Message Conversation Charges in WhatsApp Groups

How Conversation Billing Works

When using WhatsApp Groups in DoubleTick, there are two types of charges involved:

1. Group usage fee – ₹50 per group per month (feature access fee)

2. WhatsApp conversation charges – charged by Meta based on template conversations

This article explains clearly how conversation billing works inside a WhatsApp Group.

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1. Important Concept: Billing Is Per Participant

Even though a group message appears as a single message, META calculates conversation charges per participant, not per group.

Each member in the group is treated as an individual recipient for billing purposes.

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2. Understanding the Group Size

The maximum group size is 8 members in total, including the admin (business number).

Example:

• 7 customers are added

• 1 business number (admin)

Total members in group = 8

However, conversation charges apply only to the participants receiving the message, not to your own business number.

So in this example:

• 7 chargeable participants

• 1 admin (no charge for self)

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3. Example: Sending One Marketing Template

Assume:

• Marketing template cost = ₹0.99 per conversation

• Group has 7 participants + 1 admin

When the admin sends one marketing template in the group:

• META opens 7 separate marketing conversations

• Each participant is billed individually

Calculation:

7 participants × ₹0.99 = ₹6.93 deducted

Even though you sent one message in one group, billing happens per participant.

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4. What Happens If a User Replies?

If one of the participants replies:

• A 24-hour customer service window opens for that individual user.

• Within that 24-hour window, you can send free-form (non-template) messages to that user without triggering a new conversation charge.

Important points:

• The 24-hour window applies only to the participant who replied.

• Other participants in the group are not affected.

• If you send another template outside the active 24-hour window, a new conversation charge will apply for that participant.

Each user’s 24-hour window is tracked separately.

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5. Practical Cost Understanding

Let us break this down practically.

Scenario 1: One Template Sent

• 7 participants

• ₹0.99 per marketing conversation

Total cost = ₹6.93

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Scenario 2: One User Replies

• That user opens a 24-hour service window.

• You can respond freely to that user within 24 hours.

• No additional template charge for messages within that window.

If you send another marketing template later (outside the window):

• Another ₹0.99 will be charged for that participant.

• Other participants may also be charged if their windows are inactive.

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Scenario 3: Frequent Template Usage

If you send marketing templates regularly in a full group:

Every template send can trigger:

7 participants × template rate

This means costs scale with:

• Number of participants

• Frequency of template sends

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6. Key Clarifications

• The ₹50 per group per month fee is separate from conversation charges.

• Conversation charges are defined by META, not DoubleTick.

• Billing is always calculated per participant.

• Replies within 24 hours allow free-form messaging without new charges.

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Understanding this structure helps you estimate messaging costs accurately and use WhatsApp Groups strategically for business communication.

If you plan to send frequent marketing templates in groups, always calculate cost based on the number of participants, not the number of groups.