# WhatsApp Business API pricing in the UK

> Meta's WhatsApp Business API rates for the UK from 1 October 2026, per message, with what a month costs for a dental practice, a letting agent and an online shop.

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

What Meta charges per WhatsApp message in the UK, and what a month costs for a dental practice, a letting agent and an online shop.

## Meta's rates in the UK

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

| Message | What it's for | Rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Marketing | Offers and announcements, to customers who opted in | $0.0635 |
| Utility | Booking reminders, order and delivery updates | $0.022 |
| Service | Replies inside the 24-hour window, after 1,000 free a month per number | $0.022 |
| Authentication | One-time passwords to UK numbers | $0.022 |

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 UK

- For a letting agent in Leeds with 220 chats a month and about 4 replies each, all 880 replies are inside the free 1,000, so they cost nothing. Adding 200 reminders and updates ($4.40) brings Meta's bill to about $4.40 a month.
- For a dental practice in Manchester with 1,200 chats a month and about 4 replies each, 4,800 replies are 3,800 paid after the free 1,000: $83.60. Adding 1,500 reminders and updates ($33.00) and 300 offers ($19.05) brings Meta's bill to about $135.65 a month.
- For an online shop with 6,000 chats a month and about 3 replies each, 18,000 replies are 17,000 paid after the free 1,000: $374.00. Adding 12,000 reminders and updates ($264.00) and 8,000 offers ($508.00) brings Meta's bill to about $1,146.00 a month.

## How Meta bills UK businesses

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

- **Marketing is the expensive kind**: At $0.0635 a message, UK marketing costs about 3 times a utility message ($0.022). Send order and appointment updates as utility templates, not marketing.
- **Replies inside 24 hours are cheap**: When a customer messages you, your replies for the next 24 hours are service messages: the first 1,000 a month per number are free.
- **The account's currency is set once**: Meta asks for a billing currency when the WhatsApp account is created, and it can't be changed later.
- **Ad replies cost nothing for a week**: Answer someone who came from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad and Meta doesn't charge for your messages to them for up to 7 days.

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

## Questions about WhatsApp pricing in the UK

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

From 1 October 2026, Meta charges $0.0635 per marketing message and $0.022 per utility or authentication message in the UK. Service replies are free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then $0.022 each.

### Is WhatsApp cheaper in the UK than in Europe?

A UK marketing message is $0.0635, against $0.1365 in Germany and $0.0859 in France. The rate depends on the country of the customer's number.

### Are AI chatbot replies charged on WhatsApp?

They're service messages, like a person's reply: free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then Meta's service rate.

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

No. Meta bills your WhatsApp account directly and HeyKiko adds nothing. A HeyKiko plan covers the AI agent, the inbox and campaigns, with its own credits.

## Related

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