WhatsApp utility template: what it is and what it costs a restaurant
Updated October 20, 2026
A WhatsApp utility template is a message, pre-approved by Meta, about something the customer already started with you: an order confirmation, "your food is ready", "your driver is on the way", a refund. It must carry no promotion. Meta charges it per delivered message at the utility rate for the customer's country. In North America that is about US$0.0034 a message.
In short
- Utility = about the customer's own order, account or transaction. Nothing promotional.
- A template is needed when the customer hasn't messaged you in the last 24 hours. Inside that window you can reply freely.
- Mix in an offer and it becomes marketing, which costs several times more.
- Paid since 1 October 2026 even inside the 24-hour window, unless the chat came from a click-to-WhatsApp ad.
- In the US, Meta doesn't deliver marketing templates to +1 numbers, so utility order updates are what WhatsApp can send. Use email for offers.
What counts as a utility message?
Meta sorts every template into one of four categories: marketing, utility, authentication and service. For a template to stay utility, Meta's categorization rules say it must be non-promotional and specific to, or requested by, the customer. For a restaurant that means:
| Message | Category Meta gives it |
|---|---|
| "Order #42 is confirmed. Total US$31.50." | Utility |
| "Your order is ready for pickup." | Utility |
| "Your driver Sam is on the way. Track your order." | Utility |
| "Your refund of US$12 has been processed." | Utility |
| A feedback request about that one order | Utility |
| Order update plus "10% off your next order" | Marketing (mixed content) |
| "You left items in your cart" | Marketing |
| A general "tell us how we're doing" survey | Not utility |
Since 9 April 2025, a template you submit as utility that Meta judges to be marketing is approved as marketing. Meta can also re-check an approved template later and move it, with one day's notice. See why Meta changed my utility template to marketing and how to word an order confirmation so it stays utility.
What does a utility template cost?
Meta bills per delivered message, by the country the customer's number is registered in, not where the restaurant is. Rates from Meta's rate card effective 1 October 2026, in US dollars:
| Customer's number | Utility (per message) | Marketing (per message) |
|---|---|---|
| United States and Canada (North America) | US$0.0034 | US$0.025 |
| United Kingdom | US$0.022 | US$0.0635 |
| Germany | US$0.055 | US$0.1365 |
| Brazil | US$0.0068 | US$0.0625 |
| Mexico | US$0.0085 | US$0.0397 |
| United Arab Emirates | US$0.0157 | US$0.0576 |
Two rules changed on 1 October 2026. Utility templates sent in reply to a customer inside the 24-hour window are now charged; they used to be free. And service replies are free only up to 1,000 a month per number. Inside a free entry point window, opened by a click-to-WhatsApp ad, utility messages stay free.
A worked example: three updates per order
A US pizzeria takes 400 delivery orders a month and sends three utility updates on each: accepted, out for delivery and delivered.
- 400 × 3 = 1,200 messages × US$0.0034 = about US$4.08 a month.
- The same flow to UK numbers: 1,200 × US$0.022 = US$26.40 a month.
- Turning off one update in the UK saves a third of that. The order tracking page costs nothing however often a customer opens it.
These are illustrative order counts with Meta's published rates. Your own figure: the WhatsApp message cost calculator.
Utility vs marketing templates
| Utility template | Marketing template | |
|---|---|---|
| About | One order or transaction the customer started | Offers, new dishes, "we miss you", cart reminders |
| Opt-in | Needed, as for all WhatsApp business messages | Needed, ideally a separate opt-in for offers |
| US (+1) numbers | Delivered | Not delivered (Meta's pause since 1 April 2025) |
| Price | Lower | Several times higher |
| Customer can mute it | No dedicated offers switch | Yes, through WhatsApp's offers setting |
How Menuthere handles utility templates
- Six order-update flows on your own WhatsApp number: order placed, accepted, food ready, dispatched (with a Track Order button to the live map), completed and cancelled. You switch on the ones you want. This is on the Pro plan (US$39 a month).
- Templates are submitted for you. You can also write your own under Templates, choose the Utility category and send it for Meta's review, which usually takes about 24 hours.
- The 24-hour window matters. The ready-made update flows send a normal chat message, which only reaches customers who messaged your number in the last 24 hours. For customers who order on your website without writing to you, add a Condition on the window and a Send template step so they still get the update. See the 24-hour window.
- No markup. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account. Menuthere adds nothing per message, and Message analytics counts what your number sent in each category.
What it doesn't do: customers can't pay inside the WhatsApp chat; the update links to your ordering and tracking pages. In the US, WhatsApp sends order updates, not promotions.
Let customers order on your own page and follow every update, 0% commission.
Related terms
- WhatsApp marketing template: the promotional category, and why it doesn't reach US numbers.
- WhatsApp 24-hour window: when you need a template at all.
- Free entry point window: the up-to-7-day window where every message is free.
- Abandoned cart reminder: looks like an order update, but Meta counts it as marketing.
FAQs
What is a utility message on WhatsApp?
A utility message is a WhatsApp Business message about a transaction the customer already started, such as an order confirmation, a pickup notice or a delivery update. It must not promote anything. Outside the 24-hour customer service window it has to be sent as a pre-approved utility template.
How much does a WhatsApp utility template cost?
Meta charges per delivered message by the customer's country. From 1 October 2026 a utility message costs US$0.0034 to a US or Canadian number, US$0.022 to a UK number and US$0.0068 to a Brazilian number. Marketing messages cost several times more.
Can I add a discount code to an order confirmation?
You can, but the template then counts as marketing because it mixes an order update with a promotion. Meta approves or moves it into the marketing category and charges the marketing rate. In the US it would then not be delivered to +1 numbers.
Are utility templates free inside the 24-hour window?
Not any more. Since 1 October 2026, utility templates sent in reply to a customer inside the 24-hour window are charged. They stay free inside a free entry point window opened by a click-to-WhatsApp ad.
Does Menuthere charge for WhatsApp order updates?
No. Meta bills your own WhatsApp Business account for each message, and Menuthere adds no fee or markup. WhatsApp order updates are on the Pro plan.
Sources (5)
- Meta for Developers, Template categorization (utility must be non-promotional and specific to or requested by the user; mixed content is marketing; cart reminders are marketing; since 9 April 2025 a template judged marketing is approved as marketing; re-categorization with one day's notice), retargeting is marketing even if requested; 60 days to appeal: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/template-categorization (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (per-message pricing since 1 July 2025; utility messages sent in response to users charged from 1 Oct 2026; 1,000 free service messages per number per month from 1 Oct 2026; utility free inside a free entry point window): 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, marketing US$0.025; UK, Germany, Brazil, Mexico, UAE figures as in the table), 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, error 131049, across all Business Messaging APIs): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/marketing-messages/get-started (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere help: Order updates to customers, The 24-hour window, Message templates, What WhatsApp messages cost (https://menuthere.com/docs/whatsapp/order-updates-to-customers) (accessed 20 Oct 2026)