# WhatsApp Business API pricing in the UAE

> Meta's WhatsApp Business API rates for the UAE from 1 October 2026, per message, with what a month costs for a salon, a dental clinic and a property brokerage.

Canonical: https://heykiko.io/whatsapp-api-pricing/uae
Last updated: 2026-11-07

What Meta charges per WhatsApp message to UAE numbers, what a month costs for a salon, a dental clinic and a property brokerage, and why customers with foreign numbers cost a different rate.

## Meta's rates in the UAE

Per delivered message, from Meta's USD rate card for United Arab Emirates effective 1 October 2026.

| Message | What it's for | Rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marketing | Offers and announcements, to customers who opted in | $0.0576 |
| Utility | Booking reminders, order and delivery updates | $0.0157 |
| Service | Replies inside the 24-hour window, after 1,000 free a month per number | $0.0157 |
| Authentication | One-time passwords to UAE numbers, from a business based there | $0.0157 |
| Authentication (international) | One-time passwords to UAE numbers from a business based abroad | $0.051 |

Utility messages are charged at this rate up to 100,000 a month and authentication up to 300,000; Meta's lower volume rates apply after that. Source: [Meta](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing)

## What a month costs in the UAE

- For a salon in Abu Dhabi with 400 chats a month and about 3 replies each, 1,200 replies are 200 paid after the free 1,000: $3.14. Adding 600 reminders and updates ($9.42) brings Meta's bill to about $12.56 a month.
- For a dental clinic in Dubai with 1,200 chats a month and about 4 replies each, 4,800 replies are 3,800 paid after the free 1,000: $59.66. Adding 1,500 reminders and updates ($23.55) and 500 offers ($28.80) brings Meta's bill to about $112.01 a month.
- For a property brokerage in Dubai with 3,000 chats a month and about 6 replies each, 18,000 replies are 17,000 paid after the free 1,000: $266.90. Adding 2,000 reminders and updates ($31.40) and 4,000 offers ($230.40) brings Meta's bill to about $528.70 a month.

## How Meta bills UAE businesses

Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account, not HeyKiko, and HeyKiko adds nothing to Meta's fees.

- **Expats' home numbers cost their home rate**: Many UAE residents keep a number from home. A message to an Indian number costs India's rate ($0.0118 for marketing), not the UAE's $0.0576.
- **Marketing is the costly kind**: A UAE marketing message is $0.0576, about 4 times a utility message at $0.0157.
- **International OTP senders**: A business abroad sending one-time passwords to UAE numbers pays $0.051 each.
- **Ad replies, a free week**: Answer a customer who came from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, and none of your messages to them carry Meta's fee for up to 7 days.

Source: [Meta: WhatsApp Business Platform pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing)

## Questions about WhatsApp pricing in the UAE

### How much does a WhatsApp Business API message cost in the UAE?

From 1 October 2026, Meta charges $0.0576 per marketing message and $0.0157 per utility or authentication message to UAE numbers. Service replies are free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then $0.0157 each.

### Is WhatsApp cheaper in the UAE or Saudi Arabia?

Marketing costs the same, $0.0576, in both; utility is $0.0157 in the UAE and $0.0107 in Saudi Arabia.

### Does HeyKiko add a margin to WhatsApp fees?

No. Meta bills your WhatsApp account directly and HeyKiko adds nothing.

## Related

- [HeyKiko in the UAE](https://heykiko.io/ai-agent/uae)
- [Customer support in the UAE](https://heykiko.io/ai-customer-support/uae)
- [Sales and leads in the UAE](https://heykiko.io/ai-sales-agent/uae)
- [WhatsApp API cost calculator](https://heykiko.io/tools/whatsapp-api-cost-calculator)