# Pricing

Meta charges on a **per-delivered-message** basis for WhatsApp template messages. These are the underlying costs Yazi pays to Meta when messages go out to participants.

This page shows what is free, what is charged, and the current rate card by market.

### At a glance

* Meta only charges for **delivered template messages**
* **Service messages** inside the 24-hour customer service window are **free**
* **Utility templates** inside that same 24-hour window are also **free**
* Pricing depends on the **recipient's country calling code**
* Pricing also depends on the **message category**

{% hint style="info" %}
**Effective date:** These rates are effective from **January 1, 2026**. Meta can update pricing on the first day of each quarter: **Jan 1, Apr 1, Jul 1, Oct 1**. Source: [Meta WhatsApp Pricing Documentation](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing)
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="warning" %}
**ZAR values are approximate.** USD is the definitive Meta pricing currency. ZAR conversions here use roughly **R18.00/USD**.
{% endhint %}

***

### How Meta decides the charge

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### 1. Match the market

Meta looks at the recipient's **country calling code**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### 2. Match the message category

The message is priced as **marketing**, **utility**, **authentication**, or **service**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### 3. Check whether a free window applies

Some messages are free if they fall inside the **24-hour customer service window** or a **72-hour free entry point window**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### 4. Charge only if the message is delivered

If a template message does **not** deliver, Meta does **not** charge for it.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

***

### Message categories

{% tabs %}
{% tab title="Marketing" %}
Promotional messages, offers, announcements, and anything designed to drive awareness or sales.

This is usually the **most expensive** category.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Utility" %}
Transactional messages such as confirmations, updates, reminders, and account notices.

These are usually **cheaper than marketing**.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Authentication" %}
One-time passwords, verification codes, and login confirmation messages.

This is usually priced the same as utility, but some markets have a separate **authentication-international** rate.
{% endtab %}

{% tab title="Service" %}
Free-form replies sent inside the **24-hour customer service window**.

These are **always free**.
{% endtab %}
{% endtabs %}

***

### What's free vs what's charged

{% columns %}
{% column %}

#### Free

* **Service messages** inside the 24-hour customer service window
* **Utility templates** inside the 24-hour customer service window
* **All messages** inside a 72-hour free entry point window
* **Incoming messages** from users to businesses

**24-hour window:** Opens when the user messages the business. It resets every time the user sends a new message.

**72-hour free entry point:** Opens when the user starts from a click-to-chat ad or Facebook Page button, and the business responds within 24 hours.
{% endcolumn %}

{% column %}

#### Charged

* **Marketing templates** — always charged
* **Authentication templates** — always charged
* **Utility templates** sent **outside** the 24-hour customer service window
* Any charged template sent **outside** a free entry point window

Charges only apply when the message is **delivered**.
{% endcolumn %}
{% endcolumns %}

{% hint style="success" %}
Incoming messages from participants are **never charged**.
{% endhint %}

***

### Worked example

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Business sends a marketing template

This is a **charged** message.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### User replies

This opens the **24-hour customer service window**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Business sends a free-form reply

This is **free**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Business sends a utility template inside the 24-hour window

This is also **free**.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### The 24-hour window expires

No charge happens here. The free window simply ends.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Business sends another utility template

This is now **charged** at the utility rate.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

In this example, the business sent **4 messages**, but only **2 were charged**.

***

### Rates by market

#### Key markets for Yazi

These are the markets most relevant to Yazi's operations.

| Market                            | Marketing         | Utility           | Authentication    |
| --------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
| **South Africa**                  | $0.0379 (\~R0.68) | $0.0076 (\~R0.14) | $0.0076 (\~R0.14) |
| **Nigeria**                       | $0.0516 (\~R0.93) | $0.0067 (\~R0.12) | $0.0067 (\~R0.12) |
| **Rest of Africa**                | $0.0225 (\~R0.41) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) |
| **Kenya (Rest of Africa)**        | $0.0225 (\~R0.41) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) |
| **India**                         | $0.0118 (\~R0.21) | $0.0014 (\~R0.03) | $0.0014 (\~R0.03) |
| **Brazil**                        | $0.0625 (\~R1.13) | $0.0068 (\~R0.12) | $0.0068 (\~R0.12) |
| **United Kingdom**                | $0.0529 (\~R0.95) | $0.0220 (\~R0.40) | $0.0220 (\~R0.40) |
| **United States (North America)** | $0.0250 (\~R0.45) | $0.0034 (\~R0.06) | $0.0034 (\~R0.06) |

<details>

<summary>Full rate card — all markets</summary>

| Market               | Marketing (USD) | Marketing (GBP) | Marketing (ZAR) | Utility (USD) | Utility (GBP) | Utility (ZAR) | Auth (USD) | Auth (GBP) | Auth (ZAR) | Auth-Intl (USD) |
| -------------------- | --------------- | --------------- | --------------- | ------------- | ------------- | ------------- | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | --------------- |
| Argentina            | $0.0618         | £0.0445         | R1.11           | $0.0260       | £0.0188       | R0.47         | $0.0260    | £0.0188    | R0.47      | n/a             |
| Brazil               | $0.0625         | £0.0451         | R1.13           | $0.0068       | £0.0049       | R0.12         | $0.0068    | £0.0049    | R0.12      | n/a             |
| Chile                | $0.0889         | £0.0641         | R1.60           | $0.0200       | £0.0144       | R0.36         | $0.0200    | £0.0144    | R0.36      | n/a             |
| Colombia             | $0.0125         | £0.0090         | R0.23           | $0.0008       | £0.0004       | R0.01         | $0.0008    | £0.0004    | R0.01      | n/a             |
| Egypt                | $0.0644         | £0.0464         | R1.16           | $0.0036       | £0.0026       | R0.06         | $0.0036    | £0.0026    | R0.06      | $0.0650         |
| France               | $0.0859         | £0.0620         | R1.55           | $0.0300       | £0.0216       | R0.54         | $0.0300    | £0.0216    | R0.54      | n/a             |
| Germany              | $0.1365         | £0.0985         | R2.46           | $0.0550       | £0.0397       | R0.99         | $0.0550    | £0.0397    | R0.99      | n/a             |
| India                | $0.0118         | £0.0086         | R0.21           | $0.0014       | £0.0010       | R0.03         | $0.0014    | £0.0010    | R0.03      | $0.0280         |
| Indonesia            | $0.0411         | £0.0297         | R0.74           | $0.0250       | £0.0180       | R0.45         | $0.0250    | £0.0180    | R0.45      | $0.1360         |
| Israel               | $0.0353         | £0.0254         | R0.64           | $0.0053       | £0.0038       | R0.10         | $0.0053    | £0.0038    | R0.10      | n/a             |
| Italy                | $0.0691         | £0.0498         | R1.24           | $0.0300       | £0.0216       | R0.54         | $0.0300    | £0.0216    | R0.54      | n/a             |
| Malaysia             | $0.0860         | £0.0620         | R1.55           | $0.0140       | £0.0101       | R0.25         | $0.0140    | £0.0101    | R0.25      | $0.0418         |
| Mexico               | $0.0305         | £0.0221         | R0.55           | $0.0085       | £0.0062       | R0.15         | $0.0085    | £0.0062    | R0.15      | n/a             |
| Netherlands          | $0.1597         | £0.1152         | R2.87           | $0.0500       | £0.0361       | R0.90         | $0.0500    | £0.0361    | R0.90      | n/a             |
| Nigeria              | $0.0516         | £0.0372         | R0.93           | $0.0067       | £0.0048       | R0.12         | $0.0067    | £0.0048    | R0.12      | $0.0750         |
| Pakistan             | $0.0473         | £0.0341         | R0.85           | $0.0054       | £0.0039       | R0.10         | $0.0054    | £0.0039    | R0.10      | $0.0750         |
| Peru                 | $0.0703         | £0.0507         | R1.27           | $0.0200       | £0.0144       | R0.36         | $0.0200    | £0.0144    | R0.36      | n/a             |
| Russia               | $0.0802         | £0.0578         | R1.44           | $0.0400       | £0.0288       | R0.72         | $0.0400    | £0.0288    | R0.72      | n/a             |
| Saudi Arabia         | $0.0455         | £0.0327         | R0.82           | $0.0107       | £0.0077       | R0.19         | $0.0107    | £0.0077    | R0.19      | $0.0598         |
| South Africa         | $0.0379         | £0.0273         | R0.68           | $0.0076       | £0.0055       | R0.14         | $0.0076    | £0.0055    | R0.14      | $0.0200         |
| Spain                | $0.0615         | £0.0443         | R1.11           | $0.0200       | £0.0144       | R0.36         | $0.0200    | £0.0144    | R0.36      | n/a             |
| Turkey               | $0.0109         | £0.0078         | R0.20           | $0.0053       | £0.0038       | R0.10         | $0.0053    | £0.0038    | R0.10      | n/a             |
| United Arab Emirates | $0.0499         | £0.0360         | R0.90           | $0.0157       | £0.0113       | R0.28         | $0.0157    | £0.0113    | R0.28      | $0.0510         |
| United Kingdom       | $0.0529         | £0.0382         | R0.95           | $0.0220       | £0.0159       | R0.40         | $0.0220    | £0.0159    | R0.40      | n/a             |

</details>

<details>

<summary>Regional / catch-all rates</summary>

Countries not listed individually fall into one of these regional groupings. The region is determined by the phone number's calling code. See [Meta's country calling code mapping](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing#country-calling-codes).

| Region                           | Marketing         | Utility           | Authentication    |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- | ----------------- |
| North America                    | $0.0250 (\~R0.45) | $0.0034 (\~R0.06) | $0.0034 (\~R0.06) |
| Rest of Africa                   | $0.0225 (\~R0.41) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) | $0.0040 (\~R0.07) |
| Rest of Asia Pacific             | $0.0732 (\~R1.32) | $0.0113 (\~R0.20) | $0.0113 (\~R0.20) |
| Rest of Central & Eastern Europe | $0.0860 (\~R1.55) | $0.0212 (\~R0.38) | $0.0212 (\~R0.38) |
| Rest of Latin America            | $0.0740 (\~R1.33) | $0.0113 (\~R0.20) | $0.0113 (\~R0.20) |
| Rest of Middle East              | $0.0341 (\~R0.61) | $0.0091 (\~R0.16) | $0.0091 (\~R0.16) |
| Rest of Western Europe           | $0.0592 (\~R1.07) | $0.0171 (\~R0.31) | $0.0171 (\~R0.31) |
| Other                            | $0.0604 (\~R1.09) | $0.0077 (\~R0.14) | $0.0077 (\~R0.14) |

</details>

***

### Volume tiers

Meta offers volume discounts on **utility** and **authentication** messages. Marketing messages do **not** get tier discounts.

| Tier   | Discount on base rate |
| ------ | --------------------- |
| Tier 1 | Base rate             |
| Tier 2 | 5% off                |
| Tier 3 | 10% off               |
| Tier 4 | 15% off               |
| Tier 5 | 20% off               |

The thresholds vary by market and category. Discounts apply only to messages inside that tier, not retroactively to earlier volume.

***

### Authentication-international rates

Some markets have a separate, higher rate for authentication messages sent to users with international phone numbers.

This applies to:

* Egypt
* India
* Indonesia
* Malaysia
* Nigeria
* Pakistan
* Saudi Arabia
* South Africa
* United Arab Emirates

{% hint style="warning" %}
Example: South Africa's standard authentication rate is **$0.0076**, but its **authentication-international** rate is **$0.0200**.
{% endhint %}

***

### What this means for Yazi

For a typical Yazi research study:

* A **survey invitation** to a South African participant, using a marketing template, costs **$0.0379 (\~R0.68)** per delivered message
* Once the participant replies, **follow-up service messages** inside the 24-hour window are **free**
* A **utility reminder** sent outside that window costs **$0.0076 (\~R0.14)** in South Africa
* Most African markets outside South Africa and Nigeria fall under **Rest of Africa** at **$0.0225 (\~R0.41)** for marketing

The cheapest markets for Yazi are typically **Rest of Africa** for marketing and **India / Colombia** for utility. Some of the highest rates are in European markets such as **Germany** and **Netherlands**.

{% hint style="success" %}
If participants reply quickly, you can move more follow-up communication into the **free service window**.
{% endhint %}

***

### Key takeaways

* You only pay for **template messages that are delivered**
* **Service messages** inside 24 hours are **always free**
* **Utility templates** inside 24 hours are **free**
* **Marketing** is usually the most expensive category
* Rates vary widely by country
* Utility and authentication can get **up to 20%** volume discount

***

### References

* [Meta WhatsApp Pricing Overview](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing)
* [Template Categorization](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization)
* [Country Calling Code Mapping](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing#country-calling-codes)
* [Authentication-International Rates](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/authentication-international-rates)

*Last updated: March 2026. ZAR conversion at \~R18.00/USD.*