WhatsApp Business API pricing / Malaysia
WhatsApp Business API pricing in Malaysia
What a Malaysian business pays Meta for WhatsApp Business API messages, in ringgit. Meta changed the rules on 1 October 2026: replies to customers are no longer free beyond 1,000 a month per number, and utility templates cost money even inside the 24-hour window. The tables and calculator below use the rates in force since then.
Rates effective 1 October 2026, read on 18 October 2026 from Meta's MYR rate card and checked against Meta's pricing tool. What changed on 1 October: Meta's summary.
Meta's rates, in Malaysian ringgit
Meta charges per delivered message, by message category and by the country of the number you send to. Marketing messages promote something; utility messages follow up on something the customer did; authentication messages carry one-time passcodes; service messages are free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window.
| Recipient's number | Marketing | Utility / authentication | Service* | Auth-international |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malaysia | RM0.3467 | RM0.0564 | RM0.0564 | RM0.1685 |
| Singapore | RM0.2951 | RM0.0646 | RM0.0646 | n/a |
| Hong Kong | RM0.2951 | RM0.1049 | RM0.1049 | n/a |
| Indonesia | RM0.1657 | RM0.1008 | RM0.1008 | RM0.5483 |
| India | RM0.0476 | RM0.0056 | RM0.0056 | RM0.1226 |
| Rest of Asia Pacific | RM0.3394 | RM0.0456 | RM0.0456 | n/a |
| United Kingdom | RM0.2560 | RM0.0887 | RM0.0887 | n/a |
| North America | RM0.1008 | RM0.0137 | RM0.0137 | n/a |
*Service messages are charged only after the first 1,000 each month on each business phone number.
- Meta bills by the recipient's country calling code. A Malaysian business messaging a +65 Singapore number pays the Singapore row.
- Marketing is where Malaysia stands out: at RM0.3467 it costs about six times a utility or service message (RM0.0564).
- Malaysia has an authentication-international rate. It applies to authentication messages sent to Malaysian numbers by businesses Meta deems eligible and based in another country; a business whose primary location is Malaysia pays the ordinary authentication rate.
Who pays the authentication-international rate: Meta's eligibility rules.
Work out your own bill
Enter a typical month. The calculator runs in your browser and prices every message at the Malaysia rates above, with volume tiers applied the way Meta applies them.
Every free-form reply a person or an AI sends inside the 24-hour window.
Order updates, booking confirmations, reminders. Charged inside the window too.
Promotions and broadcasts. One message per recipient.
One-time passcodes.
Each number gets its own 1,000 free service messages a month.
| Per month | Charged messages | Meta charges |
|---|---|---|
| Service replies1,000 inside the free tier | 1,500 | RM84.60 |
| Utility templates | 400 | RM22.56 |
| Marketing templates | 1,000 | RM346.70 |
| Authentication templates | 0 | RM0.00 |
| Estimated Meta bill | RM453.86 | |
Every recipient assumed to be in Malaysia. Rates effective 1 October 2026, read from Meta on 18 October 2026: marketing RM0.3467, utility, authentication and service RM0.0564 before volume tiers. Messages inside a free entry point window are not deducted here. Excludes taxes and whatever your software costs. An estimate, not a quote: Meta's invoice is the only bill.
Three worked examples
The same three businesses appear on our Singapore edition, so you can compare. All recipients are Malaysian numbers, one business phone number each, nothing sent inside a free entry point window.
A tuition centre that mostly answers parents
900 replies to parents' questions and 400 class-reminder templates a month. No promotions.
- 900 service replies inside the free tier: RM0.00
- 400 utility templates: RM22.56
Meta's bill: RM22.56 a month
A clinic with an assistant answering around the clock
3,000 replies a month (staff and an AI assistant together) and 1,200 appointment reminders. No promotions.
- 1,000 service replies inside the free tier: RM0.00
- 2,000 service replies: RM112.80
- 1,200 utility templates: RM67.68
Meta's bill: RM180.48 a month
An online shop that broadcasts
2,000 replies, 800 order and delivery updates, two promotions to 2,000 opted-in contacts each (4,000 marketing messages) and 300 login codes a month.
- 1,000 service replies inside the free tier: RM0.00
- 1,000 service replies: RM56.40
- 800 utility templates: RM45.12
- 4,000 marketing templates: RM1,386.80
- 300 authentication templates: RM16.92
Meta's bill: RM1,505.24 a month
The pattern holds at any size: answering customers is cheap, and promotions are where the money goes.
What is still free
Every message a customer sends you
Meta charges only for messages businesses send to users. Inbound messages are never billed. Meta's docs
The first 1,000 service messages a month, per number
Since 1 October 2026 each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages (free-form replies) a month. They do not roll over; Meta charges from the 1,001st. Until 30 September 2026 every service message was free. Meta's docs
Everything in a free entry point window
When a customer messages you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad on the Android or iOS app and you reply within the customer service window, Meta opens a free entry point window. While it is open, marketing, utility, authentication and service messages to that customer are not charged. Meta's developer documentation says it can stay open for up to 7 days; its pricing website still says 72 hours. Meta's docs
No longer free since 1 October 2026: utility templates sent inside an open customer service window. They were free from July 2025 until September 2026.
Volume tiers
Utility and authentication messages get cheaper as monthly volume rises, and only the messages inside a tier get that tier's rate. Meta counts across your whole business portfolio and resets every month. How Meta applies tiers.
| Messages per month | Rate for messages in this tier |
|---|---|
| 0 to 150,000 | RM0.0564 |
| 150,001 to 1,000,000 | RM0.0536 |
| 1,000,001 to 4,000,000 | RM0.0508 |
| 4,000,001 to 25,000,000 | RM0.0479 |
| 25,000,001 to 50,000,000 | RM0.0451 |
| Above 50,000,000 | RM0.0423 |
| Messages per month | Rate for messages in this tier |
|---|---|
| 0 to 100,000 | RM0.0564 |
| 100,001 to 300,000 | RM0.0536 |
| 300,001 to 1,000,000 | RM0.0508 |
| 1,000,001 to 10,000,000 | RM0.0479 |
| 10,000,001 to 20,000,000 | RM0.0451 |
| Above 20,000,000 | RM0.0423 |
| Messages per month | Rate for messages in this tier |
|---|---|
| 0 to 100,000 | RM0.1685 |
| 100,001 to 300,000 | RM0.1601 |
| 300,001 to 1,000,000 | RM0.1517 |
| 1,000,001 to 10,000,000 | RM0.1432 |
| 10,000,001 to 20,000,000 | RM0.1348 |
| Above 20,000,000 | RM0.1264 |
The software on top
Meta's rate is the same whichever platform you use. What differs is the platform fee: a flat subscription, per-seat licences, a markup on each message, or a mix. Ask every vendor which of these they charge.
ChatFairy is a flat subscription: Pro is HK$188 a month or HK$1,888 a year, billed in Hong Kong dollars, for up to 5 members and 50AI conversations a day. We add no markup to Meta's rates: you connect your own WhatsApp Business Account and Meta bills you directly. Connecting means creating a System User access token in Meta Business Manager and setting our webhook in Meta; there is no one-click signup yet, and Kelin Studio can do the setup for you. The 7-day trial needs a card. Compare platforms on our comparison pages.
WhatsApp API pricing in Malaysia: questions
- How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in Malaysia?
- Meta charges per delivered message. For a Malaysian (+60) number, at the rates effective 1 October 2026 and read on 18 October 2026: RM0.3467 for a marketing message, and RM0.0564 for a utility, authentication or service message before volume tiers. Messages customers send you are free, and so are the first 1,000 service messages each month on each business phone number. Your software is a separate cost on top.
- Are replies to customers still free on WhatsApp?
- Only up to a point. Since 1 October 2026, Meta gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month (they do not roll over) and charges from the 1,001st, at RM0.0564 each for Malaysian numbers. Replies inside a free entry point window, which opens when a customer messages you from a Click-to-WhatsApp ad, are not charged. Before October 2026 all service replies were free, so older articles will tell you otherwise.
- Why are WhatsApp marketing messages so expensive in Malaysia?
- Meta sets a rate per market and category, and Malaysia's marketing rate is RM0.3467, against RM0.0564 for utility and service. Marketing messages also get no volume discount. A broadcast to 2,000 contacts is RM693.40 in Meta fees alone, so in Malaysia it pays to answer well rather than blast often.
- What is the authentication-international rate?
- A higher rate (RM0.1685 per message in MYR, before tiers) for one-time-passcode messages to Malaysian numbers. Meta charges it only when the sending business is eligible and based in another country, judged by its Primary Business Location. A business based in Malaysia pays the standard RM0.0564.
- Can I pay Meta in ringgit?
- Yes. Meta added MYR billing on 1 April 2026; it is one of 16 supported currencies. The currency is chosen when the Messaging account is created and cannot be changed afterwards, although Meta offers currency migration APIs.
- Does an AI chatbot change what Meta charges?
- Not the rate. Meta treats any non-template reply not powered by its own Meta Business Agent as a service message, whether a person or a third-party AI writes it. An assistant that answers more customers sends more service messages, so a busy line can pass the free monthly tier sooner.
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