orca.floWhatsApp Business API pricing in the UAE, explained
Meta charges for the WhatsApp Business API per delivered message, and the price depends on the type of message and the country of the person receiving it. On 1 October 2026 two things changed that UAE businesses notice: replies to customers are charged again after the first 1,000 a month, and utility messages inside the 24-hour window are no longer free. Here are the current UAE rates from Meta’s own rate card, what is still free, and what providers add on top.
Updated
The short answer
Sending through the official WhatsApp Business API to a UAE number (+971), Meta charges per delivered message: AED 0.2115 for a marketing message, AED 0.0576 for a utility or authentication message, and AED 0.0576 for each reply (a service message) after the first 1,000 replies of the month on that business number. Those are the rates on Meta’s AED rate card effective 1 October 2026.
Messages your customers send you are always free. A provider’s subscription, seats and AI credits come on top, and if you never need the API, the free WhatsApp Business app has no per-message fees at all.
Meta’s rates for UAE numbers (from 1 October 2026)
| Message type | What it is | Meta’s rate per delivered message | When it’s free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | A template that promotes: offers, announcements, abandoned-cart reminders | AED 0.2115 | Only inside a free entry point window (after a click-to-WhatsApp ad) |
| Utility | A template about something the customer started: order confirmations, delivery updates, appointment reminders | AED 0.0576 | Inside a free entry point window. Since 1 October 2026 no longer free inside the 24-hour window |
| Authentication | A template with a one-time password | AED 0.0576 (AED 0.1872 where Meta applies its authentication-international rate) | Inside a free entry point window |
| Service | Your free-form replies inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes | AED 0.0576 | The first 1,000 each month per business phone number, and inside a free entry point window |
| Meta Business Agent | A reply written by Meta’s own AI agent | USD 2.00 per million tokens (Meta estimates about 4 to 5 US cents a message) | Never, not even inside a free entry point window |
What changed on 1 October 2026
Replies are charged again. Service messages, the free-form replies you send inside the 24-hour window, were free from 1 November 2024. Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges for them again, with a free tier of 1,000 service messages per business phone number each month. The tier resets every month and unused messages don’t roll over.
Utility messages inside the window are charged. Utility templates sent while a customer service window was open had been free since 1 July 2025. Since 1 October 2026 they are charged like any other utility message.
The UAE marketing rate went up, and Meta Business Agent, Meta’s own AI that answers customers, has been a fifth message category since 1 July 2026, charged by the token rather than per message.
Keep a payment method on file. Meta’s page says that once the free tier is used up, it stops delivering service messages for accounts with no payment method, so check Billing Hub if you run on the API.
What is still free
- Every message a customer sends you.
- The first 1,000 service messages (your replies) per business phone number each month.
- Messages that are never delivered: Meta charges only for delivered messages.
- Everything in a free entry point window: when someone messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on the WhatsApp phone app and you reply inside the 24-hour window, that reply is free and opens a window of up to 7 days in which marketing, utility, authentication and service messages are all free. Only Meta Business Agent replies are still charged.
The 24-hour customer service window
Each time a customer messages you, a 24-hour customer service window opens, and every new message from them resets it. Inside the window you can send free-form replies (service messages). Outside it you can only send a pre-approved template, and Meta charges it by category. Meta also reminds businesses that they may only message people who have opted in to hear from them, which matters most for marketing templates and broadcasts.
Utility and authentication messages get cheaper with volume. For UAE numbers the list rate covers the first 100,000 utility messages and the first 300,000 authentication messages a month, then drops in tiers, starting at 5% off. Volumes are counted across your whole business portfolio.
Meta’s rates for the rest of the GCC (AED)
| Country (code) | Marketing | Utility | Authentication | Service, after 1,000 free |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates (+971) | AED 0.2115 | AED 0.0576 | AED 0.0576 | AED 0.0576 |
| Saudi Arabia (+966) | AED 0.2115 | AED 0.0393 | AED 0.0393 | AED 0.0393 |
| Kuwait (+965) | AED 0.2908 | AED 0.1615 | AED 0.1615 | AED 0.1615 |
| Qatar (+974) | AED 0.1252 | AED 0.0440 | AED 0.0440 | AED 0.0440 |
| Oman (+968) | AED 0.1252 | AED 0.0907 | AED 0.0907 | AED 0.0907 |
| Bahrain (+973) | AED 0.1440 | AED 0.0334 | AED 0.0334 | AED 0.0334 |
The rate follows the country code of the person you message, not where your business is. A Dubai business messaging a Saudi number (+966) pays the Saudi rate. Bahrain has no rate of its own on the card and is charged Meta’s “Rest of Middle East” rate. Rates from Meta’s AED rate card effective 1 October 2026.
Worked example: a Dubai clinic on the API
Say a clinic answers patients through an API provider and in one month sends 2,000 replies, 600 appointment reminders (utility templates) and one offer to 1,000 opted-in patients (a marketing template), all to UAE numbers.
Meta’s part: the first 1,000 replies are free and the other 1,000 cost AED 57.60; the reminders cost AED 34.56; the offer costs AED 211.50. That is about AED 304 a month to Meta, before anything the provider charges. If most patients came from click-to-WhatsApp ads, much of it would fall inside free entry point windows and cost nothing.
What providers add on top
- A monthly subscription, often tiered by contacts, features or message volume.
- Per-seat fees for each person who logs in to answer chats.
- AI credits or an AI add-on for chatbot or AI-agent replies.
- Meta’s message fees, either billed by Meta to your own account or resold by the provider, sometimes with a markup.
- Setup or onboarding fees, and sometimes a minimum contract term.
- Ask for each of these in writing, and ask whether Meta’s fees are billed to your own WhatsApp Business account or through the provider.
Paying Meta in dirhams
Meta added the UAE dirham as a billing currency on 1 April 2026; USD and several other currencies are also available. The currency is chosen when your messaging account is created and can’t be changed afterwards, although Meta offers a migration tool. Most businesses never deal with this directly because their provider sets it up.
How to check the current rates yourself
Open Meta’s pricing page
Go to developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing. The date at the top shows when it was last updated.
Find the rate cards
Scroll to Rate cards and volume tiers and open AED list rates (or the PDF with volume tiers). USD and other currencies are listed too.
Look up the country
Find United Arab Emirates, or the country of the people you message. The columns are marketing, utility, authentication, authentication-international and service.
Check the effective date
Meta updates the cards several times a year and lists every change on the same page, so check the date before you budget.
Do you need the API at all?
If customers mostly message you first and you reply, the free WhatsApp Business app does the job and has no per-message fees; the Business app vs the API guide compares the two in detail. You need the API for a verified badge through Meta, very large template broadcasts to opted-in lists, or strict compliance requirements.
Where OrcaFlo fits
OrcaFlo links to the WhatsApp Business app by QR code, the way WhatsApp Web does, so there are no Meta fees on that connection, and the AI replies are included in OrcaFlo’s own price: see pricing.
The trade-off: it isn’t Meta’s official API, so there’s no green tick, and WhatsApp can restrict numbers that behave like spam. That’s why OrcaFlo asks for a WhatsApp Business account at least 10 days old and paces broadcasts. Support for Meta’s official API is waiting on Meta’s app review (current status); once a number is on the API, Meta bills its fees to your own WhatsApp Business account, not through OrcaFlo. To compare a full monthly bill with an API platform, see OrcaFlo vs WATI and OrcaFlo vs respond.io.
Questions
Meta charges per delivered message to a UAE number: AED 0.2115 for marketing, AED 0.0576 for utility and authentication, and AED 0.0576 for each reply after the first 1,000 a month per business number (rate card effective 1 October 2026). Your provider’s fees come on top.
No. Messages customers send you are free, the first 1,000 replies a month per business number are free, and messages inside a free entry point window after a click-to-WhatsApp ad are free. Everything else is charged per delivered message, by type and country.
Since 1 October 2026, yes, after the first 1,000 a month per business phone number. Each further reply to a UAE number costs AED 0.0576. From 1 November 2024 to 30 September 2026 they were free.
When someone messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on the WhatsApp phone app and you reply within 24 hours, that reply is free and opens a window of up to 7 days in which Meta doesn’t charge for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages to that person.
Yes. Meta added AED as a billing currency on 1 April 2026 and publishes an AED rate card. The currency is set when your messaging account is created, usually by your provider.
Not on today’s QR connection: there are no separate Meta fees. If you later use OrcaFlo on Meta’s official API, Meta bills its per-message fees to your own WhatsApp Business account.
Yes. The app, its away and greeting messages and quick replies are free. In some countries it also sells paid extras, such as business broadcasts (marketing messages) and the Meta Verified subscription.
Related
WhatsApp Business app vs the WhatsApp Business API
Read more OrcaFlo vs WATIOrcaFlo vs WATI: the WhatsApp AI that doesn’t surprise you
Read more OrcaFlo vs respond.ioOrcaFlo vs respond.io: a sales assistant, not another platform to run
Read more GuideHow to keep your WhatsApp Business number from getting banned
Read moreStop losing customers to slow replies.
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