With more than two billion users around the world, WhatsApp has become the number one messaging service. It is therefore not surprising that businesses are increasingly using WhatsApp to communicate with their customers. In fact, just one year after WhatsApp Business launched, the service boasted more than five million users. From providing personalized recommendations to rich, real-time notifications, WhatsApp Business allows organizations to create meaningful interactions with customers, becoming a critical part of the customer experience.

WhatsApp will be making changes to its pricing model starting February 1, 2022. Here’s what you need to know about the new WhatsApp pricing model, and how it impacts your business.

How the new pricing model works

The WhatsApp Business API will be switching from a notification-based pricing model to a conversation-based model. This means that instead of being charged for templated notifications sent, businesses will be charged per conversation based on who initiated the conversation (you or the customer). Let’s break it down further.

Old pricing model

Chargeable: Charged per business-initiated message template delivered

Free of charge: User-initiated conversation is free for up to 24 hours from the last user message received

New pricing model

Chargeable: Charged per 24-hour WhatsApp conversation session (both business-initiated and user-initiated)

Free of charge:

  1. Unlimited messages within the 24-hour conversion session will not incur additional charges
  2. The first 1000 conversations each month are free
  3. User-initiated conversations that originate from ads that click to WhatsApp or Facebook page CTAs will be free

What is the difference between business-initiated and user-initiated sessions?

  • User-initiated sessions (e.g., general support inquiries): If a user messages you and you respond within 24 hours, you pay for a user-initiated conversation. Businesses can send free-form messages within this 24-hour conversation window.
  • Business-initiated sessions (e.g., delivery notifications): If you message a user, you pay for a business-initiated session. These messages will require a message template.

All conversations are measured in 24-hour sessions, and these sessions begin when the first message is delivered by a business, either in response to a user-initiated message or in the form of a business-initiated message template. Do note that a conversation starts only when a message has been delivered. Non-delivered messages will not count as the start of a conversation.

Within this 24-hour session, businesses and customers can exchange any number of messages without incurring additional cost. Each 24-hour conversation session is only charged once. When one conversation session ends, any new message sent from a business will start a new, chargeable conversation. Here are some examples of conversational flows and related charges.

The rates for conversations vary by country and region. For a full pricing table, see Facebook’s page.

How will this new pricing model benefit businesses?

8x8 Inc.

WhatsApp believes in the power of conversations to build meaningful customer relationships, which is why the shift in pricing model encourages businesses to provide customers with a conversational experience and always-on presence.

If you have been using WhatsApp to send multiple notifications, this is great news for you. Now you can send an unlimited number of messages within a 24-hour session, rather than being charged for every message. Go ahead and keep customers in the loop with proactive notifications, such as personalized product recommendations, in-stock updates, schedule reminders, delivery notifications, and the list goes on! Just ensure that you are not spamming them as that will be extremely counterproductive.

Conversations that are initiated by the customer through Facebook or Instagram ads and continue on WhatsApp are free as well, allowing you to interact with customers across the entire user journey. Plus, the first 1000 conversations every month are free per WhatsApp Business account! This gives your business the perfect opportunity to build experiences on WhatsApp without having to pay. What else are you waiting for?

Start having meaningful conversations with your customers

If you are still not using WhatsApp Business as a communication channel, it’s time to rethink your customer engagement strategy. 8x8 offers a WhatsApp Business API as part of the 8x8 Chat Apps solution, so you can integrate WhatsApp seamlessly and easily. To learn more about how we can help enhance your communications, check out the 8x8 Chat Apps API or contact us at hello-cpaas@8x8.com.