How Much Should I Pay for Whatsapp for Business Pricing

WhatsApp is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, a social messaging app that exists. Sending personal messages is free. But the question remains, is Whatsapp business free?

It is important to answer this question about WhatsApp business pricing. Why? Because it makes it easier for the business owner to plan as well as decide if using the app is worth it.

Are you in the same shoes? This post was put together for you. We will take a look at whether this app is free or not and how much it costs if it isn’t free. Grab a cup of coffee as this promises to be an interesting read.

• Part One: Is WhatsApp business free to use?
• Part Two: How much does WhatsApp business cost?

Part One: Is WhatsApp business free to use?

If you run a business and you get wind about WhatsApp business, you immediately consider it a great option. Why shouldn’t you? After all, it has been in existence for a while and it is clearly the best invention for messaging.

However, one question comes to mind, is WhatsApp business free just like WhatsApp personal? According to the company, downloading WhatsApp business on both iOS and Android is without charge. This should be great news, at least you aren’t paying to get the app.

The app was designed to benefit the small business owner. With this app, small business owners can interact seamlessly with their customers and prospects. To make it more business-friendly, there are several tools at your disposal. All of these are geared at helping you automate messages, sort them, and respond quickly to inquiries.

Isn’t this amazing? It works almost exactly like the regular WhatsApp since you can send texts, videos, and images. Here are some features you’ll enjoy from using WhatsApp business:

1. Business profile – This shows important information about your business such as company name, website, and email.
2. Messaging tools – These allow you to create automated messages to respond when you aren’t available as well as broadcast to clients.
3. Statistics – Check the results of your messages, how many were sent, which ones delivered, and which ones were read.

When you look through all of this, you begin to wonder about WhatsApp business pricing. Can you get access to all of this for free?

The basic truth about this is that using WhatsApp business is not completely free. You will need to pay for certain services on the app. Usually, when you respond to inquiries or other business messages within 24-hours, the service is free. However, after this window period, you have to pay a certain amount.

You will also incur certain costs of sending broadcasts to clients. Generally, the charges are between 5cents and 9cents depending on your location. WhatsApp business charges in India, for example, are not yet fixed, but they are around ₹ 5 to 6 for a single message.

The bottom line is that even though you need to pay for certain services on the app, they aren’t too costly. How much you’ll pay is also determined by the kind of account you have on WhatsApp business. We will take a closer look at the different accounts in the next section of this post.

Part Two: How Much does WhatsApp Business Cost?

Understanding the cost of WhatsApp business is a little complicated at first. However, when you understand that the charges are based on the kinds of accounts, it becomes easier. Thus, a great place to start this section is to talk about the different account options under WhatsApp business.

WhatsApp presents you with two options on WhatsApp business. The one you’ll choose depends on the size of your business. In this section, we will discuss each of these accounts and how much it costs to use each.

The two account options include:

1. WhatsApp Business
2. WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp Business

This version was launched in 2018. The idea behind this was to allow small business owners to use twin accounts on a single device. It has a different logo from the regular WhatsApp so it is easy to differentiate on your phone.

WhatsApp Business presents you several features to make communicating with your clients easier. One such feature is “Quick Reply.” With this, you can respond to inquiries with predefined automated messages. The feature best suits response to FAQs.

Also, you can send salutation messages, label conversations, send away messages, among several other functions. It is an enticing app as it allows you to reach your clients directly in a professional manner at no cost.

Many business owners have taken advantage of WhatsApp’s popularity to leverage on this app. The reach is very wide and customers don’t have to pay a dime to use the app.

WhatsApp Business API

By now you must be wondering which WhatsApp business service costs money. The wait is over. While WhatsApp business comes at no cost, WhatsApp Business API is not free. It was designed to cater to the communication needs of larger businesses.

Large businesses have clients all over the globe, and they need an interactive platform to communicate with them. The API platform allows for this as its capacity is designed to handle a higher message volume than WhatsApp Business. WhatsApp Business is quite limited when it comes to the services it can offer bigger companies.

On the contrary, companies can connect their Business API with WhatsApp CRM or Business Solution. This implies that with the API, they can attach countless devices and users. It is also easier to reach clients using notifications.

With the regular WhatsApp Business, you only need to download the app. It is different with the Business API. In this case, you have to gain approval from the WhatsApp team before you can use it. Another thing you should know is that you need to respond to messages within the first 24-hours. Else your response comes at a cost.

You can also make use of message templates on this platform. It is obvious that the Business API gives you a wider array of features. This makes it more useful to larger companies, hence, it comes at a cost.

WhatsApp Business API Limits and Pricing

Now that we have answered your “is WhatsApp business free” question, let’s move ahead. In this case, we will look at the WhatsApp business cost for the Business API. Understanding the billing gives you an insight into the limits and pricing of the API.

When using this service, remember the following:

1. Responses to client messages within the first 24-hours are free. Once this window period passes, you pay a fixed price for every message you send.
2. To check your invoices, visit “Business Manager” and check “Payments” under the “Settings icon.”
3. The cost of each message is dependent on the number of notifications it receives. WhatsApp considers market operations by viewing the country code of each recipient rather than the sender.

Country	Next 250K	Next 750K	Next 2M	Next 3M	Next 4M	Next 5M	Next 10M	>25M
USA	$0.0085	$0.0083	$0.0080	$0.0073	$0.0065	$0.0058	$0.0058	$0.0058
France	$0.0768	$0.0718	$0.0643	$0.0544	$0.0544	$0.0544	$0.0544	$0.0544
Germany	$0.0858	$0.0845	$0.0831	$0.0792	$0.0753	$0.0714	$0.0714	$0.0714
Spain	$0.0380	$0.0370	$0.0355	$0.0335	$0.0335	$0.0335	$0.0335

1. Fees are likely to vary depending on location. Here’s an example in the table below:

So what are the limits?

Basically, limits are determined by how many clients you can send messages every day. This is regardless of the conversation channel, existing or new.

The limits on the Business API are placed in a tier system. When you register your WhatsApp business number, you are on Tier 1. This places you at one thousand unique customers every 24-hours. Tier 2 gets you to ten thousand customers and Tier 3 gets you a hundred thousand customers every 24-hours.

What does this imply? Simple, it is possible to change tiers. There are several reasons why you may need to change tiers. Here are some reasons why you may need to change tiers:

1. Above-average quality ratings.
2. The number of users that receive your messages in a week is high.

Below is an example showing an upgrade to Tier 2 from Tier 1 because of the number of clients within a week.

How do you check your API quality rating? Visit your “WhatsApp Manager” and select “Insights.” It presents you three states differentiated by color. Low (red), medium (yellow), and High (green). When using the Business API, it is imperative to maintain top quality. This means that your messages should be personalized as much as possible, and they should follow the messaging policies.

WhatsApp Business vs. WhatsApp Business API

When it comes to WhatsApp for business pricing, it is important that you know which platform suits you better. WhatsApp Business is great for a business using actual individuals. This means that if you’ll be answering messages by yourself, and you don’t have too many clients, use WhatsApp business.

A business with a large customer base should go for the Business API instead. The reason is simple. Even though it costs you some money, there are more features to help with integration and customization.