WhatsApp Business has two versions: the free app, which serves most small businesses, and the platform or API, to integrate chatbots and CRMs. Since October 1, 2026 Meta charges API service messages above 1,000 per month per number. The app you use by hand on your phone is not part of that charge.
A customer writes to you at ten at night to ask about a product. If your number is your personal one, with no setup at all, that conversation gets lost among the family voice notes. WhatsApp Business exists to prevent that, and since October 2026 it is also worth understanding which part is free and which no longer is.
Which version of WhatsApp Business do you need?
They are two different products and many people mix them up.
| WhatsApp Business app | WhatsApp Business Platform (API) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it is used | Phone and computer | Through an official provider, connected to a CRM or chatbot |
| Cost | Free | Paid per message according to its category |
| Who it is for | Small businesses, run by one or a few people | Companies with high volume, several agents or automation |
| Tools | Profile, catalog, labels, quick replies, automatic messages | All of the above via integration, templates, broadcasts, chatbots |
If you answer your messages yourself today, or with one more person, start with the app. Move to the platform when you need several people to handle the same number or a system to reply for you.
How to set up WhatsApp Business in 6 steps
- Download the WhatsApp Business app (not the regular one) from Google Play or the App Store.
- Use a number dedicated to the business. It can be mobile or landline. If you already use it on personal WhatsApp, the app lets you migrate it without losing your chats.
- Complete the profile: business name, logo, short description, hours, address, email and website. It is the first thing the person writing to you sees.
- Create the catalog with a photo, name, price and description for each product or service.
- Set up automatic messages: greeting, away message and quick replies.
- Define labels to classify each conversation by its stage in the sale.
Profile and catalog photos go at 1080 × 1080 px. See the exact sizes and safe zones in the WhatsApp image size guide.
Features that actually move sales
Product and service catalog
It shows what you sell inside the conversation, with price and photo. Keep it updated: a sold-out product that is still visible creates a useless conversation. Group it by categories if you have more than ten items.
Greeting and away messages
In Settings → Business tools you turn both on. The greeting message answers the first message; the away message, outside your hours. Two lines are enough:
Hi, thanks for writing to us. Tell us what you need and we will get back to you as soon as we can.
Quick replies
A shortcut that starts with / and pastes a long text. Use them for what you repeat all day: hours, payment methods, shipping and location. An example: /shipping to explain delivery times and costs.
Labels
They classify each chat. Three are enough to start: question, quote sent and payment pending. At the end of the week you know how many conversations were left halfway, which is the figure that matters most.
Ads that open a conversation
Facebook and Instagram ads with a Send WhatsApp message button (Click to WhatsApp) take the person straight to your chat. There is a cost benefit: when the user writes from one of those ads, Meta opens a free window of up to 7 days for the messages you send them through the platform.
How much WhatsApp Business costs in 2026 and 2027
The app is free. The charge is on the platform, and there was a change there in October 2026. Meta classifies messages like this, according to its official documentation:
- Marketing, utility and authentication: these are approved templates and can be sent at any time. They are charged.
- Service: free-form messages replying to a customer, within the 24 hours after their last message. Until September 2026 they were free. Since October 1, 2026, those above 1,000 per month per number are charged.
- Meta Business Agent: Meta’s AI for handling conversations. It has been charged since July 1, 2026 and has no free messages.
Users never pay to write to you. According to Infobae, the change affects those who use the platform through providers, CRMs, chatbots or AI, and not small businesses that reply by hand from the app. The exact rates depend on the country and are listed in Meta’s official table, so taking them from a blog or a provider is risky.
What you do with this: if you only use the app today, nothing changes. If you are thinking of a chatbot, first estimate how many conversations you would have per month. Under 1,000 service messages, the cost of that type of message is zero. Above that, every reply counts.
Chatbots and artificial intelligence on WhatsApp
A chatbot replies quickly, but replying and solving are not the same. Before hiring one, decide which questions it will answer on its own, what information it must store and when it hands the conversation to a person. Meta’s documentation clarifies that service messages can be handled by people or by a third-party AI solution, and that both count the same toward the monthly limit. We explain it in more detail in our article on AI chatbots.
Common mistakes
- Using your personal number. You mix customers with family and cannot delegate customer service.
- Not showing your hours. Customers expect an immediate reply if they cannot see when you are available.
- Sending broadcasts to people who did not ask for them. WhatsApp requires consent and you can lose the number.
- Leaving the catalog out of date. Every phantom product is a lost conversation.
- Not measuring. Without labels, you do not know how many conversations end in a sale.
If you want to learn how to turn those conversations into sales with a process, continue with how to sell more with WhatsApp Business in 7 steps. And if you would rather have it set up by someone who already does it for clients, message us on WhatsApp.
Sources
- Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing, accessed on October 24, 2026.
- Infobae, WhatsApp Business will charge for replying to messages in 2026: who it affects and who it does not (in Spanish), September 6, 2026.
- WhatsApp Business, official website.
Frequently asked questions
Is WhatsApp Business free?
The WhatsApp Business app is free. The platform (API) charges per message: marketing, utility and authentication always, and since October 1, 2026 also service messages above 1,000 per month per number.
What is the difference between the WhatsApp Business app and the API?
The app is used from your phone, with basic tools such as a catalog, labels and quick replies. The API connects through a provider to a CRM or a chatbot and is meant for high volumes and several agents.
What is the 24-hour window?
It is the time during which you can reply with free-form messages after the customer writes to you. Each of their messages restarts the 24 hours. After that period you can only send approved templates.
Can I use the same number on personal WhatsApp and on WhatsApp Business?
Not at the same time in the same app. If you already use that number on regular WhatsApp, you can migrate it to WhatsApp Business or use a different number for the business.
What size should catalog and profile photos be?
Square, 1080 × 1080 px. The size of each format, with drawings, is in our WhatsApp image size guide.