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WhatsApp Business API pricing in Sri Lanka: what you will actually pay.
Your monthly bill has three parts: Meta's per-message fee, your platform fee, and any AI reply charges. Meta's fee depends on the type of message you send, not on how many chats you have.
The short answer
For a Sri Lankan business sending to Sri Lankan numbers, Meta charges about US$0.0732 per marketing template message and about US$0.002 per utility or authentication template message. From 1 October 2026, free-form replies inside the 24-hour customer service window are free only for the first 1,000 per WhatsApp number each month, and are charged at the utility rate after that. On top of that you pay a platform fee. Unecast plans start at $29 a month, and Meta fees are passed through at zero markup.
Meta rates for Sri Lanka
These are the rates in effect since 1 October 2026, taken from Meta's official rate card. Meta reviews rates every quarter, on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October, so check the date before you budget.
| Message type | Per message | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | US$0.0732 | Promotions, offers, product news, win-back campaigns |
| Utility | US$0.002 | Order updates, delivery alerts, bookings, receipts. Also charged when sent inside the 24-hour window |
| Authentication | US$0.002 | One-time passwords and login codes |
| Authentication from abroad | US$0.144 | Codes sent to Sri Lankan numbers from outside the country |
| Service replies | Free for the first 1,000 a month per number, then the utility rate | Free-form replies inside the 24-hour window after the customer writes |
| Outgoing WhatsApp calls | US$0.0114 per minute | Calls your team starts to a customer |
Marketing messages cost about 37 times more than utility messages, so the category of each template matters more than the volume.
A worked monthly example
Take a Colombo online shop that sends 2,000 promotional messages, 5,000 order updates and 1,000 login codes in a month, and sends fewer than 1,000 free-form replies per number, which stay inside the monthly free allowance.
| Line | Volume | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | 2,000 | US$0.0732 | US$146.40 |
| Utility | 5,000 | US$0.002 | US$10.00 |
| Authentication | 1,000 | US$0.002 | US$2.00 |
| Meta fees | US$158.40 | ||
| Unecast Growth plan | 1 month | US$49 | US$49.00 |
| Total | US$207.40 |
Notice that 92 percent of the Meta fees come from the 2,000 marketing messages. Cutting one marketing blast saves more than doubling your order updates would cost.
What else shows up on the bill
- Platform fee. Plans differ in price, number of agents, and how many WhatsApp numbers they include. Compare what a second agent or second number costs before you sign.
- AI replies. If an AI agent answers customers, you pay per reply. On Unecast that is $0.002 for a light reply, $0.006 for a standard one and $0.015 for an advanced one.
- Onboarding. Guided onboarding and done-for-you agent builds are optional and quoted to your project.
- Currency. Meta bills in US dollars. Billing in Sri Lankan rupees is available for the Unecast platform fee.
How to lower your WhatsApp bill
- Send transactional content as utility. Order, delivery and booking messages belong in the utility category. Do not add promotional lines to them, or Meta may reclassify them as marketing.
- Let customers start the chat. Conversations opened through a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button stay free for a set period, so these entry points cut cost. Ordinary replies are free only up to 1,000 per number each month.
- Segment campaigns. Send marketing messages only to customers who opted in and who have bought or browsed recently.
- Use AI replies wisely. Route simple questions to a light model and keep advanced replies for complex cases.
- Check Meta's offers. Meta sometimes makes messages free after a click-to-WhatsApp ad. Check its current terms before relying on this.
Estimate your own number
Use the calculator on the pricing page to pick your market, message mix, agents and AI replies. For all countries, see the WhatsApp Business API guide and the full rate table.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost in Sri Lanka?
You pay Meta's per-message fee plus a platform fee. In Sri Lanka, Meta charges about US$0.0732 per marketing template message and about US$0.002 per utility or authentication message. The first 1,000 free-form service replies per number each month are free, then they are charged at the utility rate. Unecast plans start at $29 a month with no markup on Meta fees.
Is WhatsApp API free in Sri Lanka?
No. The first 1,000 service replies per number each month are free, but template messages you start are charged by category, and a platform provider charges a monthly fee.
Does Meta charge per conversation or per message?
Per message. Meta moved from conversation-based pricing to per-message pricing, and the rate depends on the template category and the destination country.
Can I pay in Sri Lankan rupees?
Meta bills in US dollars. Unecast offers billing in Sri Lankan rupees for the platform fee.
When do Meta rates change?
Meta updates rates on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. The rates on this page are the ones effective 1 October 2026.
Keep reading
Want a quote for your own volumes?
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