The per-conversation pricing model
Meta charges per conversation, not per message. A conversation starts when you send the first message to a contact and includes all messages exchanged in the following 24 hours. This means you can send ten messages in a conversation at the same cost as one.
Prices vary by country. The first 1,000 Business-Initiated conversations per month are free for each WABA. This free tier is useful for testing and very low volumes.
Total cost with a BSP like Chat API
Using a BSP like Chat API, the total cost consists of: Meta conversation costs (pass-through at standard Meta cost) plus the BSP service fee. The BSP fee covers infrastructure, support, additional features and onboarding assistance.
For most Italian SMEs with volumes between 1,000 and 10,000 conversations per month, the total monthly cost is in the range of a few hundred euros.
How to estimate monthly budget
To estimate monthly budget: estimate the number of active clients, multiply by average monthly contact frequency, then multiply by the average cost per conversation for your main category. Add 20% as a buffer for variations.
Strategies to optimize costs
The most effective strategy to reduce WhatsApp costs is respecting the 24-hour window: if a client has written to you in the last 24 hours, you can respond without opening a new billable conversation.
Correctly classify templates: many notifications sent as Marketing could be classified as Utility, reducing cost per conversation. Review your template categorization with Chat API support to identify optimization opportunities.
