WhatsApp October 2026 pricing changes
On October 1st 2026 Meta starts charging for two kinds of message that have been free, and gives nine more countries a higher authentication rate. Meta's rate changes take effect at midnight in your WhatsApp Business Account's own timezone; the one Bird-side change on this page, the shared-sender country bar, takes effect at 00:00 UTC. Meta's source: Upcoming pricing updates.
Service messages become chargeable
A service message is any ordinary reply you send inside the 24-hour customer service window: text, an image, a button list, anything that is not a template. These have been free since November 2024. From October 1st they are charged per message, at the same rate as utility and authentication messages in that country, unless they fall inside a 72-hour free entry point window.
Note: each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages per month. A business sending fewer than that per number pays nothing for service messages.
One delivered reply uses one unit of the allowance; a group send uses one per recipient it reaches. The allowance does not roll over, so every number starts each calendar month at 1,000 again. Meta counts the allowance itself, across every provider on the number, and Bird charges only what Meta reports as billable.
Utility replies lose their exemption
A utility template sent in reply to a user, inside the open customer service window, has been free since July 2025. From October 1st it is charged like any other utility template. Utility templates sent outside the window were always charged and are unaffected.
Nine more authentication-international markets
Some countries carry a higher authentication-international rate, which applies when the business sending the code is based elsewhere. Nine markets gain one on October 1st: Bangladesh, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nepal, Oman, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. That doubles the list to eighteen.
Two knock-on effects, both Meta's:
- Since September 1st 2026, Meta measures eligibility for the higher rate across all eighteen markets rather than the original nine, so a business that was not eligible before may become so.
- All nine are also moving out of their regional rate card onto their own, which changes their ordinary utility and authentication rates too. Rates fall for Bangladesh, Iraq, Nepal and Sri Lanka, and rise for Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman and Ukraine.
Bird's shared senders, Bird Verify and Bird Authifly, do not deliver authentication codes to authentication-international markets. From October 1st that refusal covers the nine new markets as well. Sending to them needs your own connected WhatsApp number.
What does not change
- Inbound messages stay free. Nothing a customer sends you is charged, and neither are calls they start.
- The customer service window itself is unchanged. It still opens and resets on each inbound message, and what you may send inside it is the same. Only the price moves.
- The 72-hour free entry point window. Messages sent inside it stay free, including service messages.
- Marketing, utility and authentication templates sent outside the customer service window.
- Bird's own per-message fee, which is flat. Only Meta's share moves.
- Your billing arrangement with Bird. Bird's credit line covers the WhatsApp Business Accounts it onboards, so there is no Meta payment method for you to add before October 1st. Keep your Bird wallet funded as you do today: a send that the wallet cannot cover is rejected with insufficient_balance.
Next steps
- WhatsApp pricing: the current rate per country and category, including the service rate.
- Sending WhatsApp messages: the send call and the two components behind each message's cost.
- The 24-hour customer service window: what opens it and what you may send while it is open.
- Usage, spend & invoices: where these charges land.