Click-to-WhatsApp ads: what they are and how a restaurant uses them
Updated October 20, 2026
A click-to-WhatsApp ad is a Meta ad, on Facebook, Instagram or Messenger, whose button opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a website. You pay Meta for the ad. If the customer writes from WhatsApp on their phone and you reply within 24 hours, the messages in that chat are free for a window Meta says may last up to 7 days.
In short
- The ad opens a chat, not a web page. The customer lands in WhatsApp with a greeting ready to send.
- Needs a WhatsApp number linked to your Facebook Page, plus a Meta ad account.
- Two costs: the ad (your budget) and the messages (free inside the free entry point window).
- A chat from an ad isn't marketing consent. Ask before you add someone to an offers list.
- In the US, WhatsApp sends order updates (utility, about US$0.0034 each) but not promotions, because Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to +1 numbers. Use email for offers.
How a click-to-WhatsApp ad works
- You create the ad in Meta's Ads Manager and choose WhatsApp as where people message you. Meta's developer guide lists "a Facebook page with WhatsApp number linked" as a requirement.
- Someone taps the button, such as "Send WhatsApp message". WhatsApp opens a chat with your number. Meta's default greeting is "Hello! Can I get more info on this?", and you can set your own, such as "Hi, I'd like to order".
- They send it. That message opens the normal 24-hour window.
- You reply within 24 hours. If they used WhatsApp on Android or iOS, your reply opens the free entry point window.
- The chat turns into an order if your reply gives them an easy way to order.
Click-to-WhatsApp ad vs an ad that links to your ordering page
| Click-to-WhatsApp ad | Ad linking to your ordering page | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the tap goes | A WhatsApp chat with you | Your menu in the browser |
| Good for | Questions, catering and large orders, customers who prefer to chat | Customers ready to order now |
| You get | Their WhatsApp number, and a chat you can reply to | An order, if they finish checkout |
| Message costs | Free inside the free entry point window | None |
| Follow-up later | Templates outside the windows; offers need opt-in and don't reach US numbers | Whatever your ordering system collects |
Many restaurants use both: a link ad for "order tonight", a click-to-WhatsApp ad for "plan your party order".
What does a click-to-WhatsApp ad cost?
- The ad: your daily or lifetime budget in Ads Manager. Meta publishes no fixed price per click or per chat; it depends on your audience, area and competition. See the minimum budget for Facebook and Instagram ads.
- The messages: free inside the free entry point window. After it, normal per-message rates apply, by the customer's country (from 1 October 2026: US$0.0034 per utility message to a US number, US$0.022 to a UK number).
A worked example: judging an ad by cost per order
A taqueria in Houston spends US$10 a day for 7 days, US$70. Say that brings 35 chats and 14 first orders at US$28: US$392 of sales, or US$5 of ad spend per new customer. On a delivery app with a 25% commission tier, the same 14 orders would cost US$98 in commission, and every repeat order would pay it again. These are assumptions to show the arithmetic, not benchmarks; judge your ad by cost per order, not cost per tap.
How Menuthere turns ad chats into orders
- "Hi" gets an order button. On the Pro plan (US$39 a month), Menuthere runs a bot on your own WhatsApp Business number. A welcome flow can reply to the customer's first message with Order now and View menu buttons; Order now opens your menu, already signed in.
- You see the chat. Every conversation lands in the Menuthere inbox, with the 24-hour countdown, so a person can take over for a party order.
- Order updates follow. Once they order, the update flows can tell them it's accepted, ready and on its way.
- No WhatsApp number yet? The WhatsApp order link and WhatsApp ordering pages cover the options, including sending orders to your WhatsApp on the Free plan.
What it doesn't do: Menuthere doesn't create or manage your Meta ads, and it doesn't tag which chats came from an ad. The customer pays on your ordering page, not inside the chat.
Give every new chat a menu to order from, with 0% commission.
Related terms
- Free entry point window: why ad chats are free for up to 7 days.
- WhatsApp 24-hour window: what you can send after the chat starts.
- WhatsApp opt-in: why an ad chat isn't permission to send offers.
- WhatsApp marketing template: offers, which don't reach US numbers.
Step-by-step set-up: what are click-to-WhatsApp ads, and are the chats free?
FAQs
What are click-to-WhatsApp ads?
They are Meta ads on Facebook, Instagram or Messenger with a button that opens a WhatsApp chat with your business instead of a website. The customer sends a greeting and you reply in WhatsApp.
What do I need to run a click-to-WhatsApp ad?
A WhatsApp Business number linked to your Facebook Page, a Meta ad account with a payment method, and the ad itself. It works with the free WhatsApp Business app or the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Are messages from click-to-WhatsApp ads free?
On the WhatsApp Business Platform, yes for a while. If the customer messages from WhatsApp on Android or iOS and you reply within 24 hours, a free entry point window opens and every message in it is free. Meta says it may remain open for up to 7 days. You still pay for the ad.
Can I send offers to people who messaged me from an ad?
Only if they opted in to offers. A chat started from an ad is not marketing consent, so ask first. In the US, Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to +1 numbers at all.
Sources (6)
- Meta for Developers, Marketing API: Click to WhatsApp ads ("send people who click on your ads directly into conversations with your business in WhatsApp"; requires "a Facebook page with WhatsApp number linked" and an ad account; publish to Facebook, Instagram and Messenger; default greeting "Hello! Can I get more info on this?", customizable): https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/ad-creative/messaging-ads/click-to-whatsapp/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (free entry point window for Click to WhatsApp ad chats on Android/iOS, opens on the business's reply in the customer service window, may remain open for up to 7 days): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta's USD rate card effective 1 Oct 2026 (North America utility US$0.0034, UK US$0.022), as transcribed in Menuthere's cost calculator data (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Marketing Messages API: Get started (no marketing messages to US users from 1 April 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/marketing-messages/get-started (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy, updated 23 Sep 2026 (opt-in confirming the person wishes to receive messages): https://whatsappbusiness.com/policy/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- DoorDash US Marketplace plans (Plus 25% commission tier): https://merchants.doordash.com/en-us/products/marketplace (rates settled in Wave 1, 20 Oct 2026)