Does WhatsApp Business cost money?

The app is free. On the business platform (API), messages from customers are free, and so are 1,000 replies a month per number. For other messages Meta charges by type: in Israel, $0.0053 to $0.0353 a message.

What does an automatic WhatsApp reminder cost?

An update message from a template, like an appointment reminder, costs $0.0053 in Israel, about 1.6 agorot. Since 1 October 2026 it is charged even when sent within 24 hours of the customer’s message.

Can we connect our own bot to the regular app?

Not officially. Unofficial tools that hook a bot up to the app break WhatsApp’s terms, and the number can be banned. The official way to connect your own bot is the business platform (API).

Guide

What does WhatsApp Business cost?

The WhatsApp Business app is free. When you want WhatsApp connected to your business systems, to a bot, a CRM or reminders that go out on their own, you move to Meta’s business platform (the API), where some messages cost money. Here are all the prices for Israel, as of 8 October 2026, with a source for every number.

By Rami Baryhe · Updated 8 October 2026

The short answer

The app, WhatsApp Business: free.
The business platform (API): messages your customers send you are free, and so are 1,000 replies a month per number. For other messages Meta charges by message type, from half a cent to 3.5 cents a message.
On top of that: a connection provider or a chat platform sometimes charges a monthly subscription, and a bot also costs something to build.

The WhatsApp Business app: free

The app is free to download and use: messaging, a business profile and the core tools. Meta also offers a paid subscription with extras in it, but it is optional, and the app itself stays free.

It fits when someone at your business answers customers personally. To connect WhatsApp to your systems, like a CRM, a calendar or a bot built for your business, you need the business platform.

Unofficial tools that hook a bot up to the regular app break WhatsApp’s terms, and the number can be banned, temporarily or for good.

The business platform (API): prices for Israel

On the API you pay per delivered message, and each message type has its own price. These are the prices for Israel, in US dollars, from 1 October 2026:

Message type	What it is	Price per message
Messages from the customer	Anything the customer writes to you	Free
Replies to the customer (service)	What you or the bot answer, within 24 hours of their last message	First 1,000 a month free per number, then $0.0053
Updates (template)	A message from an approved template, like an appointment reminder or an order confirmation	$0.0053, even within the 24 hours
Authentication codes	A one-time login code	$0.0053
Marketing	Offers, promotions and invitations to come back	$0.0353

In shekels, at the Bank of Israel representative rate on 8 October 2026 (₪3.084 to the dollar): a paid reply, update or authentication code costs about 1.6 agorot a message, and a marketing message about 11 agorot.

Meta bills in dollars or one of a few other currencies, not in shekels, and the currency you choose cannot be changed later.

When messages are free

Every message the customer sends you.
The first 1,000 replies each month, per business number. Whatever is unused does not carry over to the next month.
After an ad that leads to WhatsApp: when a customer starts a chat from such an ad in the mobile app and you answer within 24 hours, a window of up to 7 days opens in which your messages to them are not charged.

And with no payment method on the account? Meta delivers the 1,000 free replies, then stops delivering replies until a payment method is added.

What else costs money

A direct connection to Meta’s platform: no subscription fee. You pay only for messages.
A connection provider: some businesses connect through a provider that charges a subscription. For example, 360dialog’s basic plan costs €49 a month per number, with Meta’s prices on top.
Ready-made chat platforms, like Wati and respond.io: a subscription of $59 to $349 a month, depending on the plan. Some also price messages on their own rate card.
Building: a bot that answers from your business information and connects to your CRM and calendar is built once. Our chatbot starts at ₪2,500 setup and ₪500 a month. What makes up the price.

An example: what a month comes to

Say a business connected directly to Meta sends 400 appointment reminders a month and answers 600 customer messages:

The 600 replies: free, within the 1,000 free replies.
The 400 reminders: 400 times $0.0053, which is $2.12, about ₪6.5.
One promotion to 500 customers: another $17.65, about ₪54.

So what Meta charges is small. Most of the cost is building and connecting, plus a provider fee if there is one. These numbers are only an example.

What a WhatsApp bot is allowed to do

A business bot that answers questions about your services: allowed. Meta bans only general-purpose AI assistants, where AI is the main product rather than an add-on to the business’s service.
There must be a clear way to reach a person: an agent in the chat, a phone number or an email.
To message a customer, for example a reminder or an offer, they must have given you their number and agreed in advance to receive WhatsApp messages from you.

The app or the API: which fits you?

The app: someone at the business answers personally, and the basic tools are enough for you.
The API: you want messages answered even when nobody is free, every inquiry logged in your CRM, or reminders going out on their own.

Not sure? On a discovery call we work out what is worth handing to a bot, and what it will cost you in messages, before anything is built.

Prices change

On the calendar Meta publishes, prices update at the start of a quarter: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. In practice there have also been changes mid-quarter, so check Meta’s pricing page before you decide. This guide will be updated too.