Meta's rules: messaging windows, template categories and what you pay for

Most surprises on a WhatsApp bill come from Meta’s rules, not from anything in Linkiasoft. This page explains the ones that decide what you can send and what it costs.

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The 24-hour customer service window

When a customer messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens. Inside it you can send ordinary free-form messages — text, images, voice notes, anything — and those messages are free. This is the normal work of the inbox. When it closes, free-form messages can no longer be sent at all. To reach that person again you need an approved template, and templates are where charges start.

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The 72-hour free entry point

This is the rule most businesses do not know about, and it is worth real money. When someone reaches you through a Click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook or Instagram, or taps the WhatsApp button on your Facebook Page, and you reply within 24 hours, a free entry point window opens as soon as your reply is delivered. It lasts 72 hours, and during it every message type is free — including marketing templates, which are otherwise your most expensive message. It runs independently of the 24-hour customer service window. The practical consequence: Click-to-WhatsApp ads are usually the cheapest way to send marketing templates at scale, because you pay for the ad rather than for the messages. That matters most in expensive markets. It also makes reply speed a billing question, not only a service one. A lead from an ad that sits unanswered for 25 hours has cost you a 72-hour free window on top of the ad spend.

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What actually gets charged

Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per message, not per conversation. The older conversation-based model is retired — if you are reading a guide that talks about “conversations” as billing units, it is out of date. Only delivered messages are charged. Two things follow from this table:

• Utility is not just cheaper than Marketing — inside an open window it is free. An order update sent while the customer is still talking to you costs nothing. Sent three days later it costs.
• Getting the category right is a billing decision, not just an approval one. See Template approval.

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Quality rating and messaging limits

Meta scores your number on how customers react. Blocks and “report” taps lower your quality rating, and a low rating reduces your messaging limit — how many unique customers you may message in a rolling 24 hours. Verifying your business raises the ceiling. Sending marketing people did not ask for lowers it. This is the mechanism behind “our broadcast stopped halfway” — see Broadcasts. Reference: messaging limits and quality rating.

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Policies worth reading before a campaign

Meta enforces these, and enforcement lands on your number rather than on us.

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Opt-in is not optional

You need the customer’s permission before sending them marketing, and you must make it clear they are opting into WhatsApp messages from your business specifically. A phone number obtained for delivery purposes is not consent to market to. The commerce policy also prohibits selling certain categories over WhatsApp — alcohol, tobacco, supplements, medical products, firearms, adult products and gambling among them, with regional variations. Check before building a campaign around a product line.

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Keeping costs down

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