Conversational Internet is digitizing the other half of the world - Learn More
Build Gen-AI Powered Chatbots - Explore

All you need to know about WhatsApp Business API Price Change 2023

On March 28, 2023 | 5 Minutes Read
AnnouncementsGenericWhatsApp Business API

With the mobile messaging space continuing to rapidly expand, staying up-to-date on changes happening with WhatsApp Business API Price Change is a must for any customer engagement custodian. In this blog post, we’ll discuss all the details regarding the price change set to take effect on 1st June 2023 and provide an overall informational guide so you can plan ahead and ensure your company remains competitive.

The good part about the price change is that WhatsApp Business Messaging API is all geared to get more precise and ROI-focused and topped with new and updated platform features of Gupshup.io, we’re all set to deliver even better customer experiences.

New WhatsApp Business Messaging Categories:

The conversation based pricing model will cover four types of conversations instead of the current two – User initiated and Business Initiated Conversations starting June 01, 2023.

Let’s take a look at the 4 new categories:

WhatsApp Business Pricing Aligns with Value Generated Gupshup.io brings all the information you need about the new WhatsApp Business Conversations

Summarising the 4 new conversation categories offered by WhatsApp Business API:

  1. Service Conversations: Formerly known as UIC (User initiated conversation) All user-initiated conversations will now be categorized as service conversations, which help customers resolve enquiries. Encourage more engagement with high returns on investment
  2. Utility Conversations: Templates that facilitate a specific, agreed-upon request or transaction or update to a customer about an ongoing transaction, including post-purchase notifications and recurring billing statements.
  3. Authentication Conversations: Templates that enable businesses to authenticate users with one-time passcodes, potentially at multiple steps in the login process (e.g., account verification, account recovery, integrity challenges)
  4. Marketing Conversations: Templates that include promotions or offers, informational updates, or invitations for customers to respond / take action.

The new WhatsApp Business API Pricing:

The rate card for all 4 conversation categories will change from region to region. You can learn more about WhatsApp Business API’s updated pricing on their official website. Here’s an overview of the updated to conversation-based pricing: Effective June 1, 2023

META’s Updated Pricing in USD ($) – Effective from 01/06/2023

CountryMarketingUtilityAuthenticationService
India
India0.00990.0042NA0.004
LatAm
Argentina0.06180.04080.03670.0316
Brazil0.06250.0350.03150.03
Chile0.08890.05860.05270.0454
Colombia0.01250.00850.00770.006
Mexico0.04360.02660.02390.0105
Peru0.07030.04190.03770.0179
Rest of Latin America0.0740.04940.04450.0423
APAC
Indonesia0.04110.02N/A0.019
Malaysia0.0860.020.0180.022
Pakistan0.04730.02530.02280.0142
Rest of Asia Pacific0.07320.04720.04250.0224
Russia0.08020.04770.04290.0398
EMEA
Egypt0.10730.06870.06180.0644
France0.14320.07680.06910.0859
Germany0.13650.08530.07680.0819
Israel0.03530.01880.01690.018
Italy0.06910.0420.03780.0386
Netherlands0.15970.080.0720.0891
Nigeria0.05160.03190.02870.031
Saudi Arabia0.04060.02520.02260.0195
South Africa0.03790.020.0180.0168
Spain0.06150.0380.03420.0369
Turkey0.01090.00930.00830.003
United Arab Emirates0.0340.01980.01780.019
United Kingdom0.07050.03980.03580.0388
Rest of Africa0.02250.0160.01440.0363
Rest of Central & Eastern Europe0.0860.06190.05570.025
Rest of Middle East0.03410.01980.01780.0218
Rest of Western Europe0.05920.0420.03780.0397
North America
North America0.0250.0150.01350.0088

Please note: This is just the WhatsApp’s Conversation Based Charges and is not inclusive of the Gupshup’s fee.

How WhatsApp is aligning pricing with value:

Businesses world over have benefited from connecting with their customers over WhatsApp with higher open rate, higher engagement rate, and also offering conversational support. Below, we’re highlighting the value that we’re driving with Conversations over WhatsApp for each of the 4 categories:

WhatsApp Business Pricing Aligns with Value Generated

The value driven by each of the categories for WhatsApp Business Conversations are:

  • Marketing Conversations:
    • ~2X ROI for Sales & Commerce and 67%  lift in Conversion rate
    • Enriched engagement features coming up making marketing interactive and delightful
  • Utility Conversations:
    • 93%  reduction in query volume across human-intensive channels 
    • New WhatsApp Price for Utility templates  is lower on avg (varies by Geo)
  • Authentication Conversations:
    • Higher Open rate than traditional channels
    • Lower pricing than all other messaging category
  • Service Conversations:
    • Driving high ROI at lower support costs
    • Price is unchanged

Preparing for the change:

Migration of existing templates

Meta will start migrating all the existing templates from 27th March through 1st April 2023. This would mean that all your existing templates will be re-categorized in one of the three buckets: Marketing, Utility, Authentication*.

Starting 29th Mar 2023, you will start seeing both new as well as old categories for your templates auto-migrated by Meta on the Gupshup template list interface.  If you do not agree with  the categorization done by Meta, you can change the category to your desired state and resubmit the template for approval.

Creating new templates

Starting 29th Mar 2023, you will be required to submit any new template from the Gupshup interface as per the three new categories (Marketing, Utility, Authentication*) only. You will be able to view the approval status within the interface.

Managing rejected templates

If the template gets rejected due to an incorrect category, users can either edit the template and resubmit from the Gupshup interface or they can log an appeal to Meta by reaching out to our support team at whatsappsupport@gupshup.io.

To avoid template rejection due to incorrect category, users can allow for automated category change by Meta directly from the Gupshup interface.

Note on billing: Please note that all the above changes will have no bearing to your billing till 31st May 2023.

WhatsApp’s Business API’s New Richer Experience:

In addition to the updated value-based pricing model, there are also a lot of new promising features that will deliver richer conversational experiences for your business. Here’s a highlight of what’s coming:

Business search and directory will help customers discover your business from right within WhatsApp, by simply typing what they’re looking for. Customers may also look for businesses near them, based on their location and can easily and quickly find grocery stores, restaurants, salons, service stations and more.

If you’re in Brazil, you might’ve already experienced this feature. In addition to search, customers may also find your business through ‘See more businesses like this’ while on a business profile, increasing the visibility of your business.

And if you ever wanted a bespoke app-like experience within WhatsApp, that’s coming soon in the form of Extensions. The Extensions feature allows businesses to create a custom form with drop downs, radio buttons or check-box lists to guide customers through a journey.

Think of it as an extension to a standard catalog, with use cases expanding to appointment booking, reward points redemption, feedback programs, gamification and more.

Check Out These Valuable Resources on WhatsApp Pricing Updates :

Announcing Price Changes for WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp Pricing Updates – 2024

The Rise of WhatsApp Business API

What’s New on WhatsApp Business API

Interested to try our Conversational Engagement Platform for your Business?

Discover Solution
Please enable Javascript in your browser to enable this button
Vartika
Vartika leads marketing at Gupshup and has ~16 years of experience in marketing across early-stage startups and large enterprises. A Marketing specialist by profession, a wanderer at heart, an enthusiastic cook, and a painter for the soul.

Blogs you will want to share. Delivered to your inbox.

Business Email

Recommended Resources

Guide to Creating a Personalised Black Friday Shopping Experience

An exclusive guide on how brands can leverage Conversational and Generative AI Solutions to create personalised...
Read More >

What is Agent Assist? Transforming Customer Service with AI

Learn how AI-powered Agent Assist transforms customer service by providing real-time insights, boosting efficiency & enhancing...
Read More >

WhatsApp Business for Automotive Industry: Revving Up Sales and Customer Engagement

Transform sales and customer engagement with WhatsApp Business API for the automotive industry. Boost leads, sales,...
Read More >
×
Read: Revolutionize your lead generation with Google Business Messages