WhatsApp Business API pricing calculator (Malaysia)
WhatsApp Business API is billed by Meta per template message you send, not per contact and not per seat. In Malaysia that is about RM0.30–0.45 for a marketing template, RM0.056 for utility, and RM0.17 for authentication — while every reply inside the 24-hour customer service window is free and uncapped. Your only other cost is the platform you run the inbox on.
Your monthly cost
Replies sent inside the 24-hour customer service window are free and uncapped, so they are not part of this estimate. Meta bills message fees directly to your own WhatsApp Business account — Inchat adds nothing to them. Malaysia rates, last verified ; Meta's current rate card is always the authority.
The three things sellers get wrong
Support conversations are not the expensive part. Answering a customer who messaged you first costs nothing for 24 hours, however many messages it takes. Budget anxiety about “WhatsApp costs” is almost always about templates — the messages you start.
The category is decided by Meta, not by you. A template is priced by the category it is approved under. Dressing a promotion up as a shipping update to reach the utility rate gets it recategorised or rejected, and a rejected template is a broadcast that does not go out on campaign day.
Per-contact pricing is the line that scales against you. Meta charges for messages; some platforms add a Monthly Active Contact fee of their own. That fee grows precisely when business is good — a campaign that works becomes a bigger invoice. It is worth pricing separately from the Meta fees, which is why the calculator above keeps them in different rows.
Malaysia rates used here
| Template category | Price per message | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | RM0.30 – RM0.45 | Promotions, product launches, re-engagement — anything selling something. |
| Utility | RM0.056 | Order confirmations, shipping updates, appointment reminders. |
| Authentication | RM0.170 | One-time passcodes and account verification. |
| Service replies | Free | Any reply within 24 hours of the customer's last message. No monthly cap. |
Rates last verified . Meta revises published rates by country; treat their current rate card as the authority.
Frequently asked
- How much does WhatsApp Business API cost in Malaysia?
- Meta charges per template message sent, not per user or per month. In Malaysia that is roughly RM0.30–0.45 for a marketing template, RM0.056 for a utility template, and RM0.17 for an authentication template. Replies you send within 24 hours of a customer's last message are free and uncapped. On top of Meta's fees you pay whatever your inbox platform charges — with Inchat that starts at RM149/month with no per-contact fee.
- Is WhatsApp Business API free?
- The API itself has no licence fee and the WhatsApp Business app for a single phone is free, but the API requires a business solution provider or a platform to connect it, and Meta bills per template message sent. Service replies inside the 24-hour customer window cost nothing, so a support-only use case can genuinely run at near-zero message cost.
- What changed with per-message pricing?
- Since 1 July 2025 Meta bills per message rather than per 24-hour conversation. Free entry-point conversations and the old conversation-based tiers no longer apply. Practically, sending one template that starts a chat is now cheaper to reason about, and long support threads inside the service window remain free.
- Do I pay extra for the number of customers who message me?
- Not to Meta — Meta prices messages, not contacts. Some inbox platforms add their own Monthly Active Contact fee on top, which means a busy month raises your invoice. Inchat does not meter contacts, so ten thousand customers cost the same as one thousand.
- Can a platform give me cheaper WhatsApp messages?
- No. Meta's rates are the same for everyone, and a platform can only mark them up or pass them through. Inchat passes them through: template fees are billed by Meta directly to your own WhatsApp Business Account, so nothing is added on top and you keep the account if you leave.
- Which template category will my message be charged as?
- Meta assigns the category when the template is approved, based on its content. Anything promotional is marketing; order and delivery updates are utility; one-time passcodes are authentication. Wording a promotion as an order update to get the cheaper rate gets the template rejected or recategorised.
Run WhatsApp at Meta's rates, not a reseller's
Inchat connects your own WhatsApp Business Account through Meta Embedded Signup. Message fees stay between you and Meta.