WhatsApp Business API in Nepal: what it costs and when you need it
For a small shop, Meta's own charges are small: messages from customers are free, the first 1,000 service replies each month are free, and an order confirmation costs well under one rupee at Nepal's rate. The real costs are setting it up properly and keeping it running. Here is how it works and when you need it at all.
Updated
The app or the API: which one you need
WhatsApp Business app (free)
Runs on your phone. Quick replies, labels, a catalogue and an away message. Every message is sent by a person. Enough while one or two people handle a few dozen chats a day.
WhatsApp Business Platform, also called the API
Messages go out from your own system: order confirmations, delivery updates, booking reminders and an assistant that answers questions. Several staff can share one number, and every chat can land in one dashboard. Meta charges per message, as below.
What Meta charges, in plain words
- Meta counts delivered messages only, and a customer's messages to you are never charged.
- When a customer writes, a 24-hour window opens. Your replies inside it are service messages, and from 1 October 2026 the first 1,000 of them each month are free for each business number.
- Messages you start, such as an order confirmation, must use a template Meta has approved, and each is charged by its type: utility (orders, deliveries, bookings), marketing (offers) or authentication (one-time codes).
- On 1 October 2026 Nepal got its own, lower utility and authentication rates. At Nepal's utility rate an order confirmation costs well under one rupee. Marketing messages cost far more.
- If a customer reaches you from a Click to WhatsApp ad, your messages to them are free for up to 7 days.
A worked example
A shop with 300 orders a month sends each customer one confirmation and one delivery update: 600 utility messages. At well under a rupee each, that is under NPR 600 a month to Meta. Answering those customers' questions inside the 24-hour window falls within the 1,000 free service messages. For most small shops, Meta's bill is the smallest line; the setup, the hosting and someone keeping it working cost more.
Rules that keep your number safe
- Message only people who gave you their number for that purpose, and make it easy to stop.
- Use approved templates for anything you start; keep confirmations plain and promotions in marketing templates.
- Since 15 January 2026 Meta allows bots on the Platform for orders, bookings and support, not general chat assistants.
- Low-quality or unwanted messages lower your number's quality rating and can limit how many people you can message.
What you need to start
- A Meta Business portfolio for your shop, and a phone number for the Platform.
- Your display name and message templates approved by Meta.
- A system that sends the messages: a provider's tool or your own setup on Meta's Cloud API.
How we set it up
Our WhatsApp order confirmation package sends each cash-on-delivery order a confirmation the customer taps to confirm or cancel, so only confirmed orders go out for delivery. We show you the expected Meta cost per order before we start, from Meta's own rate card.
Read the order confirmation guideWhatsApp order-confirmation message writer Free, runs in your browser: writes the confirmation message for your shop.
Questions owners ask
Is the WhatsApp Business API free?
Using it is free; Meta charges per delivered message you start, by type. Customers' messages are free, and from October 2026 the first 1,000 service replies a month are free too.
Can I send offers to all my customers?
Only to people who agreed to hear from you, with an approved marketing template, and each one is charged. Unwanted promotions hurt your number's quality rating.
Can a bot answer my customers on WhatsApp?
Yes, for your orders, bookings and support questions. Meta does not allow general chat assistants on the Platform.
How long does it take to get started?
It depends mostly on Meta's checks of your business and your templates. We agree the date with you in writing once we know where your account stands.
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