Meta Will Start Charging Kenyan Businesses for WhatsApp Customer Replies

From October 1, businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will get 1,000 free service messages each month before paying KSh0.52 for additional delivered messages.

Meta is changing how it charges businesses using WhatsApp in Kenya, with service messages becoming billable from October 1, 2026. Each business phone number will get 1,000 delivered service messages free every month, after which Meta will charge about KSh0.52 for each additional delivered service message.

What counts as a service message?

Service messages are replies sent after a customer starts a conversation with a business. A customer asking whether an order has shipped, following up on a delivery or asking a support question can all lead to this kind of exchange. These messages fall within WhatsApp's 24-hour customer service window.

Until September 30, Meta does not apply the new per-message service charge to these replies. From October 1, the first 1,000 delivered service messages on each business phone number will remain free, while unused messages will expire at the end of each month rather than carrying over.

Utility messages are changing too

The other part of the change affects utility messages, which businesses use for transactional updates such as order confirmations, payment notifications and delivery alerts. These messages will become chargeable from October 1 even when they are sent inside the 24-hour customer service window, and they are not covered by the 1,000 free service messages.

That means a business can still have an active customer conversation and receive a bill for a utility template sent during it. Meta has previously allowed qualifying utility messages sent inside the 24-hour window without a separate charge, so the change alters how businesses will be billed for these routine updates.

What will Kenyan businesses pay?

The Kenyan service-message rate is $0.0040, or about KSh0.52, for each delivered message after the free allowance has been used. A business sending 10,000 delivered service messages in a month would therefore pay for 9,000 of them, resulting in a Meta charge of KSh4,680.

At 20,000 delivered service messages, the chargeable volume would rise to 19,000, bringing the bill to KSh9,880. These figures cover Meta's messaging charge, while businesses using third-party providers may have separate software or platform fees.

Who is affected?

The change applies to businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform, including companies that connect WhatsApp to customer-service software, CRMs, chatbots and other systems. It does not mean ordinary Kenyans will start paying to message businesses on WhatsApp. The charge is applied to messages delivered by businesses through the Business Platform.

The standard WhatsApp Business app is a separate product from the Business Platform, so businesses using only the app to respond to customers from a phone are not subject to this particular platform charge.

September 30 is the deadline

Businesses using the affected platform need to have a payment method on file by September 30, ahead of the new pricing taking effect the following day. Meta's updated guidance says service-message delivery can be affected when a Business Platform account has no payment method once the free allowance has been exhausted.

From October 1, businesses using the WhatsApp Business Platform will have to account for the cost of the messages they send.