Most providers hide the real cost behind "contact sales" and a monthly plan you don't need. Here is what WhatsApp actually costs, what a provider adds on top, and how to get on the API while your number keeps working on your own phone.
Get a straight quote See the real numbers
Since 1 July 2025 Meta bills per delivered template message, not per 24-hour conversation. These are Meta's own published India rates.
| Message type | Meta's rate | When you use it |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹0.8631 | Offers, promotions, re-engagement |
| Utility | ₹0.1150 | Order updates, reminders, confirmations |
| Authentication | ₹0.1150 | OTPs and login codes |
| Service reply (inside 24h) | Free | Answering a customer who messaged you |
| Sent from your own phone (coexistence) | Free | Anything, any time |
2,000 utility notifications, 500 marketing messages, 1,000 inbound customer chats:
| Line | Cost |
|---|---|
| Meta message fees | ≈ ₹800 |
| Provider per-message fee | ≈ ₹320 |
| Monthly platform fee | ₹0 |
| Total | ≈ ₹1,120 |
At lower volume — 200 utility and 50 marketing messages — the same setup costs roughly ₹125 a month. There is no minimum and no lock-in. Rates shown are Meta's published India rate card and change from time to time; we quote against the current card.
Because the platform fee and the markup are where providers make their money — and neither is charged by WhatsApp.
| Charge | Who charges it | Can you avoid it? |
|---|---|---|
| Per-message fee | Meta | No — this is the real cost |
| Monthly platform fee | The provider | Yes |
| Markup on every message | The provider | Yes |
| Setup / onboarding fee | The provider | Yes |
A plan at ₹3,000 a month plus a percentage on every message can cost more in provider fees than in actual WhatsApp usage. For a business sending a few thousand notifications a month, that is the entire bill.
This is the part most people are never told, and it is usually the thing that decides it.
Historically, putting a number on the WhatsApp Business API meant losing it from your phone — the number was deleted from the WhatsApp Business app, your chat history went with it, and every reply afterwards had to go through a web dashboard.
Coexistence changes that. Your number runs on the API and stays live in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone. Both stay in sync.
| Standard API setup | Coexistence | |
|---|---|---|
| Number stays on your phone | No | Yes |
| Existing chat history | Lost | Kept and synced |
| Reply in your own words after 24 hours | Template only, paid | Free from your phone |
| Automation and bots | Yes | Yes |
| Contacts carried over | No | Yes |
The practical difference: a customer messaged you four days ago and you want to say "sir, your GST registration is approved." On a standard API setup that is blocked — you can only send a pre-approved, paid template. On coexistence you pick up your phone and type it. Free, instantly, in your own words.
Honest limits: group chats are not visible to the API, broadcast lists and disappearing messages are disabled while connected, linked devices need re-linking after setup, and chat history transfers once during onboarding — so it must be done properly the first time.
We are not a messaging startup. Gshilp is a managed business centre in Secunderabad, and we handle GST registration, VPOB and APOB for e-commerce sellers — including Amazon FBA sellers who need a principal or additional place of business in Telangana.
That is why our WhatsApp work looks different from a generic chatbot tool. We already know what your messages need to say, because we already send them on your behalf.
Order and shipment updates, GST filing reminders, document requests during registration, payment confirmations.
Appointment and renewal reminders, invoice notifications, enquiry replies that answer themselves.
Courier and mail arrival alerts, billing reminders, service updates.
It needs to be on the WhatsApp Business app with a real messaging history, and no payment method attached to the account.
Business portfolio, legal name, GSTIN and address — matched exactly, because mismatches cause rejections later.
The only step that needs your hands. It takes seconds, and it is what keeps the number on your phone.
Up to six months of chats. This runs once, within 24 hours of connecting — miss it and it cannot be repeated.
Templates written and submitted for approval, notifications wired to your actual systems, replies routed where you can see them.
Being straight about scope saves everyone time.
WhatsApp does not permit unsolicited blasts. Marketing messages go only to people who have opted in. Providers promising otherwise are risking your number, not theirs.
We do not use modified WhatsApp clients or automation libraries. Those breach WhatsApp's Business Terms and get numbers banned. This is the official Cloud API, through an authorised provider.
The green Official Business Account badge requires Meta's own "notability" test — press coverage as a well-known brand. Nobody can sell you one.
Number checks, business verification and template approval are Meta's timelines, not ours. We will tell you what is realistic rather than what you want to hear.
There is no fee from Meta to use the API — you pay per message. In India that is ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.1150 per utility or authentication message. Replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free. What varies between providers is the monthly platform fee and any markup they add, which is why quotes differ so widely for the identical service.
Access to the API is free — Meta hosts it at no charge. You pay only for template messages you send. Most providers then add a monthly subscription and a per-message markup on top. Those fees are the provider's, not WhatsApp's, and they are avoidable.
Yes. It is called coexistence, and it has been available in India since May 2025. Your number runs on the API for automation while staying live in the WhatsApp Business app on your phone, with messages synced both ways. Messages you send from the phone are free and are not restricted by the 24-hour window.
Not with coexistence — up to six months of chat history and your contacts transfer across during setup. With a standard API migration you would lose it, and could not use that number on the WhatsApp Business app again unless you deregistered it.
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens in which you can reply freely in your own words at no cost. Once it closes, business-initiated messages must use a pre-approved template and are charged. Messages sent from your own phone under coexistence are exempt from this entirely.
No. Your existing business number can be used, provided it is on the WhatsApp Business app with genuine messaging activity and has no payment method attached to the account. We check eligibility before anything is changed.
Only to people who have opted in, and only using approved marketing templates. WhatsApp enforces this with warnings, template blocks, and eventually permanent removal. Any provider offering unrestricted bulk sending is putting your number at risk.
Connecting the number is quick once eligibility is confirmed. Business verification and message template approval are Meta's processes and have no published turnaround, so we give you a realistic range rather than a promise we cannot keep.
We will tell you what it costs at your volume, whether your number qualifies for coexistence, and what we would set up first. No monthly plan to sign.
Message us on WhatsApp anand@gandhishilp.com
AVGAN SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED · 610, A-Block, Chandralok Complex, Paradise Circle, Secunderabad 500003, Telangana · GSTIN 36AAHCP6783B1Z9
WhatsApp is a trademark of Meta Platforms, Inc. Gshilp is an independent service provider and is not endorsed by or affiliated with Meta. Rates quoted are Meta's published India rates and are subject to change.