Available nowPro plan
Automated order confirmation
A WhatsApp confirmation when an order is placed, in your customer's language.
Read more →WhatsApp Business API cost calculator
Enter how many marketing and utility messages you send per month, the per-message rates for your customers' country from Meta's rate card, and your provider's platform fee. The calculator estimates the monthly API bill and compares it with a flat-price app.
The rates shown are placeholders, not Meta's prices. Replace them with the current rates for your customers' country. Open Meta's rate card →
Estimated monthly cost
- WhatsApp Business API
- $70.00
- Message fees
- $70.00
- Platform fee
- $0.00
- WhatsApp Pilot Pro (linked device)Flat price, no per-message fee from the app
- $15.00
- Difference (per month)
- $55.00
This is an estimate from the numbers you entered. It is not a quote. The two options are not identical: the API supports bulk broadcasts and multiple agents; a linked device sends from your own number.
This tool runs in your browser. The numbers and text you enter are not sent to or stored on our servers.
How to estimate your WhatsApp API cost
- Count your monthly messages by category: marketing (offers, cart reminders) and utility (order confirmations, shipping updates).
- Open Meta's rate card and copy the per-message rate for the country your customers are in. Rates depend on the recipient's country code, not yours. Our pricing guide lists the October 2026 USD rates for 27 markets.
- Add the monthly fee of your Business Solution Provider or app, if it has one.
How Meta charges for the WhatsApp Business API
Since 1 July 2025, Meta charges per delivered message rather than per 24-hour conversation. The rate depends on the message category and on the country code of the recipient. Since 1 October 2026, replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are charged too.
| Category | Typical use | How it is charged |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Offers, cart reminders, back-in-stock promotions | Charged per delivered message |
| Utility | Order confirmations, shipping updates | Charged per delivered message (since 1 October 2026 also inside an open customer service window) |
| Authentication | One-time passcodes | Charged per delivered message |
| Service | Replies to a customer who wrote to you | Charged per message at the utility rate since 1 October 2026 |
The costs people forget
- The provider's platform fee or markup on top of Meta's rates
- Template approval time and rejected templates
- Marketing messages to countries with higher rates
- Engineering or agency time to connect the API to the store
API or linked device: which fits a small store
The Business API is built for scale: several agents, high volumes, official green-tick accounts and broadcast campaigns. It costs per message and needs a provider.
A linked-device app such as WhatsApp Pilot connects the WhatsApp number you already use by scanning a QR code, like WhatsApp Web. It sends order and recovery messages from that number for a flat USD 15 every 30 days, with no per-message fee from the app. It is not a bulk broadcast tool, and it depends on your phone staying active on WhatsApp.
Run WhatsApp for your Shopify store automatically
WhatsApp Pilot adds the WhatsApp button to your storefront for free and, on Pro, sends order confirmations, cancellation notices, abandoned-checkout reminders and back-in-stock alerts from your own number.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I find the official WhatsApp API rates?
On Meta's WhatsApp Business Platform pricing page, which publishes a rate card per country and category. Rates change, so always copy the current values.
Does the calculator include my provider's fees?
Only if you enter them. Add your provider's monthly platform fee in the platform fee field. If the provider adds a markup per message, add it to the rates.
Are customer replies charged?
Yes, since 1 October 2026. Replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are billed per message at the utility rate, and so are utility templates sent inside that window. Only the 72-hour free entry point window after a Click-to-WhatsApp ad is free.
Is the rate based on my country or the customer's?
The customer's. Meta applies the rate of the recipient's country code.
Does WhatsApp Pilot charge per message?
No. WhatsApp Pilot Pro is a flat USD 15 every 30 days, billed through Shopify, with no per-message or per-conversation fee from the app.
Is a linked-device app a replacement for the API?
For a single store sending order and recovery messages from its own number, usually yes. For bulk broadcasts, several agents or an official business account, the API is the right tool.
Related features
Available nowPro plan
Abandoned cart recovery
Up to three timed WhatsApp reminders, each with an optional discount or free shipping.
Read more →Available nowPro plan
Order cancellation notice
An automatic WhatsApp notice to the customer when you cancel an order in Shopify.
Read more →Guides
WhatsApp Business API pricing explained (and when a Shopify store does not need the API)
WhatsApp Business API pricing in 2026: Meta's per-message rates by country (US, UK, India, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, UAE and more), the October 2026 changes, provider fees, and when to skip the API.
WhatsApp Business app vs WhatsApp Business API vs linked device: which one does a store need?
The three ways a store can run WhatsApp: the free Business app, the paid Business API through a provider, and linked-device apps that automate your own number.
WhatsApp apps for Shopify compared: connection type, free plans and pricing (October 2026)
A factual comparison of WhatsApp apps for Shopify (3 October 2026): connection type, free plans, published pricing, and what to check before installing.
More free tools
WhatsApp link and QR code generator
Create a wa.me click-to-chat link with a pre-filled message, plus a QR code you can download.
Open the tool →WhatsApp message templates for stores
Ready-to-copy order confirmation, COD, cancellation, cart recovery and back-in-stock messages in four languages.
Open the tool →