Cheapest WhatsApp API Provider in India 2026: Real Bills
Founder & Lead Developer, Codingclave · 200+ projects since 2017
Cheapest WhatsApp API provider in India: it depends on your volume
There is no single cheapest WhatsApp API provider in India. Without a developer, a zero-subscription pay-per-use platform gives the lowest bill up to about 19,600 marketing messages a month, once GST is counted. Above that, Interakt's Starter plan (quarterly billing) costs less on published prices, and at 2,00,000 messages its Advanced plan is cheapest. With in-house developers, Meta's Cloud API directly is cheapest per message at every volume.
Quick answer (monthly bills including 18% GST, marketing messages at Meta's ₹0.86). GST is added to Meta's charges and to each provider's plan and rates. PayPerWA's ₹0.20 fee already includes GST, so it is added as it is:
- 1,000 a month: PayPerWA ₹1,215 (₹860 to Meta × 1.18 = ₹1,015, plus ₹200 in fees); the cheapest subscription, Interakt Starter, comes to ₹2,520 (₹2,136 × 1.18).
- 10,000 a month: PayPerWA ₹12,148, Interakt Starter ₹12,822, Gupshup self-serve about ₹11,210 if you have technical help.
- 50,000 a month: Interakt Starter ₹58,606 beats PayPerWA's ₹60,740. Direct Meta is ₹50,740 before build and hosting.
- Mostly order updates and OTPs: PayPerWA is not the cheapest. It works out to about ₹0.336 per utility message (Meta's ₹0.115 × 1.18 + ₹0.20) against about ₹0.15–₹0.19 at Interakt, AiSensy and Gallabox with GST.
- Two dates: service replies beyond each number's first 1,000 a month are charged from 1 October 2026 (about ₹0.115 each), and direct API users must move to INR billing by 31 December 2026.
A disclosure: I'm Ashish Sharma, founder of Codingclave, and we make PayPerWA, a pay-per-use WhatsApp platform, one of the options ranked here. I've applied the same maths to it and marked where it loses. This post ranks total monthly bills; for features side by side, use our WhatsApp API features and pricing guide.
The cheapest option at 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 and 2,00,000 messages
| Marketing messages a month | No developer | With a developer |
|---|---|---|
| 1,000 | PayPerWA (ours): ₹1,215 | Gupshup self-serve: ~₹1,121 |
| 10,000 | PayPerWA (ours): ₹12,148 | Gupshup self-serve: ~₹11,210 |
| 50,000 | Interakt Starter: ₹58,606 | Direct Meta: ₹50,740 + build |
| 2,00,000 | Interakt Advanced: ₹2,28,447 | Direct Meta: ₹2,02,960 + build |
Totals include 18% GST. Prices checked on 2026-10-18 for PayPerWA (₹0.20 a message, GST included, on every message) and Meta's India rates; other providers' prices as checked on 30 September 2026.
WATI and DoubleTick don't publish their per-message rates, so they appear only as floors below. Every ₹0.10 of hidden markup adds ₹5,000 a month at 50,000 messages, ₹5,900 with GST, so ask for the rate card before you compare.
Want these numbers for your own mix? WhatsApp Ashish on +91 92771 84741 with your monthly marketing, utility and reply counts, and I'll send back the bills with GST, line by line.
What your monthly WhatsApp bill is made of
The WhatsApp Business app on your phone is free; the API is not. An API bill has four layers: Meta's per-message charge, your provider's fee (subscription, markup, a flat per-message fee, or a mix), add-ons, and 18% GST. GST applies to Meta's charge and to most providers' fees; PayPerWA's ₹0.20 fee already includes it.
Meta's India per-message rates in 2026
Meta has billed per delivered message, not per 24-hour conversation, since 1 July 2025 (Meta's pricing page). India's marketing rate rose about 10% on 1 January 2026, from ₹0.7846 to ₹0.8631; Meta's July and October 2026 rate updates did not include India.
| Message type | Meta India rate (before GST) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing template | ₹0.8631 | No volume discount |
| Utility template | ₹0.115 | Volume tiers apply; utility templates sent inside an open window charged from 1 Oct 2026 |
| Authentication (OTP) | ₹0.115 | Volume tiers apply |
| Service reply in the 24-hour window | ~₹0.115 from 1 Oct 2026, after 1,000 free a month per number | Free until 30 Sep 2026; no volume tiers |
| Anything in a Click-to-WhatsApp free entry point window | Free | Meta now says the window may stay open for up to 7 days |
Last verified: September 2026. Rates as published on a third-party India rate card; Meta's official INR card is linked from its pricing page. Older guides may show ₹0.13 for utility. The totals below round marketing to ₹0.86.
What changed on 1 October 2026
Meta's non-template message pricing page confirms two changes from 1 October 2026:
- Service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour window) cost the same as utility and authentication messages in each market, about ₹0.115 in India, with no volume tiers. Meta's main pricing page adds a free tier of 1,000 service messages a month for each business phone number, so charging starts at the 1,001st.
- Utility templates sent in response inside an open window, free until now, are charged per message.
So 5,000 replies a month from one number now add about ₹460 plus GST (4,000 × ₹0.115 after the free 1,000). On PayPerWA, our ₹0.20 fee also applies to all 5,000 replies, the free 1,000 included: another ₹1,000, GST included. Some provider pages still said "service is free" on 30 September. Gallabox bills these at its ₹0.1323 utility rate. If you use the Cloud API directly, check that your WhatsApp Business account has a valid payment method, because without one Meta stops delivering service replies once the free 1,000 are used.
What's still free
- The first 1,000 service messages a month on each business phone number. They do not roll over.
- Click-to-WhatsApp and Page button chats: messages in the free entry point window, which Meta says may stay open for up to 7 days, after someone contacts you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or Facebook Page button stay free. Our breakdown of WhatsApp ads cost in India covers the ad spend side.
- Undelivered templates: Meta charges only when a template is delivered.
- Volume tiers: utility and authentication get cheaper as monthly volume grows, counted across your business portfolio; Meta's rate card lists the thresholds. Marketing has no volume discount.
GST: compare like-for-like
Meta's ₹0.8631 and Interakt's plans ("+taxes") are quoted before GST. PayPerWA's ₹0.20 fee is not: it already includes GST. So on PayPerWA you add 18% to Meta's part only, and a marketing message costs ₹0.86 × 1.18 + ₹0.20 = ₹1.2148 (about ₹1.22 at Meta's exact ₹0.8631). AiSensy lists ₹1.09 per marketing message without saying which:
- If ₹1.09 includes GST, it's about ₹0.92 before tax, around 7% above Meta.
- If it excludes GST, it's about 26% above Meta's ₹0.8631.
Every total in this post includes 18% GST: plan fees, Meta's charges and other providers' per-message rates are multiplied by 1.18 (AiSensy's ₹1.09 is treated as before GST, the dearer case), and PayPerWA's fee is added as it is. Comparing PayPerWA's GST-inclusive ₹0.20 with other providers' pre-GST prices would overstate PayPerWA's bill.
Four ways WhatsApp API providers charge you
Subscription plus markup (WATI, Interakt, AiSensy, Gallabox, DoubleTick). A monthly plan plus a per-message rate above Meta's. Suits steady volume; watch for fees in quiet months, seat caps and unpublished markup.
Tiny flat fee, both directions (Gupshup self-serve). Meta's rate plus $0.001 per message, sent or received. Cheap, but built for technical teams; our WATI vs Gupshup comparison shows when the developer time pays back.
Pay-per-use with ready tools (PayPerWA, ours). ₹0.20 per message, GST included, on every message you send, replies included, plus Meta's rate, no subscription; campaigns, team inbox and chatbot builder included. Best for low or seasonal volume.
Direct Meta Cloud API. Meta's rate only; you build and run everything yourself.
Total monthly bill at 1K, 10K, 50K and 2L messages
Assumptions: marketing templates only, Meta at ₹0.86, the shortest billing cycle that includes WhatsApp, no add-ons or extra seats, including 18% GST (PayPerWA's ₹0.20 already includes it). "Floor" means plan fee plus Meta's rate only, because the vendor doesn't publish its markup; the real bill will be higher.
| Option | 1,000 | 10,000 | 50,000 | 2,00,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Direct Meta (+ build) | ₹1,015 | ₹10,148 | ₹50,740 | ₹2,02,960 |
| Gupshup self-serve | ~₹1,121 | ~₹11,210 | ~₹56,050 | ~₹2,24,200 |
| PayPerWA (ours) | ₹1,215 | ₹12,148 | ₹60,740 | ₹2,42,960 |
| Interakt Starter | ₹2,520 | ₹12,822 | ₹58,606 | ₹2,30,296 |
| Interakt Growth | ₹4,433 | ₹14,607 | ₹59,825 | ₹2,29,391 |
| Interakt Advanced | ₹5,603 | ₹15,681 | ₹60,474 | ₹2,28,447 |
| AiSensy Basic | ₹3,056 | ₹14,632 | ₹66,080 | ₹2,59,010 |
| Gallabox Basic | ₹4,710 | ₹15,252 | ₹62,102 | ₹2,37,792 |
| WATI (floor) | ≥₹4,554 | ≥₹13,687 | ≥₹58,409 | ≥₹2,10,629 |
| DoubleTick (floor) | ≥₹3,375 | ≥₹12,508 | ≥₹53,100 | ≥₹2,05,320 |
Pricing basis, before GST: Gupshup Meta + ~₹0.09 (incoming fees excluded); Interakt Starter ₹3,499 a quarter (≈₹1,166 a month) + ₹0.970, Growth ₹2,799 + ₹0.958, Advanced ₹3,799 + ₹0.949 monthly; AiSensy ₹1,500 + ₹1.09; Gallabox ₹2,999 a month on quarterly billing + ₹0.9926; WATI Growth ₹2,999 monthly up to 10,000, Pro ₹6,499 above its 15,000 broadcast cap; DoubleTick at ₹2,000, the low end of its reported range. Each of those totals is multiplied by 1.18. PayPerWA is ₹0.86 × 1.18 + ₹0.20 = ₹1.2148 a message: at 10,000, ₹10,148 + ₹2,000 = ₹12,148.
1,000 marketing messages: why subscriptions hurt small senders
Meta's share is ₹860 (₹1,015 with GST), so any plan fee dwarfs it: WATI Growth's ₹2,999 is three and a half times the message cost. PayPerWA costs ₹1,215, and Gupshup self-serve about ₹94 less if someone technical sets it up.
10,000 a month
PayPerWA (₹12,148) is still lowest without a developer, but Interakt Starter is only ₹674 behind. Gaps of a few hundred rupees mean features should decide: Starter has bulk campaigns and a shared inbox but no chatbot flows or public APIs. If AiSensy is on your shortlist, see PayPerWA vs AiSensy, feature by feature.
50,000 a month: where caps start to matter
Interakt Starter (₹58,606) now beats PayPerWA (₹60,740) by ₹2,134 a month, and Interakt Growth (₹59,825) and Advanced (₹60,474) edge ahead too. Gallabox Basic (₹62,102) is still ₹1,362 dearer than PayPerWA. WATI Growth caps broadcasts at 15,000 a month, so you'd be on Pro. AiSensy Basic is dearest at ₹66,080 because its ₹1.09 rate is the highest here.
2,00,000 a month: where the rate is all that matters
Interakt Advanced (₹2,28,447) overtakes Starter at about 1.25 lakh messages, because its lower rate outweighs the higher fee. PayPerWA costs ₹14,513 more than Interakt Advanced. Direct Meta saves ₹40,000 a month against PayPerWA (our 2,00,000 × ₹0.20 fee), which is where building your own starts to pay.
Break-even: when a subscription beats pay-per-use
Break-even messages = monthly plan fee with GST ÷ (PayPerWA's rate with GST − the plan's per-message rate with GST)
PayPerWA's rate with GST is ₹1.2148 (₹0.86 × 1.18 + ₹0.20). For Interakt Starter: ₹1,166 × 1.18 = ₹1,375.88, divided by (₹1.2148 − ₹0.970 × 1.18 = ₹0.0702), is about 19,600 messages.
| Plan vs PayPerWA (₹1.2148 with GST) | Break-even, marketing messages a month |
|---|---|
| Interakt Starter, quarterly (₹1,166, ₹0.970) | ≈19,600 (≈16,800 on yearly billing) |
| Interakt Growth, monthly (₹2,799, ₹0.958) | ≈39,200 (≈30,800 on yearly billing) |
| Interakt Advanced, monthly (₹3,799, ₹0.949) | ≈47,200 |
| Gallabox Basic, quarterly (₹2,999, ₹0.9926) | ≈81,300 (≈65,000 on yearly billing) |
| AiSensy Basic (₹1,500, ₹1.09) | Never; its rate is higher |
Plan fees and rates in the table are before GST, as the providers list them; the break-even counts GST on both sides.
WATI keeps its rates in a separate rate card, so our PayPerWA vs WATI comparison works through that pairing on its own. Seasonal senders should use their yearly average, not their peak month. Say you send 2,000 messages a month for ten months and 30,000 in each of two festive months, 80,000 in all: with GST, PayPerWA costs ₹97,184 for the year (80,000 × ₹1.2148), Interakt Starter on yearly billing ₹1,05,727 (₹89,599 × 1.18) and Interakt Growth ₹1,30,069 (₹1,10,228 × 1.18).
Not sure where your volume lands? WhatsApp Ashish on +91 92771 84741 with your monthly marketing and utility counts, and I'll run these numbers for your mix, even if the answer isn't PayPerWA. You'll hear back from me, not a sales script.
If you mostly send order updates and OTPs
Flat fees hurt here. This is PayPerWA's weak spot, so compare carefully. If OTPs dominate, price plain SMS as well: Gupshup SMS pricing in India is about ₹0.17 per OTP before GST (about ₹0.20 with it), which sits in the middle of the WhatsApp rows below.
| Option | Per utility or OTP message, before GST | 20,000 a month, with GST |
|---|---|---|
| Direct Meta (+ build) | ₹0.115 | ₹2,714 |
| Gupshup self-serve | ~₹0.205 | ~₹4,838 |
| Interakt Starter | ₹0.160 utility, ₹0.129 OTP | ₹5,152 (utility, plan included) |
| AiSensy Basic | ₹0.145 | ₹5,192 (plan included) |
| Gallabox Basic | ₹0.1323 | ₹6,661 (plan included) |
| PayPerWA (ours) | ₹0.115 + our ₹0.20, which already includes GST (₹0.336 with GST on Meta's part) | ₹6,714 |
PayPerWA at 20,000: ₹2,300 to Meta × 1.18 = ₹2,714, plus 20,000 × ₹0.20 = ₹4,000, so ₹6,714. At 20,000 delivery updates a month, PayPerWA costs roughly ₹1,500 more than Interakt Starter or AiSensy.
A realistic mixed month after 1 October
Most bills mix traffic. Take 5,000 marketing, 10,000 utility and 3,000 replies from one business number (plus 3,000 incoming messages for Gupshup). The first 1,000 replies fall in Meta's free tier, so 2,000 are charged at Meta's ₹0.115, or ₹230 (Gallabox bills them at its ₹0.1323, ₹265). Other providers' own fee on replies is left out unless they publish one. PayPerWA's ₹0.20 is counted on all 3,000 replies, because it applies to every message. Totals with GST:
- Direct Meta: ₹6,702 (+ build): (₹4,300 marketing + ₹1,150 utility + ₹230 replies) × 1.18
- Gupshup self-serve: ~₹8,933
- Interakt Starter: ₹9,258
- AiSensy Basic: ₹10,183
- PayPerWA (ours): ₹10,302: ₹5,680 to Meta × 1.18 = ₹6,702, plus 18,000 messages × ₹0.20 = ₹3,600
- Interakt Growth: ₹10,996
- Gallabox Basic: ₹11,269
With heavy utility traffic, PayPerWA lands mid-table. Ask every provider whether its own fee applies to replies; on PayPerWA it does, on every reply.
Provider snapshots: price checked 30 September 2026 and the catch
| Provider | Price | The catch |
|---|---|---|
| WATI | Growth ₹2,999, Pro ₹6,499 monthly (₹2,199 / ₹4,899 on annual); ₹999 pay-as-you-go pack | Rates behind a rate-card link; Growth: 3 users, 15,000 broadcasts |
| Interakt | Starter ₹3,499 a quarter; Growth ₹2,799, Advanced ₹3,799 monthly; 20% off yearly | Monthly Starter (₹999) is Instagram-only; AI Agents ₹3,000 a month |
| AiSensy | Basic ₹1,500, Pro ₹3,200 monthly | Free Forever plan can't broadcast; extra agents ₹750 each |
| Gallabox | Basic ₹2,999 quarterly or ₹2,399 annual | Basic hard-capped at 3 users |
| DoubleTick | Starter reportedly ₹2,000–₹2,500 a month, Pro ₹3,000–₹3,500 | No rupee prices on its pricing page, no free trial; confirm directly |
| Gupshup | No subscription | $0.001 on incoming messages too; media over 64KB extra |
| PayPerWA (ours) | No subscription, no setup fee; ₹0.20 a message, GST included | The flat fee on every message, replies included, makes utility and OTP dear |
| Direct Meta | No platform fee | You build, host and maintain it |
I left out smaller resellers advertising ₹0–₹500 a month because I couldn't verify their prices. Whoever you pick, confirm they're an official Meta Business Partner: tools that automate the ordinary WhatsApp app put your number at risk of a ban.
Setup fees, green tick and free trials
- Setup fees: Meta charges nothing. WATI, AiSensy and PayPerWA list none. Some BSPs charge one-time onboarding, so get any fee in writing.
- Trials: WATI offers 7 days, Interakt and Gallabox offer free trials, and DoubleTick offers demos instead.
- Free plans: AiSensy's Free Forever plan includes ₹50 of message credits but no broadcasting, so it's for testing the inbox, not campaigns.
- Green tick: Meta decides who gets it; providers can only help you apply. None of the pricing pages I checked lists a green-tick fee, and it doesn't change message rates.
Hidden costs that change the ranking
- Markup you can't see. WATI keeps its rates in a downloadable rate card; DoubleTick doesn't publish them on its pricing page.
- Seats. WATI Pro's extra users cost ₹1,299 a month and Business ₹2,199; Gallabox charges ₹1,200–₹1,500 on higher plans; AiSensy ₹750.
- Broadcast caps. WATI Growth's 15,000 a month pushes bigger senders onto Pro.
- Add-ons. Interakt's AI Agents add-on is ₹3,000 a month; AiSensy's chatbot builder ₹2,500 and AI Agent ₹1,350 per 1,000 AI messages.
- Incoming messages. Gupshup's $0.001 applies to every incoming message, about ₹270 a month for 3,000 inbound.
Example: WATI Pro at 50,000 messages with two extra agents is ₹6,499 + ₹2,598 + Meta's ₹43,000, so at least ₹52,097 before WATI's markup and GST.
Is direct Meta Cloud API really the cheapest?
Per message, yes. You pay only Meta's ₹0.8631 plus GST. At 2,00,000 marketing messages that saves ₹40,000 a month against PayPerWA and ₹25,487 against Interakt Advanced, GST included. What it costs instead:
- Build: a sending service, webhooks for delivery and replies, template management, opt-outs and a team inbox. Our estimate for a custom build is ₹1.5 lakh to ₹5 lakh depending on scope (a Codingclave estimate, not a market survey). Add a bot and the budget grows; see what a chatbot costs to build.
- Hosting and upkeep: servers, monitoring and someone tracking Meta's changes.
- INR billing deadline: eligible businesses must move every WhatsApp Business account to INR billing by 31 December 2026; from 1 January 2027 Meta will not deliver messages from non-INR accounts.
At 10,000 messages a month you save about ₹2,000 against PayPerWA, so a ₹1.5 lakh build takes over six years to pay back. At 2,00,000 it pays back in about four months, before hosting. Having built PayPerWA on the Cloud API ourselves, I can say sending is the easy part; the ongoing work is webhook failures, rejected templates and billing changes.
Who should pick what
| Your situation | Cheapest sensible pick |
|---|---|
| Under about 19,600 marketing messages, or seasonal sales | PayPerWA (ours), or Gupshup self-serve with a developer |
| 19,600–1,25,000 marketing, basic campaigns are enough | Interakt Starter (quarterly or yearly) |
| Mostly utility and OTP messages | Interakt Starter, AiSensy or Gallabox; Gupshup with a developer |
| Support team with many agents | A plan with enough seats: Gallabox Essential or Advanced, Interakt (unlimited agents) |
| 1,25,000+ messages, no developers | Interakt Advanced; ask WATI and DoubleTick for rate cards |
| 1 lakh+ messages with in-house developers | Direct Meta Cloud API |
Who should not choose PayPerWA: a business sending steady volume above about 19,600 marketing messages a month, or one whose traffic is mostly order updates and OTPs. On published prices, Interakt will cost you less.
5 ways to cut your WhatsApp bill with any provider
- Categorise templates correctly. An order update sent as utility costs ₹0.115 at Meta; as marketing, ₹0.8631.
- Use the free entry point window that opens from Click-to-WhatsApp ads and Page buttons; Meta says it may stay open for up to 7 days.
- Clean your lists. Meta charges only for delivered templates, but not every provider refunds its own fee on failures. PayPerWA refunds failed messages to your wallet; ask yours what it does.
- Choose annual billing only when volume is stable. Interakt saves 20% and WATI up to about 25%, but you pay for twelve months regardless.
- Keep accounts under one business portfolio so utility and authentication volume tiers add up.
Frequently asked questions
Which WhatsApp API provider is cheapest in India for 1,000–5,000 messages a month?
A zero-subscription option. At 5,000 marketing messages, with GST, PayPerWA (ours) costs about ₹6,074, Interakt Starter ₹7,099 on quarterly billing, AiSensy Basic ₹8,201 and WATI Growth at least ₹8,613 plus markup. Gupshup self-serve is about ₹5,605 if you have technical help.
Is there a WhatsApp Business API in India with no monthly fee?
Yes. PayPerWA charges ₹0.20 per message, GST included, on every message including replies, plus Meta's rate, with failed messages refunded. Gupshup self-serve charges $0.001 per message plus Meta's rate, incoming included. WATI sells a ₹999 one-time pack for up to 500 messages. Direct Cloud API has no platform fee but needs a build.
How much does Meta charge per WhatsApp message in India in 2026?
About ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility or authentication message, before GST, billed per delivered message since July 2025. From 1 October 2026 service replies cost the utility rate too, after each business number's first 1,000 a month.
Are WhatsApp service replies still free after 1 October 2026?
Not beyond the free tier. Meta now charges about ₹0.115 per service reply in India once a business phone number has used its 1,000 free service messages for the month, with no volume tiers, and charges utility templates sent inside an open window. Chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or Page button still get a free window of up to 7 days.
Is 18% GST added on top of WhatsApp API rates in India?
On Meta's charges and most plans, yes. Meta's rate and Interakt's plans are quoted before GST. PayPerWA's ₹0.20 fee already includes GST, so add 18% to Meta's part only: ₹0.8631 × 1.18 + ₹0.20 = about ₹1.22 per marketing message. AiSensy doesn't say whether its ₹1.09 includes GST, so ask. For a subscription plan, multiply the pre-GST total by 1.18.
Can I switch WhatsApp API providers later without losing my number?
Meta supports moving a number between providers. Ask the new provider in writing whether templates and verified status carry over and whether the old one charges an exit fee, and export your chat history before you leave.
Get a cost estimate for your own volume
- Send your monthly marketing, utility and reply counts: WhatsApp Ashish on +91 92771 84741.
- Under about 19,600 marketing messages a month? Try PayPerWA with no subscription or setup fee.
- Prefer email or a call? Contact the Codingclave team.
About the author
Ashish Sharma founded Codingclave in 2017 and has led the delivery of 200+ projects for clients in India, the UK, Canada, the UAE and the US. His team in Lucknow builds and runs PayPerWA on Meta's official WhatsApp Cloud API, and builds custom WhatsApp integrations, chatbots and business software.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
A zero-subscription option. At 5,000 marketing messages a month, with 18% GST, PayPerWA (built by Codingclave) costs about ₹6,074 (₹4,300 to Meta plus ₹774 GST on it, plus our ₹1,000 fee, which already includes GST), Interakt Starter about ₹7,099 on quarterly billing, AiSensy Basic ₹8,201 and WATI Growth at least ₹8,613 plus its markup. Gupshup's self-serve wallet is cheaper at about ₹5,605, but it suits teams with technical help. Below about 19,600 marketing messages a month, a monthly plan fee costs more than the per-message savings it buys.
Yes. PayPerWA charges ₹0.20 per message, GST included, on every message you send (replies too), plus Meta's rate, with no subscription, no setup fee and failed messages refunded to the wallet. Gupshup self-serve charges $0.001 (about ₹0.09) per message plus Meta's rate, with no subscription, but that fee also applies to incoming messages. WATI sells a ₹999 one-time pack returned as credits for up to 500 messages. Connecting to Meta's Cloud API directly has no platform fee either, but you build and host the software yourself.
Meta bills per delivered message, not per 24-hour conversation, since 1 July 2025. India rates in 2026, before 18% GST, are about ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility or authentication (OTP) message. Utility and authentication get monthly volume-tier discounts; marketing does not. From 1 October 2026, service replies cost the same as utility messages once a business number has used its 1,000 free service messages for the month. Your provider's plan fee, markup or platform fee is added on top of these rates.
No, with two exceptions. From 1 October 2026 Meta charges service messages (free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window) at the utility and authentication rate, about ₹0.115 in India, with no volume tiers, but each business phone number gets its first 1,000 service messages a month free. Utility templates sent in response inside an open window are charged too. Chats that start from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or Facebook Page button still get a free entry point window, which Meta says may stay open for up to 7 days.
On Meta's charges and on most plans, yes. 18% GST applies to Meta's per-message charges and to most providers' plan fees and per-message rates; Meta's ₹0.8631 and Interakt's plan prices are quoted before GST. PayPerWA's ₹0.20 fee is the exception: it already includes GST, so on PayPerWA you add 18% to Meta's part only. A marketing message is ₹0.8631 × 1.18 + ₹0.20 = about ₹1.22. AiSensy lists ₹1.09 per marketing message without saying whether GST is included, so ask before comparing. If it includes GST, it is about ₹0.92 before tax; if not, it is about 26% above Meta's rate. To budget a subscription plan, multiply its pre-GST total by 1.18.
Meta supports moving a WhatsApp Business number from one provider to another, so choosing the cheapest option today does not lock you in. Before you sign, ask the new provider in writing how the migration works, whether your approved templates and verified business status carry over, and whether the old provider charges an exit fee. Chat history usually lives in the old provider's inbox, so export what you need first. Avoid annual prepayment until you are sure you will stay.