> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.askyazi.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.askyazi.com/reach-participants/whatsapp-costs-and-the-24-hour-window.md). # WhatsApp costs and the 24-hour window Understand WhatsApp's 24-hour window, template categories and what Meta charges for the messages in your study. Meta, the company behind WhatsApp, charges for some of the messages a business sends. These charges are separate from your Yazi plan. This page explains the one rule behind most WhatsApp behaviour (the 24-hour window), what Meta charges for, and how to keep costs down. {% hint style="info" %} **In short:** when a participant messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Inside it you can send them normal messages, such as survey questions. Outside it you can only send an approved template, such as an invite or a reminder. Meta charges per delivered template message, by country and category, and marketing costs much more than utility. Since 1 October 2026 Meta also charges for normal messages inside the window beyond a free monthly allowance. Yazi shows you an estimate before you publish. {% endhint %} ## The 24-hour window WhatsApp protects people from unwanted business messages with one rule: * When a participant sends you a message, a **customer service window** of 24 hours opens. * Every new message from them resets the 24 hours. * **Inside the window**, you can send any normal message: survey questions, follow-ups, a moderator's reply, a reward link. * **Outside the window**, you can only send an approved **template**. Anything else is refused by WhatsApp. ### What this means in a study | Situation | What Yazi does | | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | A participant starts from a study link | They send the first message, so the window opens and the study runs inside it. | | You invite people from a list | The invite must be a template. When they tap start, the window opens. | | A participant answers steadily | Each answer resets the window, so the study keeps going. | | A participant goes quiet for more than 24 hours | The next question cannot be sent as a normal message. A [reminder](/reach-participants/reminders.md) (a template with **Continue**) brings them back and reopens the window. | | A diary or multi-activity study opens the next day's activity | Yazi sends the activity's invite template first, so it arrives whatever the timing. You can also set a backup broadcast on any step, used automatically if the normal message cannot be delivered. | | A moderator wants to message a quiet participant | The takeover screen shows **Request to chat**, which sends a template with **Accept** and **Opt out**. See [Agent takeover](/monitor-fieldwork/agent-takeover.md). | | A reward link is due after the window closed | Yazi sends it with an approved template in the participant's language. | ## What Meta charges for Meta charges **per delivered message**. Undelivered messages are not charged, and messages from participants to you are never charged. The price depends on: 1. **The participant's country**, worked out from their phone number's country code. 2. **The message category.** | Category | What it is | Charged? | | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Marketing** template | Invitations, incentive offers, general requests | Always charged. The most expensive category. | | **Utility** template | Messages about a specific transaction or account event | Charged. Since 1 October 2026 this includes utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window, which used to be free. | | **Authentication** template | One-time passcodes | Charged. Not normally used for research. | | **Service** message | Any normal message inside the 24-hour window, such as survey questions | Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month. From 1 October 2026, messages beyond that are charged. | {% hint style="warning" %} **If your own number has no payment method in Meta, service messages beyond the free 1,000 a month are not delivered from 1 October 2026.** Participants stop receiving questions. Add a payment method in Meta Business Manager. See [Meta payment method](/set-up-whatsapp/add-a-payment-method-in-meta.md). {% endhint %} Meta can only change prices on the first day of a quarter (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October). Check [Meta's WhatsApp pricing page](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing) for the current rules and rate cards. ### Click to WhatsApp ads If a participant arrives from a Meta Click to WhatsApp ad and you reply within 24 hours, Meta opens a **free entry point window**, a longer period in which messages to that person are free. Meta's pricing page gives the current length. ## How much the rates differ Rates vary a lot between countries and categories. As a rough guide, a marketing invite costs several times more than a utility message in the same country, and European rates are among the highest. Meta publishes its current rate card, in US dollars per delivered message, on its [WhatsApp pricing page](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing). The cost estimate in Yazi (below) uses these rates for the markets it covers. ## Marketing or utility: which will your template be? Meta decides the category when it approves a template, and it can reclassify a template you marked as Utility. * An **invite that mentions an incentive** is marketing. Meta will not approve it as utility. * A message about **a specific interaction** ("your visit to our Sandton store on 3 October") can be utility, if the wording stays transactional. * If you disagree with Meta's category, you can appeal in Meta Business Manager. This is done in Meta, not in Yazi, and usually takes a day or two. See [Broadcast templates](/reach-participants/broadcast-templates.md) for how to write a template with the best chance of utility approval. ## The cost estimate before you publish When you publish or update a study, Yazi shows what Meta is likely to charge, split into: * **the invite** (the broadcast template that brings people in), and * **the survey questions** (the messages sent while they answer). If the study can run as a WhatsApp Flow, the estimate offers a one-click switch to the cheaper Flow format. Questions that cannot run in a Flow are named. The estimate also works for multi-activity studies. Real rates are used for the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Germany, Brazil, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India, Spain, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. For anywhere else the estimate says plainly that it is a rough figure. ## Who pays Meta * **Your own WhatsApp number:** Meta bills the business that owns the number, through the payment method in your Meta Business Manager. * **Yazi's shared number:** Meta bills Yazi, and the cost is included in Yazi's pricing. You are not charged for these messages separately. Meta message costs are not part of your Yazi plan or project price. For Yazi pricing, see [askyazi.com/pricing](https://askyazi.com/pricing). ## Ways to keep costs down * **Use links where you can.** A participant who starts from a link opens the window themselves, so there is no invite template to pay for. * **Use utility templates where they genuinely apply**, for example a feedback request tied to a specific purchase. * **Use WhatsApp Flow** for question-heavy surveys if the cost estimate shows a saving. * **Keep reminders few.** Each one is a charged template. * **Clean your list** before sending. Undelivered messages are free, but a list full of bad numbers wastes your daily limit and hurts your number's reputation. ## Limits and things to know * Meta sets and changes prices, not Yazi. Figures on this page are examples only. * Meta limits how many marketing messages one person receives and lets people turn them off, so some marketing invites will fail whatever you pay. * **US numbers:** since 1 April 2025 Meta has paused delivery of marketing templates to US phone numbers, and the pause was still in place in October 2026. For US participants, use a utility template where it genuinely applies, or a study link. * Some governments and non-profits can keep service messages free beyond the monthly allowance until the end of 2027. Check eligibility with Meta. ## Related * [Broadcast templates](/reach-participants/broadcast-templates.md) * [Send a broadcast](/reach-participants/send-a-broadcast.md) * [In-chat vs WhatsApp Flow](/build-a-study/in-chat-vs-whatsapp-flows.md) * [Plans, billing and usage](/start-here/plans-billing-and-usage.md) * [Meta payment method](/set-up-whatsapp/add-a-payment-method-in-meta.md)