# WhatsApp API price change on 1 October 2026 Canonical: https://www.manycontacts.com/en/blog/whatsapp-api-price-change-october-2026/ Published: 2026-09-17 Updated: 2026-11-05 From 1 October 2026 Meta charges service messages (free-form replies) after 1,000 free messages a month per number, at €0.0166 in Spain, and also utility templates sent inside the 24-hour window. Marketing in Spain stays at €0.0585. ManyContacts stays at €49/month. On **1 October 2026** Meta stops giving away two things many teams treated as “free chat”: **free-form replies** inside the [24-hour window](/en/blog/whatsapp-24-hour-window/) and **utility templates** sent in that same window. It is not a new “price per conversation”. It is still **per delivered message**. What changes is which messages go out at zero euros. The stable rate guide is in [WhatsApp Business API pricing](/en/blog/whatsapp-business-api-pricing/). ## What was free and no longer is From November 2024, **service** (free text, photos, audio while the customer has written to you) was not billed by Meta. From July 2025, **utility** sent as a reply inside 24 hours also went to zero. On 1 October, at 00:00 in the timezone of your WhatsApp Business account: | Type | Until 30 Sep 2026 | From 1 Oct 2026 | | --- | --- | --- | | Service (free-form reply in 24 h) | Free | 1,000 free / number / month; then utility rate | | Utility **inside** the 24 h | Free | Billed (utility rate, with tiers) | | Utility **outside** the 24 h | Already billed | No rule change | | Marketing (Spain) | €0.0585 | **Still €0.0585** (the ES increase was 1 Jul 2026) | | Authentication (Spain) | €0.0166 | €0.0166 (tiers) | In other countries (Mexico, the Gulf, etc.) 1 October **does** raise marketing. If you only write to Spanish mobiles, that is not your headline. Figures from [Meta’s official pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/), in force on 1 October 2026. The 24-hour window **does not change**: without a customer message, there is no service. [What the API is](/en/blog/whatsapp-business-api-what-it-is/). ## The 1,000 quota - Each **business number**, each calendar month. - Only **service** counts, not marketing. - It does not roll over to the next month. - From message 1,001, in Spain: **€0.0166** (excluding VAT). Two numbers = two quotas. Ten advisors on **one** number = one quota. ## Example (Spain) 3,000 service replies in a month, ES recipients: 1,000 × €0 + 2,000 × €0.0166 = **€33.20** from Meta + VAT. That is the team or the AI answering “I’ll look into it” and “does Thursday work?”. Before: €0. It is not ruin. It does hurt if you send 40,000 service messages (large support or a chatty bot). ## Who feels it (and who does not) **Feels it** - Support with a lot of back and forth. - AI that answers every “ok” with a paragraph. - Several numbers used badly (split quotas) or, the other way, **one** number with all the volume. **Barely feels it** - A small team that does not reach 1,000 service messages. - Anyone who lives on **campaigns**: marketing was already paid; in Spain it does not go up on 1 Oct. SaaS is not in this. ManyContacts stays at **€49/month**. Meta is a separate line. ## Pay Meta before 30 September If you are on direct API or the partner has no payment method in Billing Hub on **30 September 2026**, Meta **stops delivering service on 1 October**. Templates can continue; free-form chat cannot. Ask your partner (ManyContacts or another) to have the payment method in place. ## How to cut cost without stopping service - Do not answer a “thanks” with a **utility** template if a service message (or nothing) is enough. - Group notices: one reminder, not three. - Watch the quota mid-month. - Teach the AI to be short. - Do not multiply numbers “just in case”. ## Frequently asked questions ### What changes on 1 October 2026 in the WhatsApp API? Meta starts charging service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour window) after 1,000 free messages a month per number, and also utility templates sent inside that window. It is still a price per delivered message, not per conversation. ### Does marketing go up in Spain that day? No. In Spain marketing stays at €0.0585. That increase was on 1 July 2026. In other countries marketing can change on 1 October. ### What does it cost to go over 1,000 service messages in Spain? Each extra service message is €0.0166 excluding VAT. 3,000 service messages in a month are 1,000 at €0 plus 2,000 × €0.0166, which is €33.20 from Meta, plus VAT. ManyContacts stays at €49/month. ### Is the 1,000 quota per company or per number? Per business number and per calendar month. Only service counts, not marketing, and it does not roll over. Ten people on one number share one quota. ## Next step Ask for last month’s **service** count. If you go over 1,000, multiply the rest by €0.0166. Then [join ManyContacts](https://app.manycontacts.com/register) or [talk to us](https://calendar.app.google/PH1wtumtQQwLGz756): the panel does not change Meta’s rate; it does stop chats living on twelve phones.