Conversation-based pricing charges per customer exchange rather than per individual message, and it is one of at least four different units this market bills in.

Four units, none of them interchangeable

You cannot compare two quotes in this category without first working out what each one
counts.

  • Per message. Every message sent is billed. This is how Meta charges
    on the WhatsApp Business Platform, since per-message pricing replaced the older
    per-conversation model on 1 July 2025
    (Meta documentation).
  • Per conversation. A window of activity is billed once, regardless of
    how many messages it contains.
  • Per AI response. Each AI reply is billed. This is how AeroChat prices:
    a plan includes a set number of AI responses, and you top up if you use more. Think of it
    like a mobile data plan.
  • Per resolution. Only conversations closed without a person are
    billed. Common among the larger helpdesk products.

Converting between them

You need two numbers from your own data: how many replies it takes you to finish a
typical conversation, and what share of conversations finish without a person.

Your cost per resolution on a per-response plan is: responses per conversation, times
the rate per response, divided by your resolution rate. A business averaging four replies
per conversation and closing 60% without a person pays for roughly 6.7 responses per
resolution. One averaging two replies and closing 80% pays for 2.5. Same price list,
nearly three times the difference.

So the shape of your conversations decides which pricing model suits you, and no vendor
can tell you that from their side. See resolution
rate.

The Meta layer sits underneath all of it

Whatever your software costs, Meta’s own per-message charges apply on WhatsApp on top.
Two dates to know. Per-message pricing started 1 July 2025. Service messages, the
free-text replies inside the 24-hour window a customer’s message opens, became chargeable
on 1 October 2026, with 1,000 free per business phone number per month and no rollover.
Beyond that free tier, service messages remain free only for eligible government and
non-profit organisations, from 1 October 2026 to 31 December 2027.

The practical effect: brevity now has a price. Three short messages where one clear one
would do costs three times as much. See
WhatsApp message templates.

What to ask before you sign

  1. What exactly is a billable unit, in a sentence?
  2. What happens when I go over? A top-up I buy, or an automatic upgrade?
  3. Is there an automatic downgrade when my usage drops, or only an upgrade?
  4. Are Meta’s message fees included, marked up, or passed through at cost?

Related terms

Read next

Back to the glossary

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