WhatsApp free entry point window: up to 7 days of free messages
Updated October 20, 2026
The free entry point window is a WhatsApp pricing rule: when a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad and you reply within 24 hours, every message you send that customer is free while the window lasts. Meta says the window "may remain open for up to 7 days." It covers every category, so order updates, replies and even offers cost nothing inside it.
In short
- Only from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, and only when the customer uses WhatsApp on Android or iPhone (not WhatsApp Web or desktop).
- You must reply inside the normal 24-hour window. Your reply opens it.
- Up to 7 days, in Meta's words. Older articles say 72 hours; Meta's pricing page now says up to 7 days.
- Everything inside is free: service replies, utility, marketing and authentication templates.
- In the US, outside this window WhatsApp can send 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.
Free entry point window vs 24-hour window
| 24-hour customer service window | Free entry point window | |
|---|---|---|
| Opened by | Any message or call from the customer | Your reply to a customer who came from a click-to-WhatsApp ad |
| How long | 24 hours from the customer's last message | May remain open for up to 7 days |
| Controls | What you can send (free-form vs templates) | What you pay |
| Cost of messages | Replies: 1,000 free a month per number, then charged; templates charged | All messages free |
| Devices | Any | Customer on WhatsApp for Android or iOS only |
The two run side by side. Inside a free entry point window you still need a template once the 24-hour window has closed; the template is simply free.
The conditions, as a checklist
- The customer tapped a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Facebook or Instagram. See click-to-WhatsApp ads.
- They messaged you from WhatsApp on Android or iOS. Chats from WhatsApp Web or desktop don't qualify.
- You replied within the 24-hour window. Any reply category opens it.
- Messages are sent from the WhatsApp Business Platform (API). The free WhatsApp Business app doesn't charge per message anyway.
One exception on Meta's pricing page: messages from Meta's own Business Agent stay charged during the window.
Why it matters more since 1 October 2026
From 1 October 2026, Meta charges for service replies after the first 1,000 a month per number, and for utility templates sent in reply to customers. The free entry point window was not removed, so it is now the main place where a whole conversation costs nothing.
A worked example: one ad, 60 new chats
A Manchester burger shop runs a click-to-WhatsApp ad and gets 60 chats from new customers in a week. For each customer it sends the menu, an order confirmation and three status updates, then a "10% off next week" offer on day 5: six messages each, 360 in total.
| Inside the free entry point window | Same messages to UK numbers, outside it | |
|---|---|---|
| 300 replies and updates | US$0 | 300 × US$0.022 = US$6.60 |
| 60 offers (marketing) | US$0 | 60 × US$0.0635 = US$3.81 |
| Total | US$0 | US$10.41 |
Illustrative chat counts with Meta's rates effective 1 October 2026. The ad itself is paid to Meta separately; the window only makes the messages free.
How Menuthere handles the free entry point window
- Your number, your Meta billing. WhatsApp ordering on your own number is on the Pro plan (US$39 a month). Meta applies the free entry point window on your own WhatsApp Business account; Menuthere adds no per-message fee.
- A fast first reply. When a customer sends "Hi", your welcome flow can answer straight away with an Order now button that opens your menu, and a reply is what opens the window.
- Message analytics counts what your number sent each month by category, so you can compare with your Meta invoice in WhatsApp Manager.
What it doesn't do: Menuthere doesn't run or buy your ads; you create the click-to-WhatsApp ad in Meta's Ads Manager. Menuthere doesn't label which chats came from an ad. Customers can't pay inside the chat; the order button opens your ordering page.
Turn ad chats into orders on your own page, with 0% commission.
Related terms
- Click-to-WhatsApp ads: the only way into this window.
- WhatsApp 24-hour window: the window that decides what you can send.
- WhatsApp utility template and marketing template: both free inside this window.
Costs and set-up: what are click-to-WhatsApp ads, and are the chats free?
FAQs
What is a free entry point window on WhatsApp?
It is a pricing window on the WhatsApp Business Platform. When a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad on Android or iOS and you reply within 24 hours, the messages you send them are free while it lasts. Meta says it may remain open for up to 7 days.
Is the free entry point window 72 hours or 7 days?
Meta's pricing page now says the free entry point window may remain open for up to 7 days. Older articles describe 72-hour free conversations from an earlier pricing model.
Which messages are free in the free entry point window?
All of them: service replies, utility templates, authentication templates and marketing templates. Meta lists one exception, messages from its own Business Agent, which stay charged.
Do chats from WhatsApp Web open a free entry point window?
No. Meta applies it only to customers who message from a click-to-WhatsApp ad using WhatsApp on Android or iOS. Desktop and web chats are charged at normal rates.
Sources (4)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform: free entry point window "may remain open for up to 7 days"; only users who message from a Click to WhatsApp ad on the Android or iOS app (desktop and web not supported); opens when the business responds within the customer service window; Meta Business Agent messages stay charged; utility messages in the FEP window remain free; from 1 Oct 2026 1,000 free service messages per number and utility messages in response to users charged: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta's USD rate card effective 1 Oct 2026 (UK utility US$0.022, marketing US$0.0635), as transcribed in Menuthere's cost calculator data (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Marketing Messages API: Get started (marketing messages to US users not delivered from 1 April 2025): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/marketing-messages/get-started (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: What you can do on WhatsApp, Message analytics (https://menuthere.com/docs/whatsapp/message-analytics) (accessed 20 Oct 2026)