# Billing for WhatsApp messages

**Customer.io does not charge for WhatsApp messages**, but Meta and Twilio—the partners who handle WhatsApp messaging—do. Learn about the costs you can expect when sending WhatsApp messages.

## Meta’s pricing[](#metas-pricing)

Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, charges for WhatsApp messaging on a per-message basis. Pricing varies by template category and the recipient’s country. They also offer volume-based pricing tiers.

For example, a message based on a “utility” template to a recipient in the United States costs $0.0034 per message. See [Meta’s WhatsApp pricing page](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing) for the full list of rates for templates, countries, and message volume tiers. Template categories include:

*   **Marketing**: Promotional messages, offers, and announcements you initiate
*   **Utility**: Transactional messages like order confirmations or account updates you initiate
*   **Authentication**: One-time passcodes and verification messages you initiate

## Twilio’s per-message pricing[](#twilios-per-message-pricing)

As of February 2026, Twilio charges $0.005 per WhatsApp message. If you send WhatsApp messages through Twilio, you’ll pay this amount in addition to Meta’s fees.

See [Twilio’s WhatsApp pricing](https://www.twilio.com/en-us/whatsapp/pricing) for more information.