From October 1, WhatsApp charges for every reply your bot sends
The more messages your bot needs to close a conversation, the more you pay Meta. Work out how much you save with Engage.
008 Engage
Your option
008 EngageUSD 2,028
per month
- Resolved without a person
- 100%
- Time to reply
- 4s
- Time to resolve
- 3 min
- Messages per conversation
- 8
Decision-tree bot
USD 2,962
per month
USD 934 more per month than Engage
- Resolved without a person
- 65%
- Time to reply
- 2s
- Time to resolve
- 20 min
- Messages per conversation
- 23
Licensed platform
USD 3,879
per month
USD 1,851 more per month than Engage
- Resolved without a person
- 80%
- Time to reply
- 5s
- Time to resolve
- 9 min
- Messages per conversation
- 8
Your team's hours count too: the decision tree sends 1,750 conversations a month to a person and the platform 1,000; Engage sends none. They are valued at USD 4.03 an hour, the minimum wage in Mexico plus payroll costs: a support agent earns more, so this runs short.
Your numbers
What each option costs per month, before and after Meta's October 1, 2026 price change.
| Where the money goes each month | 008 Engage | Decision-tree bot | Licensed platform |
|---|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp messaging | |||
| Meta | USD 332 | USD 965 | USD 315 |
| BSP markup | — | USD 573 | USD 190 |
| Platform | |||
| License | — | USD 150 | USD 350 |
| Seats | — | USD 100 | USD 100 |
| AI | USD 1,696 | — | USD 2,387 |
| Your team | |||
| Your team's hours | — | USD 1,175 | USD 537 |
| Total per month | USD 2,028 | USD 2,962 | USD 3,879 |
Messages your business sends (and pays for one by one)
Except the first 1,000 free (1 × 1,000 per WhatsApp number)
See and adjust the assumptions
No number is hidden. Change them and watch the result move.
008 Engage
Decision-tree bot
Licensed platform
How we work this out
Business messages = conversations × (1 − % to human) × bot messages + conversations × % to human × human messages. Messages your customer sends are not charged.
Meta cost = (messages − 1,000 free per WhatsApp number) × the country's utility rate, with the rate card's volume discounts applied tier by tier. Until October 1, 2026, service messages are not charged; from that date on, they are.
With a BSP, the WABA usually sits in their account: they pay Meta and bill you for the messages, almost always with a margin on top. That is why the decision tree and the platform carry that markup on top of their license, their seats and their AI. With Engage the WABA is yours: you pay Meta directly and there is no markup.
Engage cost = your balance is spent on every reply the agent sends, and what each reply costs depends on the model you give it. The price falls as you use it: the more replies you have run that month, the less you pay for the next ones. That is why you pay less when the agent closes the conversation in fewer messages. Engage charges no license, no seats and no markup on Meta.
Simplification: Meta works out the volume tier across every utility message in your portfolio, not just one number's. This estimate stays on the conservative side.
Rates from Meta's official USD rate card, effective July 1, 2026. WhatsApp Business pricing
Why it comes out cheaper
Fewer messages per conversation
The agent gets the intent first time, folds the user's burst of messages into one reply and caps how many bubbles it sends. A decision tree spends a welcome, a menu, submenus, confirmations and retries.
No license, no seats
Pay as you go from prepaid balance, no minimums and no lock-in. Your human agents work from the Engage inbox with no per-seat fee.
You pick the model
A cheap model for FAQs and a premium one for the hard cases, agent by agent. In a closed platform the price is fixed, the same for every conversation, and the provider picks the model.
Not a cent on top of Meta
We are a Tech Provider: the WABA is yours and you pay Meta directly, at Meta's own rates and with Meta's volume discounts. No per-message markup.
Shall we run it with your real numbers?
Indicative estimate based on the assumptions shown. Meta's rates depend on the recipient's country and are set by Meta. This is not a binding offer.