Brands Rethink Their WhatsApp Game as Every Ping Now Comes with a Price Tag

WhatsApp’s July 2025 switch to per-message billing is a wake-up call for India Inc. The country alone accounts for over 580 million active WhatsApp users and more than 15 million businesses on WhatsApp Business, many of whom were used to sending unlimited promotional messages for a flat fee. The spike in pricing sensitivity couldn’t come at a worse time, or is perfectly timed, depending on your creativity.

Under the new rules, each marketing template costs ?0.78, utility and authentication templates ?0.11 each, all billed per message. Volume players sending over 300 million utility messages a month can dip to ?0.08 each. The 24?hour free window for customer?initiated chats remains, as does the 72?hour window triggered by Click?to?WhatsApp ads. What’s gone is the illusion of unlimited conversation, and every template punch now lands a charge.

“Bulk messaging used to be cheap,” says Rohit Agarwal, founder of Alpha Zegus. “Now, ?0.78 adds up fast. Cart abandonment reminders or mass festival greetings will suddenly come with a real bill. That forces brands to think: is this message worth the money?”

This shift comes at a pivotal moment. According to a Deloitte-IMAI report, business messaging in India is expected to surpass $1.1 billion in 2025, up from $810 million in 2024. WhatsApp, with its 98% open rates, has become the default utility channel for not just brand offers but metro ticketing, customer support, appointment scheduling, and even public service announcements. It’s not a social app; it’s infrastructure.

And infrastructure isn’t free.

Amyn Ghadiali, Chief Growth Officer at Gozoop Group, puts it bluntly, “The shift to per-message billing changes the game. If you’re paying for every touchpoint, you’ll make each one count. Messaging strategy can’t be just a CRM function anymore—it needs brand, creative, and tech in the same room.”

“We used to treat WhatsApp like a broadcast tool—now every message has to justify its cost in either uplift or insight. We've cut down festive blasts and instead focus on regional nudges tied to consumption cycles. It’s become less about reach, more about rhythm,” said a senior brand manager at an FMCG conglomerate.

Ghadiali believes the change will accelerate a quality-over-quantity transition. Instead of spamming offers, brands will move toward micro-journeys that combine Click-to-WhatsApp ads with well-timed utility templates, nudges, reminders, and content. “You’re not buying impressions; you’re buying intent. That means every message should either serve or delight.”

Yaron Tomchin, CEO of Mobupps, sees both opportunity and fallout. “Larger advertisers with strong first-party data and MarTech stacks will adapt quickly,” he says. “But mid-tier and smaller D2C brands might suffer. For them, WhatsApp’s affordability was the draw. If the ROI isn’t clear, they may shift budgets back to SMS, email, or even try RCS.”

He also points to the complexity of attribution: “WhatsApp promises better measurement, but it's still a walled garden. If you’re running cross-platform campaigns, stitching together the impact of a ?0.78 message with a Meta ad or an email funnel isn’t easy.”

Meanwhile, Meta has continued investing in WhatsApp's monetization. Its business messaging division saw global revenue cross $1.6 billion in H1 2025, with India as its largest growth market.

A June 2025 eMarketer report notes that Indian consumers are 3.5x more likely to complete a purchase after receiving a WhatsApp message compared to an email.

That efficacy makes the price hike easier to swallow; for now. But it’s also raising expectations.

“For fast fashion, timing is everything. If a new drop doesn’t convert in the first WhatsApp message, we don’t get a second chance—or budget. We’re reworking our funnel to sync WhatsApp with inventory movement, not just marketing calendars,” observed Head of Digital at a homegrown fashion label.

“If you’re paying per message, your message can’t feel robotic,” says Agarwal. “I’m advising clients to use AI to personalise templates dynamically—first name, last product viewed, time of day—everything. Make it feel like a nudge, not a nag.”

Tomchin agrees, noting that brands are experimenting with loyalty programs, shoppable messages, and gamified offers, all within the 72-hour free reply window that starts when a user engages with a Click-to-WhatsApp ad. “That 72-hour window is now gold,” he says. “Smart marketers are designing campaigns to drive the first tap. Everything after that—upsell, retention, referral—can be done free if you plan right.”

Nikhil Khatri, Vice President-Biddable Performance, LS Digital around WhatsApp Pricing Shifts, says, “This change is expected to bring more discipline into message planning and push brands to fine-tune their communication mix. In turn, budgets may be reviewed more carefully, with greater attention given to content that delivers stronger engagement across digital channels.”

He believes it really depends on the kind of message and what fits their plan. “Not every brand will take the same route. It comes down to what they’re trying to do and how their customers usually respond.”

Still, India’s diversity complicates things. Regional languages, varied literacy levels, and spotty data infrastructure mean that not every user responds the same way. Voice messages, vernacular video, and hybrid bots are emerging as workarounds.

“Voice AI in Hindi or Tamil has much higher engagement in Tier-2 cities,” says Ghadiali. “We’re seeing early success using voice nudges for COD confirmations and delivery tracking.”

Ultimately, WhatsApp is now a premium channel—and needs to be treated like one. Brands who adapt to the new cost structure with smarter segmentation, contextual creativity, and tighter funnel design will extract more value. Those who stick to old playbooks may find their messages unopened, their budgets drained, and their users blocking them.

As Tomchin sums up, “This isn’t a messaging tweak. It’s a business model rewrite. If WhatsApp is the front door to your brand, you better have something worth opening it for.”

And if not? Well, there’s always Telegram.