meta's rate card as reported by Indian solution providers in September 2026, including the monthly free allowance figure. Meta changes its rules and rates regularly, so always confirm current figures on Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page before budgeting.