What Meta changed in WhatsApp pricing on October 1, 2026
Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges your replies inside the customer service window after each number's first 1,000 free replies a month, and every utility template you send inside it, including what you send to Saudi customers through Tawked Notifications, the WhatsApp Business API service from Tawked (توكيد). This page lists what changed and prices one month before and after.
Tawked Notifications is a WhatsApp Business API service for Saudi businesses.No subscription: Tawked’s fee is 0.00 SAR per message today, and Meta bills you its own rates directly.
Key points
Replies have a price
Meta charges every reply you send inside the 24-hour window at the utility rate of the customer's country, about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) to a Saudi number. The price is the same whether someone on your team writes the reply, your system sends it, or a chatbot does.
Free replies, number by number
Each number's first 1,000 replies a month are free, and Meta charges every reply after them. Meta keeps the count itself, for each business number on its own, and replies get no volume discount.
Utility templates inside the window
A utility template sent inside the window is now charged from the first one, about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) to a Saudi number; until September 30, 2026, Meta did not charge it. It is not part of the free replies.
Marketing messages
Meta raised its marketing rate for a Saudi number on October 1, 2026, to about 0.2159 SAR (0.0576 USD) a message. It is the most expensive category, so a few hundred offers can be the biggest line of your month.
What stayed the same
What a customer writes to you is still free, and so is what you send in the 72 hours after a customer writes to you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad. Utility and authentication rates for a Saudi number did not change.
One month, before and after
Example: 3,000 utility templates a month, 800 of them inside the window, and 2,500 replies from one number, no marketing.
September 2026
about 88.22 SAR
October 2026
about 92.23 SAR moreabout 180.45 SAR
Before and after October 1, 2026
Under these rules, the example month above went from about 88.22 SAR to about 180.45 SAR, about 92.23 SAR more.
| Message | Until September 30, 2026 | Since October 1, 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Replies inside the window | Free | about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD), after each number's first 1,000 free replies a month |
| Utility templates inside the window | Free | about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) from the first one |
| Utility templates outside the window | about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) | Unchanged |
| Authentication messages | about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) | Unchanged |
| Marketing messages | Lower than today | about 0.2159 SAR (0.0576 USD) |
| Messages from your customer, and the 72 hours after a click-to-WhatsApp ad | Free | Free, unchanged |
Sources: Meta's FAQ on the free replies, Rates inside the service window, Meta's pricing calculator, Saudi marketChecked on October 16, 2026
What Meta's billing data showed
From the billing data Meta shows for one of Tawked's clients, read on October 16, 2026.
Utility templates inside the window became charged
Meta billed them as free until September 30, 2026, and since October 1, 2026 it has charged each one at its list rate, about 0.0401 SAR to a Saudi number.
The first replies free, the rest at their rate
In October 2026, Meta billed the replies on this client's number as free up to about reply number 1,003, then charged each one after it at about 0.0401 SAR to a Saudi number. Meta does the counting, and the calculator uses each number's first 1,000 replies a month, as Meta states it.
Replies to numbers abroad
Meta charged them at the reply rate of each number's own country, which differs from the Saudi rate.
Common questions
Are WhatsApp Business replies paid now?
Yes, since October 1, 2026 Meta charges WhatsApp Business API replies inside the customer service window after each number's first 1,000 free replies a month, at about 0.0401 SAR (0.0107 USD) each to a Saudi number. The WhatsApp cost calculator from Tawked works out your whole month in SAR and USD.
Are utility templates inside the 24-hour window free?
No, since October 1, 2026 Meta charges every utility template delivered inside the customer service window from the first one, about 0.0401 SAR to a Saudi number, and these templates are not part of the free replies. Meta bills them to you directly, and Tawked adds nothing to Meta's rates for a Saudi number.
Do click-to-WhatsApp ads still give 72 free hours?
Yes, that has not changed: when a customer writes to you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, what you send them in the next 72 hours is free, as Meta's page on messages inside the service window says. The same rule holds for what you send through Tawked Notifications.
When can Meta change WhatsApp prices again?
Meta says it updates WhatsApp rates only on the first day of a quarter, with at least a month's notice. Tawked updates this page and its table of Meta's rates for a Saudi number, dated, whenever Meta changes them.
Read next
- WhatsApp Business API in Saudi ArabiaMessages, prices, your number
- How much does the WhatsApp API cost in Saudi Arabia?Tawked's fee and Meta's dated rates by category
- WhatsApp marketing messages to customers who opted inOpt-in, Meta's limits and rate, and why only to those who agreed
- WhatsApp order and shipping notifications for your storeOrder, shipping and delivery messages, platform by platform
Start with a message your customer needs
Sign up with your mobile number
No contracts, and no card.
Connect your business number
In Meta's own window, opened from the Tawked console.
Send your first template
Try it on your own phone from the console, then send it from your system with a tk_live_ key.