Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://knowledge.flowella.io/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

WhatsApp is billed per conversation, not per message — and the price depends on the conversation’s category. This page explains how Meta’s pricing works, how it lines up with your Flowella plan, and why you see two separate bills. For plan sizes and Flowella overage rates, see Plans & limits. For invoice mechanics on the Flowella side, see Billing.

​
Two separate bills

Using Flowella with WhatsApp always involves two costs:
BillWho charges youWhat it covers
Flowella subscriptionDiscover Digital (via Stripe)The Flowella platform, HubSpot integration, dashboards, and your monthly conversation allowance.
Meta WhatsApp feesMeta directly, via your own WhatsApp Business / Meta Business accountNetwork delivery of every WhatsApp conversation, priced by category and country.
Flowella does not resell or mark up Meta charges. Meta bills you directly through the payment method on your WhatsApp Business Account. Flowella never sees or processes those funds.
One trigger, two charges. Every time Meta opens a billable conversation, that same conversation also counts toward your Flowella monthly usage. If you’re inside your Flowella allowance, the Flowella side is “free” for that conversation (it’s covered by your subscription). If you’re over your allowance, you’ll see a Flowella overage charge in addition to the Meta fee.

​
Conversation categories

Meta groups every conversation into one of four categories. The category is decided by the template you send first (for business-initiated conversations) or by who started the conversation (for user-initiated ones).
CategoryWhen it appliesTypical costNotes
MarketingYou send a Marketing-category template — promos, offers, re-engagementHighest tierRequires explicit opt-in; subject to frequency capping by Meta.
UtilityYou send a Utility-category template — order updates, alerts, reminders tied to a specific transactionMid tierMust relate to an existing transaction or request from the user.
AuthenticationYou send an Authentication template — OTPs and verification codesLowest tierStrict content rules; no marketing language allowed.
ServiceThe user messaged you first, inside the 24-hour customer service windowFree in most markets (as of 2025 Meta pricing changes)Replies to inbound messages within 24 hours of the user’s last message.
Meta updates these rates and rules periodically. The latest official rates per country are on the Meta WhatsApp pricing page. The categories themselves can change too — Meta has been phasing the Service category in and out of “free” status by market.

​
Why category matters

  • Cost per conversation is set entirely by Meta’s category-and-country matrix. The same template sent to the UK, Brazil, and India will have three different unit costs.
  • Approval rules differ. A Utility template containing Marketing-style content will be rejected — or worse, approved and then re-categorised mid-campaign, which silently changes your unit cost.
  • Opt-in requirements differ. Marketing requires explicit, recent opt-in. Utility and Authentication are more permissive but only for genuine transactional content.

​
The 24-hour customer service window

When a contact messages you, Meta opens a 24-hour service window. Inside that window:
  • You can reply with free-form messages (no template needed).
  • The conversation is categorised as Service and is often free.
Outside the 24-hour window, you must send a template to re-open the conversation, and the template’s category sets the new conversation’s category and price. See Inbox for how Flowella surfaces the service window in the UI.

​
How Meta charges and Flowella usage line up

A single illustrative example on a Starter plan (2,000 conversations/month):
ScenarioMeta chargesFlowella counterFlowella charge
A contact messages you first; you reply within 24 hoursService conversation (often $0)+1 conversationCovered by subscription
You send a Utility template (order shipped)Utility rate × country+1 conversationCovered by subscription
You send a Marketing campaign templateMarketing rate × country+1 conversationCovered by subscription
You send conversation 2,001 in the monthSame Meta rate as above+1 conversation (over allowance)~$0.04 overage on Flowella
Key points:
  • Every billable Meta conversation creates exactly one Flowella usage tick. There is no “Meta-only” path that bypasses Flowella metering.
  • Flowella overage is charged in addition to the Meta fee, not instead of it.
  • Free Meta conversations (Service-window replies, where Meta’s rate is $0) still count as one Flowella conversation. They use your monthly allowance even though Meta charges nothing.

​
Monthly usage does not roll over

Your Flowella plan includes a fixed number of conversations per calendar month. Unused conversations expire at the end of the month and do not carry forward.
  • A Starter plan that uses 1,200 of 2,000 conversations in May does not start June with 2,800. June starts at 2,000.
  • The reset happens on your billing anniversary, not strictly on the 1st of the month. The Settings → Usage page shows your exact cycle dates.
  • Overage charges are calculated per month. Going over by 500 conversations in May does not let you “save” the next month — June starts at 2,000 again, and overage is recalculated from zero.
If you regularly use 80% or more of your allowance, upgrading to the next plan is usually cheaper than paying overage on the current one. The Plans & limits page has the comparison.

​
Checking what you’ve spent

  • Meta charges — visible in your Meta Business Manager → Billing. Flowella does not display Meta’s invoiced amount.
  • Flowella conversation count — visible in Settings → Usage, broken down by channel and by month. Updated in near real time.
  • Flowella invoice — visible in Settings → Billing. Includes subscription + any overage from the previous cycle.

​
Common questions

Flowella counts that as one conversation against your monthly allowance, the same way every other conversation counts. Meta usually charges $0 for that Service conversation, but Flowella’s metering is conversation-based, not Meta-spend-based.
Yes — go to Analytics and group by category. This shows your conversation mix (Marketing / Utility / Authentication / Service), which is what drives the Meta side of your bill.
Meta sometimes re-categorises a template after it’s been live for a while if the content drifts from the approved category. Re-categorisation changes the unit cost on the Meta side. The Flowella usage count is unaffected. See Template rejected for prevention tips.
Yes, but only from Meta’s side — set spending limits on your WhatsApp Business Account in Meta Business Manager. Flowella does not have a separate Meta-spend cap.
Meta currently treats conversations that start from a free entry point (some ad formats, some referrals) as free for 72 hours. Flowella still counts these as one conversation against your allowance. See Click-to-WhatsApp ads.
Always cross-check current Meta rates on the official pricing page before launching a high-volume campaign. Meta has changed pricing and category rules several times in the last 18 months.