WhatsApp template message
Definition
A WhatsApp template message is a pre-approved message format a business must use to start a conversation, or to write to a customer after the 24-hour customer service window has closed. Meta sorts templates into marketing, utility and authentication categories and charges per delivered message.
A template has fixed wording with placeholders for the customer's name, an order number or a date, and optional buttons. It must be approved before use, and each language is set up as its own version, so an Arabic and an English message are two submissions. The category has to describe what the message really does, because Meta charges by category and market and the choice changes the cost.
The price list moved recently. Since 1 July 2025 Meta has charged per delivered message instead of per conversation. From 1 October 2026 it also charges again for service messages and for utility messages sent in reply to users, with each business number's first 1,000 delivered service messages a month free, and its change table shows a marketing rate increase for the UAE on the same date. The dirham rates sit on Meta's rate card, so check them before budgeting, and be wary of guides that still describe 24-hour conversation fees or free customer service replies.
Opt-in comes first: no template should go to anyone who hasn't agreed to receive it. Write templates for outcomes you want to track, such as booking confirmations, delivery updates and cart reminders, keep marketing templates rare and specific, and count replies as the measure of success, not just delivery.
Definitions are free.So is the cost review.
A short call, then a written review inside 72 hours: what your marketing costs, what it produces, and what is worth fixing first.