How much the WhatsApp Business API costs and its limits
Connecting the WhatsApp Business API through AISAR involves two separate bills: the AISAR subscription for the channel and users — and Meta's own per-conversation pricing on top. Here's what the AISAR subscription covers, what gets billed directly by Meta, and what rate limits apply to the channel.
What you need to know
- The AISAR subscription pays for access to the platform — the channel itself, the tools, and the users. Conversations on the WhatsApp Business API are billed separately by Meta, charged to the payment method attached to your WhatsApp Business Account inside Meta — two different bills.
- AISAR doesn't add its own markup per WhatsApp Business message on top of the subscription — the channel itself is covered by the plan or added as an extra-channel add-on.
What the AISAR subscription covers
| Plan | What's included |
|---|---|
| Start | Basic platform access for a single channel. |
| Business | 3 channels and 5 users — usually enough to run WhatsApp Business alongside other channels. |
| Extra channel | Billed above the count included in your plan — if WhatsApp Business is an extra channel for you. |
| Extra user | Billed above the count included in your plan. |
| Trial | 7 days of the Business plan with no card required — try the WhatsApp Business API alongside the other channels before paying. |
Current plan prices and the cost of extra channels and users are on the pricing page, where the amount is shown in your own currency.
What Meta bills directly
Meta prices conversations by category — marketing, service, and authentication messages are billed differently, and the exact rates depend on the recipient's country and change on Meta's own schedule. Check current pricing and your balance in the Meta Business Suite tied to your WhatsApp Business Account — AISAR doesn't display or store these figures.
Rate limits
Unlike regular WhatsApp or a personal Telegram account, AISAR sets no messages-per-minute or daily cap of its own in the broadcast settings for the WhatsApp Business API — the channel's throughput is managed by Meta at the account level. For what this looks like on a similar official channel, see Instagram limits and blocks.
A separate, meaningful limit is the 24-hour messaging window: free-form text only works for 24 hours after the customer's last message; outside it, an approved template is required. That is a platform rule, unrelated to billing — see The WhatsApp Business 24-hour window: how it works.
Common issues
| Symptom | Cause and what to do |
|---|---|
| Messages fail to send with an error about the payment method | That's a Meta-side bill, not AISAR: check the payment method and spending limit for the WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Suite. |
| It's unclear what exactly AISAR is charging for | AISAR only bills the subscription — the plan, extra channels, and extra users. Charges for the messages themselves are on Meta's account, separate from AISAR. |
| The plan channel limit is reached | The company's plan caps how many channels can be connected at once. Disconnect an unused channel, or raise the limit with an extra-channel add-on. |
See also
For connecting the channel, see Connecting WhatsApp Business (WABA). For templates and the messaging window, see WABA templates: categories, creation, variables and The WhatsApp Business 24-hour window: how it works.