Meta pricing and free service messages
Each business phone number gets 1,000 delivered service messages free from Meta every month. Meta charges from the 1,001st delivered service message for that number in that month. You do not pay Meta for every message you send.
This policy took effect on October 1, 2026, at midnight in the WhatsApp Business Account's time zone. This guide was updated on October 3, 2026, using Meta's payment-method notice to businesses, which announced the monthly service-message allowance.
Who charges you
There are two separate charges when you use Tyxter to send production WhatsApp messages:
| Charge | Who bills it | Where you pay |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp message delivery, after any applicable Meta allowance or exemption | Meta, directly to your business | Your own credit card or other payment method in Meta's Billing Hub |
| Tyxter transport and other Tyxter services | Tyxter | Your Tyxter balance and billing account |
Tyxter is a Meta Tech Provider. Meta's charges never debit your Tyxter balance and are not included in your Tyxter invoice. Adding Tyxter credit does not fund your Meta account; adding a card in Meta does not top up Tyxter.
Meta's free allowance does not waive Tyxter's transport fee. Tyxter charges its plan-discounted transport fee when Meta accepts a production WhatsApp send, including service messages that Meta delivers within the free allowance. See Billing for Tyxter's prices and Tyxter and Meta for account ownership.
Which messages qualify
A service message is a non-template reply sent inside the 24-hour customer service window. A customer's message opens that window, and each new message from the customer restarts it. Ordinary text, image, document, or audio replies can be service messages, whether a person or your automation sends them.
| Message type | How the service-message allowance applies |
|---|---|
| Service messages | The first 1,000 delivered per business phone number each month are free from Meta; subsequent deliveries are charged. |
| Utility templates | Separate Meta category pricing applies, including inside the 24-hour customer service window. These templates do not use the service-message allowance. |
| Marketing and authentication templates | Separate Meta category pricing applies. These templates do not use the service-message allowance. |
The allowance counts delivered messages, not conversations, contacts, or API requests. Several replies in one conversation can consume several messages. A message that is not delivered does not consume this delivered-message allowance.
The allowance belongs to each business phone number, not to your Tyxter organization or project, and not to the WABA as a whole. Two business phone numbers each have their own 1,000-message allowance. It renews every month.
The 24-hour window determines when you can send a non-template reply; it does not make every reply free. Outside that window, use an approved template. The monthly allowance does not extend the window.
Examples for one phone number in one month
These examples count only service-message deliveries, before any other applicable Meta exemptions. They exclude template messages and Tyxter fees.
| Delivered service messages | Free from Meta | Subject to Meta's service-message rate |
|---|---|---|
| 800 | 800 | 0 |
| 1,000 | 1,000 | 0 |
| 1,250 | 1,000 | 250 |
If one number delivers 1,250 service messages and another delivers 800, the first has 250 deliveries subject to Meta's rate; the second has none. Their allowances are counted separately.
Add a payment method in Meta
Meta's notice states that a business without a payment method can have its first 1,000 service messages per phone number delivered each month, but Meta will not deliver the 1,001st and subsequent service messages without a payment method. Keep a valid payment method configured before you reach that point.
- Open WhatsApp Manager for the business that owns your WhatsApp Business Account.
- Open Billing & payments / Billing Hub (Central de Cobrança) for that account.
- Add or confirm your payment method, and review any payment problems shown by Meta.
If you manage several businesses, Meta's notice recommends opening Partner overview (Visão geral do parceiro) in WhatsApp Manager, enabling the Payment (Pagamento) column from the View (Visualizar) menu, and expanding each business to check its accounts. Accounts marked No (Não) need a valid payment method.
The free allowance does not bypass account registration or sending restrictions. If Tyxter reports meta_payment_method_required, add a valid payment method in Meta and follow the connection recovery guidance, even if your volume is below 1,000 messages. The allowance is not a guarantee that an unconfigured account can connect or send.
Check rates and actual charges
Use Meta's pricing documentation and rate cards for the applicable message category, recipient market, account currency, and effective date. Meta also describes the change in its service and non-template message pricing guidance. Check your own Meta Billing Hub for actual usage, charges, and payment status.
Tyxter's usage data is not your Meta invoice or an authoritative remaining-free-messages counter. A null estimated_external_meta_cost means an estimate is unavailable, not that Meta charged zero. Meta's account records and invoice remain authoritative. See Billing for how Tyxter reports external estimates separately.
Sandbox messages are simulated within Tyxter. They do not reach Meta, incur Meta charges, or consume this Meta allowance.