WhatsApp business automation in India comes in three tiers, and most guides only sell you the middle one. Tier one is the free WhatsApp Business app: greeting and away messages, quick replies, labels, a catalogue and broadcast lists, with hard limits. Tier two is the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API) through a provider such as AiSensy, Interakt or WATI, where Meta charges per message and the provider charges a plan on top. Tier three is a custom build on Meta's Cloud API with n8n or code, where you pay Meta and a server. This guide prints the INR numbers for each, explains the 2025 and 2026 billing changes that decide your bill, and says which tier fits which size of business.
The three tiers in one table
| What matters | Free Business app | Platform via a BSP | Custom on the Cloud API |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | ₹0 | Plan from about ₹1,500 to ₹2,799 plus Meta per-message fees | Server from about ₹500 plus Meta per-message fees |
| Automated replies | 🟡 Greeting, away, quick replies | ✅ Chatbots, Flows, AI agents | ✅ Anything you build |
| Broadcasts | 🟡 256 per list, must have you saved | ✅ Approved templates to opted-in lists | ✅ Approved templates |
| Triggers from website or CRM | ❌ No API | ✅ Integrations and webhooks | ✅ Native |
| Multi-agent inbox | 🟡 Up to 10 devices with Meta Verified | ✅ Shared inbox with assignment | 🟡 Build or add a tool |
| Who it fits | Solo and under-10-staff businesses | Teams sending thousands of messages a month | High volume, custom data, in-house or agency tech |
What changed in 2025 and 2026
Four changes decide the bill. Meta moved from conversation-based to per-message billing on 1 July 2025, per its pricing docs. India's marketing rate went up on 1 January 2026 and the authentication-international rate on 1 April 2026, per the pricing updates page. INR billing began on 1 January 2026 and every WhatsApp Business Account must migrate to INR by 31 December 2026 or stop receiving messages. And, per WATI's help article, service messages inside the 24-hour window are chargeable beyond a free monthly allowance from 1 October 2026. Any guide that still talks about conversation windows and free service chats is describing the old bill.
Automating the free WhatsApp Business app
Greeting, away and quick replies
Meta's feature page describes the three built-in automations: a greeting message sent to new customers when they start a conversation, away messages that reply outside business hours (always, on a schedule, or outside set hours, and optionally only to people not in your address book), and quick replies, which are shortcuts for messages you send often. Set all three on day one. They cost nothing and they answer the question every small business gets at 11 pm: are you open.
Broadcast lists: the 256 rule and the saved-number rule
Broadcast lists hold up to 256 contacts each, you can make as many lists as you like, and every recipient must have your number saved or the message does not arrive, per WhatsApp's FAQ. That last rule is the one that surprises people: a broadcast to 256 strangers reaches almost nobody. Lists also do not work from the desktop or web apps. For announcements to customers who know you, this is fine. For marketing to a list you bought, it is the wrong tool and against the terms anyway.
Catalogue, labels and who should stop here
The catalogue turns the app into a mobile storefront with collections; labels sort chats into new lead, paid, pending and whatever else you need. Meta Verified lets up to ten devices and agents share the number. If you are a solo professional, a clinic, a tutor or a shop with under ten staff and under a few hundred conversations a month, stop at this tier. The next one costs money every month whether or not you send anything.
Not sure if you have outgrown the free app?
Tell us your monthly message volume and what you want to automate. We will say, free, whether the app, a provider or a custom build fits, with the monthly cost.
Automating with the WhatsApp Business Platform through a provider
How Meta charges per message in India
Template messages come in three paid categories, marketing, utility and authentication, and Meta bills each delivered one at the category's country rate. Replies inside an open 24-hour customer service window are free when they are not templates, utility templates inside an open window are free, and a conversation started from a Click to WhatsApp ad or a Page button makes everything free for 72 hours, per Meta's docs. Volume tiers lower the utility and authentication rates as monthly volume rises. Meta's INR rate card did not render for us; third-party summaries put the base India marketing rate at roughly ₹0.86 and utility and authentication at roughly ₹0.115 before GST [unverified against Meta's own card]. The providers' published rates below include their markup and are the numbers you will actually pay.
AiSensy, Interakt and WATI in INR
| Provider | Plans (monthly, INR) | India per-message rates |
|---|---|---|
| AiSensy | Free plan with ₹50 credit; paid plans from about ₹1,500 [base plans from secondary listings]; chatbot builder ₹2,500, AI agent ₹1,350 add-ons | Marketing ₹1.09, utility and authentication ₹0.145, service ₹0.145 after 1,000 free a month (from 1 Oct 2026) |
| Interakt | Growth ₹2,799 plus taxes, Advanced ₹3,799, Enterprise on request; AI agents add-on ₹2,499 | Growth: marketing ₹0.958, authentication ₹0.128, utility ₹0.150, service ₹0.128 after 1,000 free |
| WATI | Growth, Pro and Business tiers; INR prices geo-rendered, reported around ₹2,199 to ₹14,799 [unverified] | Varies by category; published on request |
Sources: AiSensy pricing, Interakt pricing and WATI pricing on 16 October 2026. All three say they do not charge to procure the API itself.
A worked monthly bill
Two thousand marketing messages on AiSensy: about ₹2,180 in message fees plus the plan, around ₹1,500, plus GST, call it ₹4,300. Twenty thousand marketing messages on Interakt Growth: about ₹19,160 plus ₹2,799 plus taxes, call it ₹26,000. Utility reminders at ₹0.145 to ₹0.160 cost roughly one-seventh of a marketing message, which is why order updates and appointment reminders are cheap to automate and promotions are not. Service replies inside the window are free until the 1,000 monthly allowance runs out.
Chatbots, Flows and AI agents on a provider
This tier is where real automation starts: keyword chatbots, WhatsApp Flows for forms and bookings inside the chat, a shared inbox with assignment, and AI agents that answer from your documents. The add-ons are priced separately (AiSensy's AI agent at ₹1,350 a month with 1,000 AI messages, Interakt's at ₹2,499 with 100 free then ₹0.50 each), so a "chatbot" is never free on the API even when the chat itself is.
Custom automation with n8n or code on the Cloud API, and which tier fits you
Direct Cloud API access
Meta's platform page offers two routes: partner embedded signup, where a provider handles the setup with little or no code, or a direct connection to the platform from your own number. Direct access needs a business portfolio and a developer; per the Cloud API docs, numbers send up to 80 messages a second by default and test numbers need no payment method. You still pay Meta per message. What you save is the provider plan and markup; what you take on is templates, webhooks and the inbox.
An n8n WhatsApp agent
The n8n WhatsApp Trigger fires on incoming messages, an AI Agent node with a Gemini, Claude or OpenAI model answers from your FAQ and price list, and the WhatsApp Business Cloud node replies, sends templates and can wait for a response. Template 8251 handles text, images and audio; the library holds about 220 WhatsApp agent templates. Running cost: n8n Cloud Starter at 20 EUR a month, or a self-hosted instance on a ₹500-a-month server, plus model tokens. Our n8n use cases post has the full build, and n8n vs Zapier vs Make covers the platform choice.
Which tier fits which Indian business
- Solo professionals, clinics, tutors, shops under ten staff: the free app, set up properly. Greeting, away, quick replies, catalogue, labels.
- D2C brands, service businesses and clinics sending 2,000 to 50,000 messages a month with a team on the inbox: a provider. Interakt or AiSensy for INR plans and Indian support; pick by the inbox you like, since the Meta fees are similar.
- Anyone with custom data, a CRM to sync, or more than 50,000 messages a month: custom on the Cloud API with n8n or code, where the provider markup becomes the biggest avoidable line.
Whatever the tier, three rules keep you out of trouble: opt-in before marketing, templates approved before sending, and a human reachable from any automated chat. Our AI automation services guide explains what the build includes.
Want WhatsApp automation set up without the provider markup?
We build WhatsApp flows on the Cloud API with n8n, from the first auto-reply to a booking agent, with the monthly cost written down. Get a free scope.
Frequently asked questions
How do I send automated messages on WhatsApp for free?
Use the WhatsApp Business app: set a greeting message for new chats, an away message for off-hours, and quick replies with shortcuts. Broadcast lists reach up to 256 saved contacts per list. There is no API in the free app, so nothing can be triggered from your website or CRM; that needs the Platform tier.
What does the WhatsApp Business API cost in India?
Meta bills per delivered template message by category. Provider-published India rates in October 2026 are about ₹1.09 for marketing and ₹0.145 for utility and authentication at AiSensy, or ₹0.958 and ₹0.128 to ₹0.150 at Interakt, with replies inside the 24-hour window free up to a monthly allowance. Plans start around ₹1,500 to ₹2,799 a month before GST.
Is a WhatsApp chatbot free?
Not on the API. The chat itself is free while the customer's 24-hour window is open, but you pay the provider plan plus any chatbot or AI add-on, such as AiSensy's chatbot builder at ₹2,500 a month or Interakt's AI agent at ₹2,499. A self-built n8n agent costs the server and model tokens instead.
Do I need a provider, or can I connect to the Cloud API directly?
Both are allowed. Meta offers partner embedded signup with little or no code, or a direct connection from your own number, which needs a business portfolio and a developer. Direct access removes the provider plan and markup, but you build templates, webhooks and the inbox yourself, for example with n8n's WhatsApp nodes.
What changed in WhatsApp pricing in 2025 and 2026?
Meta moved from conversation-based to per-message billing on 1 July 2025, raised India's marketing rate on 1 January 2026 and the authentication-international rate on 1 April 2026, started INR billing on 1 January 2026 with a 31 December 2026 migration deadline, and, per provider help pages, charges service messages beyond a monthly free allowance from 1 October 2026.
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