Two questions get asked together because buyers assume the answer to the first explains the second. On this channel they are unrelated: the price is set by your provider, and eligibility is set by Apple.
What does Apple charge?
Nothing, to the business. Apple's FAQ puts the whole commercial arrangement in one sentence: "Apple provides Apple Messages for Business for free, an MSP may charge for their services."
That has a consequence for evaluation. There is no Apple rate card to look up, no per-message fee from Apple to model, and no published market price, because every quote you receive is a provider's own commercial decision. Comparing two providers on this channel is comparing two proposals rather than two markups on a common wholesale rate, which is the opposite of how WhatsApp works. Apple Messages for Business against WhatsApp covers that difference.
What do you actually pay for?
Four lines, and only one of them is software.
The provider. Apple requires an approved Messaging Service Provider to qualify for an account at all, so this is not avoidable by building your own integration. What it costs, and whether it is priced per message, per agent seat or per contract, is the provider's model. How to choose one covers what to compare.
The people. Apple's policies require that "The business must provide access to a live agent in this channel during its regular business hours" and that "A business must not provide a limited or bot-only solution." Whatever automation you run, a rostered human is a condition of the channel, and agent time is the line that scales with the conversations you win.
The launch work. Brand assets to Apple's specifications, the conversation design, and the Experience Review, which Apple expects to take "1–3 rounds of review" for most accounts. Whether the provider absorbs that effort or bills it is worth settling in the contract.
Anything transactional you add. Apple Pay brings its own merchant account, certificates and domain registration, on your side rather than the provider's: what Apple Pay in Messages needs from a provider covers those.
Who is eligible?
Any business that can meet three conditions: it works with an approved provider, it can staff live agents in its business hours, and it is not in a category Apple excludes.
That last one is a published list rather than a judgement call, and two of its entries carry carve-outs that decide whether a business is in or out. Apple's policies prohibit transactions involving cigarettes or tobacco products, vaping, counterfeit or stolen goods, firearms, weapons or ammunition, gambling, "Gaming involving purchases of digital goods (customer service is allowed)", illegal drugs or non-legally prescribed controlled substances, items that create consumer safety risks, items intended for illegal activities, "Political organizations (government institutions are allowed)", pornography, and personal fundraising or nonprofit collections unless Apple approves them.
The list continues past transactions. Also excluded are businesses that violate any law, that primarily sell drug paraphernalia or sexually-oriented items, that promote hate, violence or intolerance, that enable currency purchases or pre-paid accounts, that constitute "a staged digital wallet (for example, where a second payment transaction is conducted in order to complete the first transaction or where there is a substitute merchant of record in a transaction)", that commit fraud, that violate intellectual property, publicity or privacy rights, or that show Apple in a false or derogatory light. Read Apple's own list rather than this summary before committing a project: it is the version that decides.
One more exclusion is a policy of the moment rather than a category ban, and it catches teams by surprise: "At this time, Apple is not onboarding businesses that primarily offer medical or health-related services or products." If that describes you, check the current policy page before planning the channel rather than after.
Which customers can use it?
Apple's FAQ names the floor: "Apple devices running iOS 11.3 or later or macOS 10.13.4 or later support Apple Messages for Business." Apple's customer-facing guidance adds where a conversation can be held: "You need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to use Messages for Business. You can also respond to your conversations with your Apple Watch or Mac."
There is nothing for a customer to install and no account to create, which is what turns a search result or a map listing into a one-tap start. It also means your addressable audience on this channel is exactly your Apple-device customers, so the sizing question is what share of your contacts that is in the markets you serve.
What should the business case actually compare?
Not cost per message, because Apple sets none and volume is bounded by customers opening conversations. The comparison that holds up is cost per resolved conversation against your existing channels, with two effects to include: conversations that arrive here instead of as phone calls, and interactions that finish in the thread because a time or a payment can be completed there.
Apple's requirements on this page come from Apple's own documentation, read on 4 September 2026: Frequently asked questions, Appendix A: Policies, Messages for Business accounts, Pass the Experience Review and Apple Support's How to use Messages for Business. Apple revises these from time to time, and Apple Business Register is where the current requirements are stated.