WhatsApp ordering system for restaurants in India
Updated October 20, 2026
A WhatsApp ordering system lets an Indian restaurant take complete orders on its own WhatsApp number, with the total worked out, GST on the bill and payment by UPI, instead of typing orders from chats. With Menuthere, a customer sends "Hi", taps Order Now, orders from your menu in rupees and pays by UPI, card or netbanking into your own gateway account, or in cash at the door. Order updates follow in the same chat. To an Indian (+91) number, each update costs ₹0.115 on Meta's INR rate card effective 1 October 2026, and a promotional message costs ₹0.8631. Menuthere takes 0% commission and adds nothing to Meta's price.
In short
- ₹0.115 per order update, ₹0.8631 per promotion to Indian numbers (Meta's INR list rates, effective 1 October 2026). The first 1,000 service replies a month per number are free; templates never are.
- UPI, cards and netbanking through your own Razorpay or Easebuzz account on Lite, or Cashfree set up with Menuthere on Pro. The money goes to your account.
- GST bills: Indian bills split GST into CGST and SGST, and can carry your GSTIN and your 14-digit FSSAI number.
- Your own delivery riders with live tracking, and a UPI QR at the door, on the Pro plan (US$39 a month).
What Meta charges for WhatsApp messages to Indian numbers
Meta prices each message by the country of the number that receives it. Its file "Cost per message in INR on the WhatsApp Business Platform, effective October 1, 2026" lists, for India:
| Category | Price per message (INR card) | In Menuthere |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | ₹0.8631 | Broadcasts, comeback messages, the cart reminder template |
| Utility | ₹0.115 | Every order update: placed, accepted, ready, dispatched, completed |
| Authentication | ₹0.115 | The login code a customer gets at checkout |
| Service | ₹0.115 (first 1,000 a month free per number) | The bot's reply to "Hi" and replies from your inbox |
These are Meta's list rates before any tax on your Meta invoice. Three rules from Meta's pricing page matter for a restaurant:
- Service replies: each business phone number gets 1,000 free delivered service messages a month. They don't roll over, and the 1,001st is charged.
- Order updates are always billed. Since 1 October 2026, utility templates sent inside an open customer service window are charged again. Menuthere sends every order update as a utility template, so plan for ₹0.115 each.
- Ads: a customer who starts a chat from a click-to-WhatsApp ad opens a free entry point window that "may remain open for up to 7 days", and Meta doesn't charge for messages in it. See click-to-WhatsApp ads.
Gulf and other foreign numbers cost more. If a family member in Dubai orders for parents in Kochi, the updates go to a +971 number, which the INR card prices at ₹1.1509 per utility message, ten times the Indian rate. A Saudi (+966) number is ₹0.7834, and a UK (+44) number ₹1.6122.
INR billing deadline. Meta's pricing page says businesses billed with India as their sold-to country must move every WhatsApp messaging account to INR billing by 31 December 2026; from 1 January 2027 Meta stops delivering messages from such accounts still billed in another currency. Check the currency in WhatsApp Manager under Billing. Paying Meta itself is covered in how to pay Meta for WhatsApp messages in India with UPI.
Model your own numbers in the WhatsApp cost calculator.
How customers pay: UPI, cards and cash at the door
India is one of the few countries where WhatsApp itself can take payments. Meta's Payments API for India lets a business collect through "all UPI apps installed" on the customer's phone, and through cards, netbanking and wallets when the business's gateway is deeply integrated (Meta lists Razorpay, PayU, BillDesk and Zaakpay for that mode). Menuthere doesn't use WhatsApp's in-chat payments. The customer taps Order Now in the chat and pays on your Menuthere checkout:
| How the customer pays | What happens | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| UPI, card or netbanking online | Through your own Razorpay or Easebuzz account, straight to your bank. Razorpay's standard fee is 2% per successful payment, plus 18% GST on the fee | Lite |
| UPI, card or netbanking with Cashfree | Menuthere sets Cashfree up with you; you enter your merchant ID | Pro |
| UPI QR at the door | Your rider taps Show QR: a QR for your own UPI ID, or a fresh QR for the order's exact amount (needs Cashfree) | Pro (own riders) |
| Cash on delivery, pay at pickup | You mark the order paid | Every plan, Free included |
Only one gateway is live at a time, and Menuthere never holds the money. More: can customers pay inside WhatsApp, what Razorpay charges and collect payment at the door.
GST and FSSAI on WhatsApp orders
GST. The GST Council's 23rd meeting (10 November 2017) put all stand-alone restaurants, air-conditioned or not, and food parcels at 5% without input tax credit. Restaurants inside hotels that let a room above ₹7,500 a day pay 18% with credit. Two things follow for WhatsApp orders:
- Your own orders carry your GST. In Menuthere, switch on Charge tax on orders, enter 5% and your GSTIN. An Indian bill always splits the tax into two equal halves: CGST 2.5% and SGST 2.5%. If your prices already include GST, mark the dishes Tax Inclusive and checkout shows "GST (included)".
- App orders are different. Since 1 January 2022, Zomato and Swiggy pay the GST on restaurant service supplied through them, under section 9(5) of the CGST Act (CBIC Circular 167/23/2021). Moving a regular to WhatsApp moves that GST back onto your own return. Ask your CA how this affects your filing.
Is the WhatsApp order summary itself a tax invoice? Read is the WhatsApp order summary a GST invoice.
FSSAI. FSSAI's order of 8 June 2021, enforced from 1 January 2022, requires every food business to print its 14-digit FSSAI license or registration number on cash receipts, invoices and bills. In Menuthere, switch on Print your FSSAI number under Settings → Printing → Bill content (every plan), and your ordering site's Contact Us page also shows it. See what to print on the bill and what a restaurant must show to sell on WhatsApp in India.
Worked example: a Kochi biryani cloud kitchen
600 WhatsApp orders a month at ₹350 average (₹2,10,000). Every customer has an Indian number and pays online through Razorpay. Four updates are on per order (placed, accepted, dispatched, completed), and there's one promotion a month to 1,500 customers who opted in.
| Cost | Working | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| "Hi" replies (service) | 600, inside the 1,000 free | ₹0 |
| Order updates (utility) | 600 × 4 = 2,400 × ₹0.115 | ₹276.00 |
| One promotion (marketing) | 1,500 × ₹0.8631 | ₹1,294.65 |
| Razorpay | 2% of ₹2,10,000 = ₹4,200, + 18% GST on the fee (₹756) | ₹4,956.00 |
| Meta + gateway | ₹6,526.65 | |
| Menuthere Pro | 0% commission | US$39 (invoiced in ₹) |
The same ₹2,10,000 on a delivery app. Neither Zomato nor Swiggy publishes its commission. Business Standard reported base commissions of 15% to 30% in July 2026, with 18% GST on the commission:
| Commission | Commission | GST on it (18%) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15% | ₹31,500 | ₹5,670 | ₹37,170 |
| 25% | ₹52,500 | ₹9,450 | ₹61,950 |
| 30% | ₹63,000 | ₹11,340 | ₹74,340 |
Swiggy also takes a 2% collection fee on every order. The apps bring you new customers; WhatsApp is where your regulars should reorder. See Zomato commission, Swiggy commission, the ONDC fees page and WhatsApp ordering or Zomato and Swiggy.
Notice where the money goes: the monthly promotion costs more than four times all the order updates together. Trim the broadcast list before you switch off updates.
Delivery with your own riders
On Pro, your riders use the Menuthere delivery app on Android or iPhone. You assign each order from the Orders screen, the "dispatched" WhatsApp message carries a Track Order button, and the customer follows the rider on a live map without installing anything. For trips your riders can't take, the Porter and Rapido add-on books a courier and shows the live fare. See Porter and Rapido auto-booking.
Menus in Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil and more
- Dish names in your language, on every plan: type a second name under each dish, such as ചിക്കൻ ബിരിയാണി under "Chicken biryani".
- Bot replies in any language: you can edit the wording of every WhatsApp flow, so the reply to "Hi" can be in Malayalam or Hindi.
Set up WhatsApp ordering in India
- Menu in rupees, with veg and non-veg marks and dish names in your customers' language.
- GST at 5% with your GSTIN, and your FSSAI number switched on for bills.
- Razorpay or Easebuzz connected (Lite), or Cashfree (Pro), and one small UPI test order paid.
- Your WhatsApp number connected on Pro, with the Order Now reply and the order updates you want.
- Opt-in wording before any promotion. Read WhatsApp marketing and India's DPDP Act.
- A "Hi" link from the WhatsApp link generator on Instagram, and a WhatsApp QR sticker on every parcel.
Not ready for Pro? The Free plan has a "Send Order to WhatsApp" button that drops the cart into a chat with you. Delivery-only kitchen? See WhatsApp ordering for cloud kitchens. Dine-in? See the QR code menu for India. The full set-up for Indian restaurants is on the India online ordering system page.
FAQs
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost per message in India?
On Meta's INR rate card effective 1 October 2026, a message to an Indian number costs ₹0.8631 for marketing and ₹0.115 for utility, authentication or service. Each number gets 1,000 free service replies a month. Menuthere's order updates are utility templates, so each one is billed.
Can customers pay by UPI for a WhatsApp order?
Yes. They tap Order Now in the chat and pay by UPI, card or netbanking on your Menuthere checkout, through your own Razorpay or Easebuzz account on Lite or Cashfree on Pro. On Pro, your rider can also show a UPI QR at the door.
Does Menuthere use WhatsApp Pay in India?
No. Meta's Payments API lets Indian businesses collect UPI inside WhatsApp, but Menuthere takes payment on your own checkout through your own gateway instead. The money goes to your gateway account, and Menuthere takes no commission.
Do I charge GST on WhatsApp orders?
If you're GST-registered, yes: most stand-alone restaurants charge 5% without input tax credit. Menuthere's Indian bills show it as CGST and SGST. On Zomato and Swiggy orders, the app pays the GST under section 9(5), so ask your CA about your returns.
Does my FSSAI number have to be on the bill?
Yes. FSSAI requires food businesses to print their 14-digit license or registration number on bills and receipts, enforced from 1 January 2022. Menuthere prints it at the foot of every bill once you switch on Print your FSSAI number.
Is WhatsApp ordering cheaper than Zomato or Swiggy?
For repeat customers, usually. On ₹2,10,000 of monthly sales, a 25% commission plus 18% GST costs ₹61,950. The same orders on WhatsApp cost about ₹6,527 in Meta and Razorpay fees, plus the US$39 Pro plan.
Sources (8)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (1,000 free service messages per number; utility in the service window charged from 1 October 2026; free entry point window "may remain open for up to 7 days"; billing localization for India and the INR migration by 31 December 2026): https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta, "Cost per message in INR on the WhatsApp Business Platform, effective October 1, 2026" (INR list rates file linked from the pricing page): India marketing ₹0.8631, utility/authentication/service ₹0.115; UAE utility ₹1.1509; Saudi Arabia ₹0.7834; UK ₹1.6122 (downloaded 20 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Payments API – India, overview: https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/payments/payments-in/overview/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Razorpay pricing (2% per successful transaction on domestic instruments; 18% GST on the fee; Rs. 0 setup and AMC): https://razorpay.com/pricing/ (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- GST Council, Decisions relating to services in the 23rd GST Council meeting at Guwahati (10 Nov 2017): https://www.gstcouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/2024-02/gst-services-23rd_gst-council.pdf (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- CBIC, Circular No. 167/23/2021-GST, 17 December 2021 (ECOs pay GST on restaurant service from 1 January 2022 under section 9(5)): https://cbic-gst.gov.in/pdf/Circular-167-17-12-2021-GST.pdf (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- FSSAI, Orders No. 15(31)2020/FoSCoS/RCD/FSSAI of 8 June 2021 and 30 September 2021 (14-digit FSSAI number on receipts and bills; enforcement from 1 January 2022): https://fssai.gov.in/upload/advisories/2021/10/6156936ac80bbOrder_License_Number_Print_01_10_2021.pdf (accessed 20 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere commission pages for Zomato, Swiggy and ONDC India (Business Standard, July 2026: 15–30% base commission, 18% GST on commission; Swiggy 2% collection fee from 20 Dec 2023) (accessed 20 Oct 2026)