Kenyan businesses face higher online costs as WhatsApp stops free messages

Kenyan businesses face higher costs to interact with customers online as Meta begins charging for messages firms send on WhatsApp in response to client queries.

Beginning October 1, the US tech giant will introduce a 52-cent charge for each message where firms are responding to customers through its WhatsApp Business platform.

WhatsApp will charge Kenyan businesses $0.0040 (Sh0.52) per delivered message, adding to the features Meta has recently monetised globally. Last year, the company began billing businesses for WhatsApp marketing messages.

Regional peers including Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda will be charged at the same rates per message.

Kenya differs from Nigeria, where the charge is Sh0.87, South Africa at Sh0.98 and Egypt at Sh0.47.

“Effective October 1, 2026, Meta will charge on a per-message basis for utility messages sent in response to users (within an open 24-hour customer service window). These messages have not been charged since July 1, 2025,” Meta said in an announcement.

Meta said the 24-hour customer service window is calculated from the time each user message is sent.

WhatsApp Business is a standalone version of the popular messaging application designed for small business owners to connect with customers.

The platform offers additional features such as product catalogues, automated replies and broadcast messaging.

It also has paid API (application programming interface) services for larger enterprises, which allow high-volume messaging and integration with customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

Meta will only charge businesses for the messages and the fee will apply when the text has been received by the recipient.

Customers seeking information from the businesses are spared the charge.

The messages, which are now attracting a fee, are split into two, including service and utility messages.

A service message is a WhatsApp text where a business is responding to customer questions, such as replying to a question from clients.

A utility message are texts where businesses update customers on the status of their goods, such as confirming payment for orders.

Service messages are either from a customer service representative or a third-party artificial intelligence (AI) tool.

The two services have been free since WhatsApp Business was launched in 2018.

Meta has been charging a higher fee for firms using WhatsApp to promote their goods and services.

The promotional or marketing messages in Kenya cost $0.0225 (Sh3). The message costs Sh7 per message in Nigeria, Sh5 in South Africa and Sh8 in Egypt.

Meta said the 24-hour customer service window is calculated from the time each user message is sent.

WhatsApp Business is a standalone version of the popular messaging application designed for small business owners to connect with customers.

The platform offers additional features such as product catalogues, automated replies and broadcast messaging.

Currently, Meta only charges for marketing and Business Agent messages.

Meta Business Agent, an AI assistant built natively into Meta's platforms – including Messenger and Instagram – was introduced in June to automatically handle customer service and sales conversations 24/7.

The agents can answer customer questions, recommend products, negotiate prices, book appointments and escalate conversations to human staff when necessary.

Meta Business Agent messages are charged per text through a bundle.

The global rate is $2 (Sh259) per one million tokens. One message typically consumes 20,000–25,000 tokens, translating to approximately five US cents or Sh6 per message.

Simple responses consume fewer tokens and cost less, while complex responses are more expensive.

For instance, a query such as “At what time do you open your Nairobi CBD branch?”, which can be addressed in four messages, can consume 80,000 tokens, translating to $0.16, or about Sh21.

More complex enquiries, such as taking a customer through selecting and checking out goods from an online catalogue, can consume about 10 messages, or 250,000 tokens, translating to up to $0.50, or about Sh65.

In Kenya, thousands of small enterprises use WhatsApp Business as their primary customer communication channel. Many depend on automated replies that can answer simple questions like a shop’s working hours or share external links to the business’s catalogue.

“For any businesses that do not have a payment method on file by September 30, Meta will stop delivering service messages as of when they become charged on October 1,” Meta said.

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