Now Reading: WhatsApp Business messages paid from 1 Oct, Zoho launches rival
-
01
WhatsApp Business messages paid from 1 Oct, Zoho launches rival
The Story in Brief
Meta's new pricing for the WhatsApp Business Platform took effect on 1 October 2026, making service messages chargeable in India at Rs 0.115 per delivered message after a free monthly quota of 1,000 per phone number. Utility messages, including order confirmations, are also charged at the same rate even within an active 24-hour customer service window, while marketing messages remain at Rs 0.8631 per delivered message, reports The Times of India, Livemint, Mathrubhumi, ABP Live and The Economic Times.
Meta had warned businesses without a payment method by 30 September that service message delivery could stop. From 1 October, every non-template message falls into either the Service or Meta Business Agent category, the latter charged on a token basis at $2 per 1 million tokens. Regular WhatsApp users are unaffected.
On 2 October, Zoho launched Arattai-for-Business, a rival messaging platform with free messaging for government, healthcare and education institutions, reports Livemint. Zoho has not announced commercial rates for other businesses.
Update, 3 October 2026: The Economic Times and ABP Live now also report the pricing change, confirming the Rs 0.115 rate for service messages after 1,000 free per month. The Economic Times adds that Meta will invoice Business Agent accounts in rupees and that every non-template message falls into either Service or Meta Business Agent categories. Livemint reports that Zoho launched Arattai-for-Business on 2 October as a rival platform.
Indian Opinion Analysis
All six sources covering the WhatsApp Business pricing change report the same facts with no editorial slant, presenting uniform straight news coverage. The Times of India, Livemint, Mathrubhumi, ABP Live and The Economic Times each confirm the Rs 0.115 per-message rate for service and utility messages after a 1,000-message free quota, the 30 September payment deadline, and the unchanged marketing rate of Rs 0.8631. The Economic Times adds the Meta Business Agent token-based model at $2 per million tokens, also reported by The Times of India. The only new development comes from Livemint on 2 October, which reports Zoho's launch of Arattai-for-Business as a competitor. No source questions the pricing or examines its impact beyond describing it.
Coverage: 8 sources, 8 neutral
Sources (8): timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report), livemint.com (neutral report), mathrubhumi.com (neutral report), livemint.com (2) (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), livemint.com (3) (neutral report), abplive.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (2) (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 8 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
