Marketing messages on WhatsApp: India rates, rules and 8 samples

What are marketing messages on WhatsApp?

A marketing message is any business message that sells or promotes, such as an offer, new stock, a festival greeting, a reorder reminder or an enquiry follow-up. On the WhatsApp Business API it must be an approved marketing template; in the WhatsApp Business app it goes out as a broadcast.

Meta's categories set the price. Four cover most businesses; a fifth covers replies from Meta's own AI agent [1][4]:

After 24 hours of silence from the customer, only a template can reach them [11].

WhatsApp Business app vs WhatsApp Business API: which do you need?

Use the free WhatsApp Business app if a few people chat with customers from one phone and send the odd broadcast. Use the WhatsApp Business API, which Meta calls the WhatsApp Business Platform, for templates, automation, software or daily campaigns. A Meta partner can connect your app number, so you keep both.

A connected app number needs app version 2.24.17 or newer. App messages stay free, but broadcast lists turn read-only [15].

How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in India?

Meta charges only for delivered messages, priced by category and the recipient's country code. From 1 October 2026, a message to an Indian number costs ₹0.8631 for marketing and ₹0.115 for utility, authentication or service. The first 1,000 service replies a month per number are free, and partners can add fees.

Rates per delivered message to Indian numbers, effective 1 Oct 2026 [2]:

A free entry point window opens when a customer writes to you from a Click to WhatsApp ad on a phone and you reply within 24 hours. Marketing, utility, authentication and service messages in it cost nothing [1].

Before 1 October 2026, service replies had been free since November 2024, and in-window utility templates since July 2025. Without a payment method, Meta now stops delivering service messages after the free 1,000 [1][3].

• You can prepay Meta by UPI in Billing Hub. Your first payment method fixes prepaid or invoiced billing, and rates exclude tax [14][18].
• For exporters, rates follow the buyer's country: ₹4.2114 per marketing message to a UAE number, ₹4.6496 to a UK number and ₹10.0073 to a German one. US numbers get no marketing templates [2][9]. See how to find buyers for export from India.

What does it cost to message 1,000 customers 4 times a month?

About ₹1,956 a month in Meta charges before tax, if two of the four messages are marketing, two are utility and all are delivered. All four as marketing would cost ₹3,452, and all four as utility ₹460.

Say you distribute to 1,000 retailers who opted in. Each month you send each one two offers and two updates, and your team sends 700 replies.

That is about ₹23,474 a year. Messages WhatsApp holds back are not charged [1][9]. At 250 people a day, a campaign to 1,000 retailers takes four days until the limit rises [8]. Try your own numbers in the WhatsApp cost calculator.

How do you get the WhatsApp Business API?

Sign up through a Meta partner, or connect to Meta's Cloud API directly if you have a developer. Either way you need a Meta business portfolio, a phone number you own, a display name, a payment method and approved templates.

1. Pick a partner, or a developer for direct integration [16].
2. Create a Meta business portfolio in Meta Business Suite [17].
3. Use a number you own that can receive an SMS or a call. If it is on WhatsApp, delete that account first, unless a partner connects your WhatsApp Business app [15][17].
4. Set a display name that follows Meta's guidelines; Meta checks it when your limit rises [17].
5. Add a payment method in Billing Hub, such as UPI prepayment [18].
6. Verify your business. It is one route to the 2,000 limit, and with an approved display name it lifts your template cap from 250 to 6,000 [8][20].
7. Submit your templates early, then start with customers who opted in recently [5].

What opt-in do you need before sending WhatsApp marketing messages?

Message only people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from your business. Collect the opt-in on a form, website, call or paper; it must name your business and make clear they are agreeing to messages. Stop when anyone asks, on or off WhatsApp [6][7].

• Separate opt-ins for order updates and for offers lower the risk of blocks [6][7].
• Customers can stop your offers in WhatsApp's "Offers and announcements" setting. Sends to them then fail with error 131050 [10].
• An enquiry on IndiaMART or TradeIndia lets you answer that enquiry. Ask before you add the buyer to offers.

Add this line to your order form, quotation and website:

I agree to receive order updates, payment reminders and offers from [Business name] on WhatsApp at this number. I can reply STOP at any time.

How do you get WhatsApp templates approved?

Pick the right category, add a sample value for every variable and keep promotions out of utility templates. Review takes up to 24 hours. A template mixing an update with an offer is approved as marketing, and Meta can move a live utility template to marketing if its messages turn promotional [4][5].

Meta's common reasons for rejection [5]:

• Variables not numbered {{1}}, {{2}} in order, symbols such as # or % inside them, or too many for the length.
• Text that starts or ends with a variable.
• Requests for full card, bank account or ID numbers.
• Threats of legal action or public shaming. Send legal notices by email or post.
• The same body and footer as one of your existing templates.

A discount, a persuasive line, unclear content such as only "{{1}}", or a push to buy or renew makes a template marketing, even if the customer asked. You can request a review within 60 days [4].

What are some WhatsApp marketing message samples for Indian businesses?

Here are eight templates you can submit as written: four marketing and four utility. Each slot such as {{1}} needs a sample value when you submit, and Meta makes the final category call [4].

Name: new_stock_alert

Hi {{1}}, fresh stock of {{2}} has arrived at our godown. This week's rate is ₹{{3}} per {{4}}. Reply YES to book your quantity, or STOP to end stock updates.

Name: diwali_offer

Hi {{1}}, Diwali greetings from {{2}}! Get {{3}}% off on every order placed till {{4}}. Reply with your order list and we will confirm dispatch dates. Reply STOP to end offers.

Name: enquiry_followup

Hi {{1}}, you asked us about {{2}} on {{3}}. Do you still need it? Reply YES and we will send a fresh quote today, or STOP if you no longer need it.

Name: reorder_reminder

Hi {{1}}, your last order of {{2}} was on {{3}}. Shall we send the same quantity again at this month's rate? Reply YES to repeat it, or STOP to end these reminders.

Name: quotation_sent, with the PDF as a document header

Hi {{1}}, as you requested, please find attached quotation {{2}} for {{3}}. The prices are valid till {{4}}. Reply here if you need any change in quantity or terms.

Keep discounts out, or it turns marketing. See our proforma invoice format guide.

Name: order_dispatched

Hi {{1}}, your order {{2}} has been dispatched. LR/AWB number: {{3}}. Expected delivery date: {{4}}. If anything is wrong with the order, reply to this message.

Name: payment_due_reminder

Hi {{1}}, this is a reminder that invoice {{2}} for ₹{{3}} is due on {{4}}. You can pay by UPI to {{5}} or by bank transfer. If you have already paid, please share the UTR number. Thank you.

Meta's own utility examples include a payment reminder [4]. For Hindi and firmer versions, see payment reminder messages.

Name: delivery_check

Hi {{1}}, order {{2}} was delivered on {{3}}. Did everything arrive in good condition? Reply 1 for yes or 2 to report a problem.

Feedback requests are utility only when they name a specific order [4].

How many WhatsApp messages can a business send in a day?

A new business portfolio can start conversations with 250 different people in any 24 hours. Verifying the business, or sending high-quality templates to 2,000 people within 30 days, can lift that to 2,000. It then climbs to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited. Replies inside the 24-hour window do not count [8].

• All numbers in a business portfolio share one limit [8].
• The limit rises a level within 6 hours once you use half of it in 7 days with high-quality messages [8].
• WhatsApp also caps the marketing templates one person gets, based on how much they read. Held-back messages fail with error 131049; wait 24 hours before trying that person again [9].
• Your quality reflects 7 days of blocks, reports, mutes, archives and block reasons [11].

How do you send bulk WhatsApp messages without getting banned?

Send bulk messages only through official tools, to people who opted in: approved API templates, or broadcast lists and business broadcasts in the WhatsApp Business app. WhatsApp's terms bar bulk and auto-messaging, and its Messaging Guidelines bar unofficial apps, so bulk sender software and browser extensions can get your number banned [7][13].

Paid business broadcasts, rolling out in the app in some countries, cost ₹0.8631 per delivered message to Indian numbers. Spam reports can suspend them for three days [14].

On the API, Meta warns first. Repeated spam, wrong template categories or banned goods such as alcohol or gambling then bring a 1 or 3 day block on templates. Next come 5, 7 or 30 day blocks on all messages, an account lock and removal. Scams mean removal at once [12].

FAQ

Related reading

• Free tool · WhatsApp

  WhatsApp Business API cost calculator

  Open the calculator

• Guide · Getting paid

  Friendly payment reminder message: templates for WhatsApp, SMS and email

  Read the guide

• Guide · Finding buyers

  How to find buyers for export from India

  Read the guide

About the author

Rahul Vijay co-founded Autobot (Convogenie Technologies, Bengaluru), a Meta Business Partner.

Sources

General information, not legal advice.

All pages opened on 18 Oct 2026. Meta's pages show their own "Updated" dates, given below.

1. Meta, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, updated 30 Sep 2026 (per-message pricing since 1 Jul 2025; service and in-window utility charges and the 1,000 free service messages from 1 Oct 2026; free entry point windows; India marketing rate raised 1 Jan 2026; INR billing from 1 Jan 2026 and the 31 Dec 2026 deadline). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing
2. Meta, "Cost per message in INR on the WhatsApp Business Platform, effective October 1, 2026", INR list rates (CSV) and INR rates and volume tiers (PDF), linked from the "Rate cards and volume tiers" section of source 1. India: marketing 0.8631, utility 0.1150, authentication 0.1150, service 0.1150. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing#rate-cards-and-volume-tiers
3. Meta, Non-template messages (pricing), updated 28 Sep 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/non-template-messages
4. Meta, Template categorization, updated 15 Sep 2026 (category rules, utility examples, mixed content, automatic category updates, 60-day review). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization
5. Meta, Template review, updated 17 Jun 2026 (24-hour review, common rejection reasons, appeals). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-review
6. Meta, Obtaining user opt-in, updated 16 Jun 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/getting-opt-in
7. WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, last updated 23 Sep 2026 (opt-in, opt-out, escalation paths for automation, sensitive identifiers, enforcement). https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/
8. Meta, Messaging limits, updated 21 May 2026, and the portfolio-level limits that started on 7 Oct 2025. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits and https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/upcoming-messaging-limits-changes
9. Meta, Per-user marketing template limits, updated 17 Jun 2026 (error 131049, 24-hour wait, no marketing templates to US numbers). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits
10. Meta, Marketing templates, updated 17 Jun 2026 ("Offers and announcements" setting, error 131050). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates
11. Meta, Send messages (customer service window, message quality), updated 21 May 2026, and Template quality rating, updated 17 Jun 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messages/send-messages and https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-quality
12. Meta, Policy enforcement, updated 21 May 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/policy-enforcement
13. WhatsApp Terms of Service, effective 4 Jan 2021 ("bulk messaging, auto-messaging, auto-dialing"), and WhatsApp Messaging Guidelines, last updated 23 Sep 2026 (unofficial clients, automation). https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/terms-of-service and https://www.whatsapp.com/legal/messaging-guidelines
14. WhatsApp Help Center: How to use broadcast lists; About business broadcasts; How to create and send a business broadcast; About pricing for business broadcasts (links an INR rate card with India marketing at 0.8631 and says estimated tax is shown before checkout); Can't send business broadcasts (three-day suspension). https://faq.whatsapp.com/861663048350950 , https://faq.whatsapp.com/1524953031793983 , https://faq.whatsapp.com/1711086883148106 , https://faq.whatsapp.com/1356785542323967 , https://faq.whatsapp.com/1655751878365653
15. Meta, Onboard WhatsApp Business app users, updated 26 Jun 2026 (app version 2.24.17, free app messages, read-only broadcast lists, up to four linked devices). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/embedded-signup/onboarding-business-app-users
16. WhatsApp blog, "Introducing the WhatsApp Business App", 18 Jan 2018 (free to download; quick replies, greeting and away messages), and the WhatsApp Business Platform page (partner or direct setup). https://blog.whatsapp.com/introducing-the-whats-app-business-app and https://whatsappbusiness.com/products/business-platform/
17. Meta, Business phone numbers, updated 21 May 2026, and Display names, updated 16 Jun 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/business-phone-numbers/phone-numbers and https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/display-names
18. Meta, Prepaid billing (India, INR, UPI; balance checks include applicable taxes), updated 8 Sep 2026. https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/prepaid-billing
19. Meta, Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp overview, updated 13 Oct 2026 (Cloud API marketing support ends 13 Oct 2027; new accounts lose it from 13 Apr 2027). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/marketing-messages/overview
20. Meta, Templates overview, updated 21 May 2026 (250 or 6,000 templates per account). https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/overview