How much does Meta Business Agent cost?
From 1 August 2026 at 12:00 PT, Meta charges Meta Business Agent messages at a global rate of $2.00 USD per 1 million tokens. The charge covers input and output tokens and message delivery in one line. Cache tokens are not charged. A typical reply uses about 20,000–25,000 tokens, roughly 4–5 US cents. Meta’s examples: a four-message “what time do you open?” thread is about 16–20 cents; a ten-message assembly walkthrough is about 40–50 cents. India Sold-To businesses are invoiced in INR by Facebook India, using that USD rate times the daily exchange rate on the delivery date. A payment method is required or Meta will not deliver Business Agent messages.
Last updated: 29 September 2026
Meta Business Agent has its own price. It is not a marketing template, and it is not a service reply from your team or from a third-party bot. From 1 August 2026 at 12:00 PT, every delivered Business Agent message is a token charge at one global rate.
The October Cloud API card — service messages, in-window utility, country rates — is a separate change. Read that here: WhatsApp API pricing from 1 October 2026. Product background: what Business Agent is. Who can turn it on: eligibility.
Primary source: Upcoming pricing updates for Meta Business Agent, service and utility messages (Meta for Developers, updated 28 September 2026). Rates and payment methods change. Confirm the live page and your Billing Hub currency before you budget a quarter.
$2.00
USD per 1 million tokens, one global rate, from 1 August 2026
4–5¢
USD per typical reply (about 20,000–25,000 tokens)
INR
invoice currency when Sold-To country in Billing Hub is India
The rate, in one paragraph
Meta charges $2.00 USD per 1 million tokens for delivered Meta Business Agent messages. One charge covers AI processing and delivery together. Meta counts input and output tokens. Cache tokens are excluded. A short answer costs less than a long troubleshooting thread, because the meter follows tokens, not a flat bubble. Simple replies land closer to 4 US cents; richer multi-turn answers land closer to 5 US cents per message, using Meta’s own “typical message” band of 20,000–25,000 tokens.
| Interaction | Example | Messages to the user | Tokens | Estimated cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simple inquiry | “At what time do you open?” | 4 | ~80,000 (~20,000 each) | ~16–20 US cents |
| Complex walkthrough | “I’m stuck on step 3 of this assembly.” | 10 | ~250,000 (~25,000 each) | ~40–50 US cents |
Those rows are Meta’s published examples, not an Ominiflow quote. Your number moves with how long the prompt, the knowledge lookup, and the reply are.
What kind of message this is
Business Agent launched as a platform category on 1 July 2026. Charging started on 1 August 2026. A non-template reply is either a service message or a Meta Business Agent message. One message has one category. Meta does not stack a token charge and a service charge on the same bubble, and it does not add a marketing charge on top of a non-template reply that happens to mention an offer.
| Service | Meta Business Agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Who writes it | A person, or a third-party AI (including an Ominiflow AI node) | Meta Business Agent Platform |
| When it can send | Inside an open 24-hour customer service window | Inside an open 24-hour customer service window |
| Meter | Per delivered message, market rate equal to utility and authentication | Per delivered message, one token charge |
| When Meta charges | From 1 October 2026 (free since 1 November 2024) | From 1 August 2026, 12:00 PT |
| Free entry point (click-to-chat ads) | Delivery stays free inside the 72-hour window | Token usage is still charged |
| Volume tiers | None | None — one global token rate |
The customer service window still opens and resets when the user messages you. Business Agent cannot cold-outreach. Templates still do that job, on the marketing, utility, or authentication card.
Worked thread
Meta’s own hour-long example: a marketing cart reminder, two Business Agent answers (“do you have this in a Small?”, then “in white?”), a handoff, a human reply, and a utility order confirmation. On 1 August that is three charges (one marketing, two agent). From 1 October it is five charges — the human reply becomes a service charge and the in-window utility template becomes billable again. Same thread, two calendars.
Free windows that do not zero this bill
Click-to-WhatsApp and Facebook call-to-action buttons still open a free entry point window for marketing, utility, authentication, and service delivery. Meta Business Agent messages inside that window are still charged for tokens from 1 August 2026. The 24-hour window lets the agent reply. It does not make the reply free.
There is no 1,000-free-messages allowance on this category. The 1,000 free service messages per phone number per month, from 1 October 2026, apply to service only.
Third-party AI is a different invoice
If the reply comes from your own model or from Ominiflow’s AI node, Meta classifies it as service. You pay the model vendor separately, and from 1 October 2026 you also pay Meta’s per-message service rate (the same as utility and authentication in that destination market, with no volume tier).
Meta published a Brazil comparison for 1,000 AI replies to users in Brazil, using the 1 July 2026 utility/authentication delivery rate of 0.68 US cents:
| Third-party, lower complexity | Third-party, higher complexity | Meta Business Agent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI | ~2¢ / message | ~9¢ / message | ~4–5¢ / message |
| Delivery | 0.68¢ | 0.68¢ | Included in the token charge |
| About per message | ~2–3¢ | ~9–10¢ | ~4–5¢ |
| 1,000 messages | ~$27 | ~$97 | ~$40–$50 |
Meta labels the third-party column as a public-benchmark estimate, and the delivery figure as Brazil’s then-current utility/authentication rate. It is an illustration, not a quote for India and not an Ominiflow price. Scale it by volume only after you swap in your own market’s service rate from the October card.
Who sends the invoice
Meta charges the business, including businesses that use WhatsApp through a Solution Partner. A BSP subscription does not absorb this line. Ominiflow passes ordinary Cloud API conversation fees at cost; Business Agent tokens are Meta’s bill on the Business Agent account in Billing Hub.
From 1 August 2026, messages are not delivered if that account has no payment method.
- Credit line — monthly invoice, for eligible businesses, from 1 August 2026. If you already have a Meta credit line, add the Business Agent account to it in Billing Hub (Credit lines → set up monthly invoicing for Business Agent) and accept the payment terms.
- Visa or Mastercard — from 8 September 2026 for businesses that do not already have a payment method on the Business Agent account. Meta pulled this forward from 15 September for Brazil. A business already attached to a credit line stays on monthly invoicing; the card option is not a switch for that account.
Businesses without a credit line can apply in Billing Hub. Approval is Meta’s. If the apply option is missing, the card path (from 8 September 2026) is the one Meta documents.
India, Brazil, and everyone else
The token rate is global and denominated in USD. The invoice currency follows the Business Agent account. If you pick a non-USD account, Meta converts with the daily exchange rate on the day each message was delivered.
| Sold-To country in Billing Hub | Account currency | Who invoices | What you pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | INR only | Facebook India | USD rate × daily FX, in INR |
| Brazil | BRL only | Facebook Brazil on a card; Meta Inc. if invoiced | BRL on a card; USD if invoiced. Both use USD rate × daily FX where the account is not USD |
| Any other country | USD | Meta Inc. | Global USD rate |
| Any other country | One of 13 other currencies (AED, ARS, AUD, CLP, COP, EUR, GBP, IDR, MXN, MYR, PEN, SAR, SGD) | Meta Ireland | USD rate × daily FX |
India teams should budget a USD token rate plus FX, not a flat paise card. Cloud API template rates in INR are a second invoice — see WhatsApp API pricing in India. Failed-card behaviour on the ads and Cloud API side is covered in fix a failed Meta payment.
How to watch the bill
Service volume stays on the Pricing Analytics API with category SERVICE, and on webhooks as category: service. Business Agent usage is a different surface: the Business Agent Usage Insights API, which returns billable messages, billed tokens, and charges for a date range by hour, day, or month, calculated at the Business Agent rate.
Operational habit: cap public rollout until an allowlist week has a token-per-reply number you recognise. A knowledge base that pastes an entire policy into every answer will sit at the top of Meta’s token band on every “what time do you open?”.
What Ominiflow charges
Ominiflow’s platform starts at ₹15,000 per year. Meta’s template and service fees are passed through at cost. AI on the platform is included — you are not buying a separate agent SKU from Ominiflow. If you also enable Meta Business Agent on that number, Meta invoices the tokens itself. Most teams that want FAQ, order status, and handoff run the Ominiflow AI node and pay service (from 1 October) plus the platform, with one shared inbox. Compare the two only after eligibility is true. Setup: how to set up Business Agent.
Ominiflow pricing · WhatsApp API cost guide · 1 October 2026 rate card · Business Agent recap
FAQ
How much does Meta Business Agent cost? expand_more
From 1 August 2026 at 12:00 PT, Meta charges $2.00 USD per 1 million tokens for delivered Business Agent messages, worldwide. One charge covers input and output tokens and delivery. Cache tokens are not charged. A typical reply is about 20,000–25,000 tokens, or roughly 4–5 US cents. India Sold-To accounts pay the same USD rate converted to INR at the daily exchange rate on the delivery date.
Is Meta Business Agent free inside the 24-hour window or click-to-WhatsApp window? expand_more
The 24-hour customer service window is when a Business Agent reply is allowed. It does not make the reply free. Click-to-WhatsApp free entry point windows still waive delivery charges for marketing, utility, authentication, and service. Business Agent token usage inside that window is still charged from 1 August 2026.
Who invoices Meta Business Agent if I use a BSP? expand_more
Meta invoices the business directly, including businesses on a Solution Partner. The charge sits on the Business Agent account in Billing Hub. A partner subscription does not replace that payment method. Without a payment method, Meta does not deliver Business Agent messages.
What is the difference between Business Agent pricing and service message pricing? expand_more
Business Agent is a per-token charge from 1 August 2026, billed by Meta for messages the Meta agent sends. Service is a per-message charge from 1 October 2026 for human replies and third-party AI, at the utility and authentication rate for that market, with 1,000 free service messages per phone number each month. A single message is one category, never both.
Can I pay for Meta Business Agent with a card in India? expand_more
India Sold-To businesses use an INR Business Agent account invoiced by Facebook India. Eligible businesses can attach a Meta credit line for monthly invoicing from 1 August 2026. Visa and Mastercard became a payment method on 8 September 2026 for accounts that did not already have a payment method. An account already on a credit line stays on monthly invoicing.
