Straight answers about WhatsApp for business
Costs, setup, rules and choices, answered in plain words, with sources and the date we checked.
Costs and pricing
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in India?
Using the WhatsApp Business API in India costs two things: Meta's per-message charges for template messages, which depend on the template's category (marketing costs the most), and a monthly fee to the provider whose software you use. Replies you send inside the 24-hour customer service window are free under Meta's published pricing.
Read the answer Costs and pricingHow does WhatsApp's per-message pricing work?
Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges businesses on the WhatsApp Business Platform for each template message delivered, at a rate set by the template's category (marketing, utility or authentication) and the customer's country code. Non-template replies inside an open 24-hour customer service window are free, and so are utility templates sent inside that window.
Read the answer Costs and pricingAre replies to customers on WhatsApp free?
Under Meta's published pricing, replies to a customer are free if you send them within 24 hours of the customer's last message, because the customer service window is open. After 24 hours you can only send an approved template, and templates are charged.
Read the answerSetting up
WhatsApp Business app vs API: which do you need?
The WhatsApp Business app is Meta's free app for small businesses that reply by hand from a phone. The WhatsApp Business Platform (API) is for businesses that need software to answer, automate or share chats across a team; it's paid per template message. Most API setups use a dedicated number; some providers support Meta's "coexistence" option, which keeps an app number on both, with limits.
Read the answer Setting upCan I use my existing number for the WhatsApp Business API?
Usually the WhatsApp Business API needs a number that isn't registered on the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app, so you either use a new, dedicated number or move your current number off the app. Meta also offers coexistence, through providers that support it, which keeps a WhatsApp Business app number working on both, with some app features switched off.
Read the answer Setting upHow long does WhatsApp Business API setup take?
Getting onto the WhatsApp Business API usually takes a few days, mostly waiting on Meta: setting up a Meta Business account, registering the number and, optionally, verifying the business. Each message template then needs Meta's review, which Meta says can take up to 24 hours.
Read the answerExplained
What is a WhatsApp message template?
A WhatsApp message template is a message format that Meta has reviewed and approved, which a business must use to start a conversation or to message a customer after the 24-hour customer service window has closed. Each template has a category (marketing, utility or authentication) that sets its price, and placeholders like {{1}} for details such as a name or a time.
Read the answer ExplainedWhat are WhatsApp messaging limits?
WhatsApp messaging limits cap how many unique customers a business can message outside the customer service window in a rolling 24 hours. New business portfolios start at 250; verifying the business or sending 2,000 good-quality messages in 30 days lifts it to 2,000, and it then rises automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited as long as quality stays high.
Read the answerHow to
How do I get customers to opt in on WhatsApp?
Before a business messages someone first on WhatsApp, Meta requires that person's opt-in: a clear statement that they agree to receive messages from your business, by name. You can collect it on your website, by SMS, on a call or in person, as long as it's clear, and you must honour opt-outs.
Read the answer How toHow do I reduce no-shows with WhatsApp reminders?
Send a WhatsApp reminder before each appointment that the customer can answer in one reply, to confirm or to reschedule, and act on the reply straight away so the freed slot can be rebooked. Use an approved utility template and send it only to customers who agreed to booking updates.
Read the answer How toHow do I auto-reply on WhatsApp after business hours?
On the free WhatsApp Business app, set an away message under business tools to send a fixed reply outside your hours. If you want the question actually answered and the booking made after hours, you need software on the WhatsApp Business API, such as an AI front desk that replies from your own information.
Read the answerChoosing a tool
What is an AI receptionist?
An AI receptionist is software that handles a business's customer messages the way a front desk would: it answers questions from the business's own information, books appointments, sends reminders and passes anything it can't handle to a person. WAnee goes further: a whole AI front desk for WhatsApp and Instagram, a crew that greets, answers, books and follows up.
Read the answer Choosing a toolAI receptionist vs chatbot: what's the difference?
A chatbot follows rules or flows that someone designs: buttons, keywords and fixed answers. An AI receptionist understands the customer's own words and answers from the business's information, books and hands over, without a flow being drawn first. Chatbots suit fixed processes; AI receptionists suit open questions.
Read the answer Choosing a toolHow do I choose a WhatsApp automation tool for my business?
Start from the work you want off your plate. Answering and booking points to an AI receptionist; campaigns point to a marketing platform; complex flows point to a chatbot builder. Then compare the real monthly cost (plan plus Meta's message charges), team seats, AI limits, channels, languages and setup support.
Read the answerKeep every customer smiling.
Even at 2am. We set WAnee up with you, then she answers the next message for you.
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