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WhatsApp marketing: rules, costs and best practices

Meta charges per message, requires opt-in and limits businesses that pile up blocks. The rules for WhatsApp marketing, what it costs in Chile and how to get started.

David López · CEO - Fundador November 4, 2026 10 min read

WhatsApp looks like the perfect sales channel: customers already use it and read their messages on their phones. That is exactly why Meta sets strict rules for commercial use. You need permission before you write, campaigns go through templates that Meta reviews, and every block or report from a user affects your number.

The rules also change often. Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges per message rather than per conversation, and on October 1, 2026 it started charging for messages that used to be free.

This guide summarizes Meta's current rules and rates and two Chilean laws, verified as of November 4, 2026.

App or platform: two different products

The WhatsApp Business app is built with the small business owner in mind. In a limited number of countries it lets you send paid business broadcasts, which Meta reviews before they go out.

The platform (Cloud API) offers APIs for operating at scale. You can connect directly or through a partner, and you need a Meta business portfolio. It lets you connect the channel to your CRM and automate replies.

You do not always have to choose: a Meta partner or tech provider can connect the same number to both the app and Cloud API. Messages you send from the app stay free, and messages you send through the API pay API rates. In exchange, the app's broadcast lists are disabled, and so are disappearing messages, view-once messages and live location in one-to-one chats. Calls keep working in the app, but Cloud API does not support them.

Opt-in: what Meta requires

The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy (last updated September 23, 2026) lets you message a person only if they gave you their number and their permission to receive your messages. You must also respect every request to block or opt out, whether it is made on or off WhatsApp.

Meta's opt-in guide sets three requirements:

Clearly state that the person is opting in to receive communication from your business.
State the name of the business the messages will come from.
Comply with applicable law.

Opt-in can be general rather than WhatsApp-specific, as long as you comply with local law. You can collect it by SMS, on your website, by phone through an interactive voice response (IVR) flow, or in person on paper.

Meta recommends a separate opt-in for each message category (order updates, offers, recommendations), explaining how to opt out of each one, and honoring those requests. According to Meta, this lowers the risk of blocks caused by unexpected messages.

The 24-hour window and templates

When a user messages or calls you, a 24-hour customer service window opens; each new message from them resets it. Inside it, you can reply with free-form messages. Once it closes, you can only send approved templates, which are also the only way to start a conversation.

Templates go through an automatic review that can take up to 24 hours. If your portfolio is unverified, each account can have up to 250 templates; verified and with an approved display name, up to 6,000.

The four categories and how they are charged

Meta sorts templates into three categories and charges separately for a fourth: service messages.

Marketing. Messages to build awareness of your brand, drive sales or promote offers.
Utility. Messages triggered by a user action or request, with no promotional intent: an order confirmation, a shipping update.
Authentication. Codes to verify the user's identity.
Service. Free-form replies, without a template, inside the 24-hour window.

A template that mixes utility and promotional content is treated as marketing. Meta reviews approved templates and gives one day's notice before moving a utility template to marketing; if a business repeatedly misclassifies them, Meta can move all its utility templates to marketing.

On charges, according to Meta's pricing page:

Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges per delivered message.
Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges for service messages and for utility templates sent inside the window, which used to be free. Each phone number gets 1,000 free service messages per month.
If the conversation starts from an ad that clicks to WhatsApp and you reply in time, a free entry point window opens that can last up to 7 days. While it is open, Meta does not charge for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages.
Volume discounts apply only to utility and authentication.

Chile has its own rates in the official rate card, which Meta publishes in 16 currencies, including the US dollar and the Chilean peso (enabled April 1, 2026). The currency is chosen when the account is created. List rates per delivered message, according to the rate card in effect since October 1, 2026:

Category	USD	CLP
Marketing	0.0889	78.4917
Utility	0.02	17.6584
Authentication	0.02	17.6584
Service	0.02	17.6584

For utility, the list rate applies up to 100,000 messages per month, and for authentication up to 120,000; above those volumes, tiered discounts range from 5% to 25%. A marketing campaign that reaches 5,000 people in Chile costs US$444.50 at list rates, plus whatever your provider charges if you use one. Meta updates the rate card several times a year.

Messaging limits and quality

The messaging limit is the number of unique users you can message outside the customer service window in a moving 24-hour period. It is set per portfolio and shared by all its numbers.

A new portfolio starts at 250.
It rises to 2,000 if you verify your business or deliver 2,000 messages outside the window within 30 days using high-quality templates; Meta reviews your message quality before approving it.
It then scales automatically to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited if your messages are high quality and you used at least half of your limit in the last 7 days.

There is also a per-user limit: WhatsApp may restrict how many marketing templates a person receives based on how much they read those messages and how many they have in their inbox. If a send is blocked for this reason, you will see error 131049; Meta recommends waiting at least 24 hours before retrying.

What happens when users block or report you

Users can block or report your business at any time and, when they block, say why. WhatsApp uses these and other signals to determine the quality rating of your number, which you can see in WhatsApp Manager along with its 30-day history.

Templates. With recurring negative feedback or low read rates, a template is paused or disabled.
Volume. According to Meta, its systems rate limit businesses whose quality stays low for a sustained period.
Account. For repeated policy violations, Meta applies escalating restrictions: a 1- or 3-day block on templates, a 5-, 7- or 30-day block on all messages, an indefinite lock that can only be lifted on appeal and, ultimately, removal from the platform.

The policy also forbids asking for or sharing full payment card numbers, and what you sell must comply with the Meta Commerce Policy.

Content and frequency according to Meta

WhatsApp's best practices guide for marketing messages sums up the rule in three words: messages should be expected, timely and relevant. It recommends:

Asking for explicit consent for promotions, without bundling it with order updates.
Monitoring how many marketing messages each customer receives per day and per week, and giving a break to those who stopped reading.
Segmenting and personalizing instead of sending the same message to everyone.
Putting the important part first: messages longer than 5 lines are truncated.
Using buttons instead of several URLs in the text, a single call to action and few emojis.
Refreshing templates every few weeks.
Testing one new use case at a time, ramping up volume gradually and watching for warnings over 7 to 10 days.

Chile: what the law says

This is not legal advice; it is a summary of the texts published on LeyChile.

Law 19,496, article 28 B. The consumer protection law requires suppliers that send promotional or advertising communications by post, fax, calls or "servicios de mensajería telefónicos" (telephone messaging services) to provide a prompt way to request that those messages stop. Once the request is made, sending new communications is prohibited. The article does not name WhatsApp; whether and how it applies to you is a question for your legal counsel. SERNAC, Chile's consumer protection agency, offers the free No Molestar platform so consumers can ask to be removed from companies' lists.

Law 21,719. It amends Law 19,628 on personal data protection. It takes effect on December 1, 2026. On October 28, 2026, the Senate approved a bill (bulletin 18,623-07) that postpones it to October 15, 2027 and is now in its second reading in the Chamber of Deputies; until it is published, the date in force is December 1, 2026. Two points matter for WhatsApp:

Consent (article 12). It must be free, informed, specific, prior and unambiguous. It can be withdrawn at any time, through prompt, free and always-available means. Proving that you obtained it is on you.
Objection (article 8). Data subjects can object to processing carried out exclusively for direct marketing, including profiling.

To record consent alongside your campaign data, see first-party measurement.

A plan to get started

Define the use case. Which messages you will send (updates, offers, reminders) and to whom.
Choose the product. The app if volume is low; the platform if you need integration or scale.
Verify your business with Meta and register your display name.
Design the opt-in. Your business name, a separate checkbox for promotions, and a record of the date, channel and accepted text.
Create your templates and keep utility separate from marketing.
Estimate the cost with the current official rate card and your provider's fees.
Start small. Send to your most active customers first and check quality, read rates and blocks before scaling.
Honor opt-outs that arrive through any channel.

Checklist

Every contact has a recorded opt-in that names your business.
Consent for promotions is separate from consent for transactional updates.
Every promotional message explains how to opt out, and opt-outs are applied across all your lists.
No utility template includes promotional content.
You know the current rate for Chile and the estimated cost of each campaign.
Someone reviews the quality rating, read rate and block reasons every week.
There is a cap on marketing messages per customer and a break for those who don't read.
Your data processing policy covers WhatsApp, and your legal counsel has reviewed Law 19,496 and Law 21,719.

Sources

If you want to review your messaging strategy, let's talk.