> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.linkiasoft.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Meta's rules: messaging windows, template categories and what you pay for > The 24-hour customer service window, the 72-hour free entry point from ads, which template categories cost money, and where to check current rates. 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. Rates are set by Meta, vary by country, and change on announced dates — there were market rate updates on **1 July 2026** and more scheduled for **1 October 2026**. This page deliberately quotes **no numbers**. For current rates always use Meta's own page: [Meta's WhatsApp pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing). ## 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](/help/inbox/tour). When it closes, free-form messages can no longer be sent at all. To reach that person again you need an approved [template](/help/campaigns/template-approval), and templates are where charges start. Every inbound customer message restarts the 24 hours. An active back-and-forth conversation never leaves the window, which is why replying promptly is cheaper as well as better service — see the [Response Time Heatmap](/help/analytics/overview). ## 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. Facebook or Instagram, or the WhatsApp call-to-action button on your Page. If you do not reply in time, the free window never opens. Any message type, no charge. 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. ## 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. | Message type | Charged? | | ------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Free-form messages** inside an open customer service window | Free | | **Service** templates | Free | | **Utility** templates inside an open customer service window | Free | | **Utility** templates outside the window | Charged | | **Authentication** templates | Charged outside the window; some countries have separate international rates | | **Marketing** templates | Always charged | | Anything inside a **72-hour free entry point window** | Free | 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](/help/campaigns/template-approval#pick-the-right-category). ## 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](/help/campaigns/broadcasts#why-messages-fail). Reference: [messaging limits and quality rating](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/messaging-limits). ## Policies worth reading before a campaign Meta enforces these, and enforcement lands on your number rather than on us. What you may send and how you must obtain opt-in. Goods and services that may not be sold over WhatsApp. Per-country rates and announced changes. The business-facing summary of how charging works. ### 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. ## Keeping costs down Free-form replies are free. Utility templates are free inside the window. Both benefits disappear at the 24-hour mark. The 72-hour free entry point makes marketing templates free for those leads. A genuine order update is Utility. Wrapping it in an offer makes it Marketing and charges you for it — as well as risking rejection. You are charged per delivered message. Sending to numbers that are not on WhatsApp, or to people who never engage, spends money and damages quality rating at the same time. Raises your messaging limit and removes the unverified-business ceiling. ## Related Categories, rejection reasons and how to fix them. Sending to many people at once. What Linkiasoft charges, separately from Meta. Turning ad comments into conversations. The same windows on Meta's other two channels — where no template can reopen them.