Meta does not charge for having a WhatsApp Business Account. It charges per message, and it publishes its prices on its own rate card. Everything below is what Meta bills to your account directly. Dunnflow adds nothing on top of it.
Free: your first 1,000 replies each month
If a customer messages you, you can reply for the next 24 hours. Meta calls these replies service messages. Since 1 October 2026, each business phone number gets 1,000 delivered service messages free every month, and Meta charges per message from the 1,001st. The count is of messages, not customers or conversations, so a booking chat with five replies uses five. Many small businesses stay inside the 1,000, but a busy one may not.
Paid: when you start the message
A reminder, a confirmation sent later, a receipt, a fee notice or an offer is a message you start, so it needs an approved template and Meta charges for it per message. A utility message is anything transactional, such as a reminder or a receipt. A marketing message is anything promotional, and it usually costs more. Utility templates sent while the customer's 24-hour window is open used to be free; since 1 October 2026 they are charged too. Meta changes its rates from time to time, so check the current India rates on Meta's own rate card.
GST and the card
Meta adds 18 percent GST to its invoice. Billing is monthly, in rupees, to a Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card on the account. RuPay cards and UPI are not accepted for this, so a business that only has a RuPay card needs to arrange a Visa or Mastercard before it can send reminders.
A worked example
A clinic with 300 appointments a month sends two reminders each, so 600 utility messages. It sends one recall offer to 500 past patients, so 500 marketing messages. Its assistant sends 800 replies to enquiries, which is inside the free 1,000. So Meta bills the clinic for 1,100 messages at the rates on its rate card, plus GST. The message cost calculator on this site gives a rough estimate for your own numbers.