WhatsApp cost from 1 October 2026

Meta, not AtlasNow, sets Cloud API prices. Inbound customer messages stay free. Until 30 September 2026, a person answering inside the 24-hour window is also free.

From 1 October 2026, 00:00 in the WABA timezone: a non-template reply by a person is a service message. Meta charges it at the same rate as utility for that market. Each HQ number gets 1,000 free service messages per month. They do not roll over. The 1,001st onward is billed on the WhatsApp invoice (the brand’s WABA, or P2P’s if we pass through).

Still free: the customer writing in; the first 1,000 service replies that month; messages in Meta’s click-to-WhatsApp free entry-point window. Marketing blasts stay billed. Utility templates inside the 24-hour window also start being billed on 1 October.

AtlasNow does not turn the inbox into Meta Business Agent. A person replies. We will show remaining free service messages on the desk. We do not invent a new Atlas fee on those replies until the founder locks it.