WhatsApp ordering for restaurants in Indonesia
Updated October 19, 2026
Indonesians order food on GoFood and GrabFood, but they talk on WhatsApp, and a restaurant can take orders there on its own number. In the Reuters Institute's Digital News Report 2026, 82% of Indonesian respondents used WhatsApp in the past week, more than any other network. One thing is different here: each WhatsApp order update to an Indonesian number costs Rp356.65 on Meta's IDR card from October 1, 2026, and Menuthere's updates are utility templates, so every one is billed. That's high next to the marketing price (Rp586.33), so a lean order flow matters more in Indonesia than almost anywhere.
In short
- Customers order from your menu after sending "Hi" to your number: no app, no login, prices in rupiah.
- Keep updates to two per order. The Track Order page shows live status at no message cost.
- Payment is cash, transfer or pay at pickup. Stripe lists Indonesia only as a preview, so don't count on card checkout.
- WhatsApp ordering is on Pro (US$39 a month). Meta bills your own WhatsApp account; Menuthere adds no markup and takes 0% commission.
WhatsApp in Indonesia
From the Digital News Report 2026 (Reuters Institute, online survey by YouGov, published June 2026):
| Network | Used in the past week, any purpose | Used for news |
|---|---|---|
| 82% | 56% | |
| YouTube | 71% | 47% |
| 57% | 44% | |
| TikTok | 57% | 43% |
| 51% | 34% |
News use on WhatsApp rose 13 points on the year before, the biggest jump in the table.
Meta's IDR prices: the update is the expensive part
Meta's rupiah file is titled "Cost per message in IDR on the WhatsApp Business Platform, effective October 1, 2026". For Indonesian (+62) numbers:
| Category | IDR card | USD card |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Rp586.33 | US$0.0411 |
| Utility | Rp356.65 | US$0.025 |
| Service | Rp356.65 | US$0.025 |
Compare the ratio. In Malaysia a marketing message costs about six times an update; in Indonesia it's about 1.6 times. On the USD card, an update to Indonesia (US$0.025) costs more than one to Singapore (US$0.016) or the UAE (US$0.0157).
What that means in practice:
- Every update you switch off saves Rp356.65 per order. Menuthere sends updates as utility templates, and Meta bills each one.
- The reply to "Hi" is a service message. The first 1,000 service messages each month per business number are free, so a small warung's "Hi" replies may cost nothing.
- Model your own mix in the WhatsApp cost calculator.
A lean Indonesian order flow
| Keep | Drop |
|---|---|
| Welcome reply with Order Now | Order accepted |
| Order placed (with View Order) | Order food ready, for delivery orders |
| Order dispatched (with Track Order) | Order completed, unless you want the Reorder button |
Two updates per order instead of five cuts your update bill by 60%. Write the wording in Bahasa Indonesia; every flow can be edited. How the flow works: how "send Hi to order" works.
Payments: what works for WhatsApp orders in Indonesia
- In-chat payments exist, but not through Menuthere. WhatsApp's Help Center lists Indonesia among the four countries where people can pay registered businesses inside WhatsApp. Meta's developer payment guides, though, cover only India and Brazil, and Menuthere doesn't use in-chat payments. See can customers pay inside WhatsApp.
- No card checkout to count on. Menuthere takes online payments through Stripe outside India, and Stripe's global page lists Indonesia as "Preview".
- What to use: cash on delivery, pay at pickup, or a bank transfer to your account. Menuthere doesn't connect QRIS, GoPay, OVO, DANA or ShopeePay.
- Check transfers before you cook. Fake transfer screenshots are a known trick. Read how to avoid fake payment screenshots and should I ask for payment before cooking.
GoFood, GrabFood and ShopeeFood
| App | From our commission pages |
|---|---|
| GoFood | Standard package 20% plus Rp1,000 per order, with PPN on the fee |
| GrabFood | Not published; merchant guides say about 20% to 30% |
| ShopeeFood | Not published; about 20% is most often reported |
Worked example: a Jakarta ayam geprek kitchen, 600 orders a month
600 WhatsApp orders a month at Rp50,000 (Rp30,000,000 in sales), Indonesian numbers only, IDR billing.
| Full flow (5 updates per order) | Lean flow (2 updates per order) | |
|---|---|---|
| "Hi" replies (service) | 600, inside the 1,000 free | 600, inside the 1,000 free |
| Order updates (utility) | 600 × 5 = 3,000 | 600 × 2 = 1,200 |
| Updates at Rp356.65 | Rp1,069,950 | Rp427,980 |
| Menuthere Pro | US$39 | US$39 |
| Payment fees | None for cash or transfer | None for cash or transfer |
The same Rp30,000,000 on GoFood's standard package: 20% (Rp6,000,000) plus Rp1,000 × 600 (Rp600,000) = Rp6,600,000, before PPN on the fee.
A promo to 500 opted-in customers would add 500 × Rp586.33 = Rp293,165.
Set up in Indonesia
- Create your free ordering page, set the currency to rupiah and write the menu in Bahasa Indonesia. (The menu language button doesn't translate into Indonesian, so write it that way from the start.)
- Add your tax number so it shows on the bill.
- Upgrade to Pro (7-day free trial; a card is needed to start, nothing is charged until it ends), connect your number with Facebook sign-in, and switch on the lean flow.
- Add a payment method in Meta's WhatsApp Manager. Updates are billed from the first one, and service replies stop once the free 1,000 are used.
- Make a pre-filled "Halo" link with the WhatsApp link generator. Then check costs for other countries' numbers in the WhatsApp cost calculator.
Read our Indonesia online ordering system page, also in Bahasa Indonesia.
FAQs
How much does a WhatsApp message cost in Indonesia?
On Meta's IDR card effective October 1, 2026, a message to an Indonesian number costs Rp586.33 for marketing and Rp356.65 for utility or service. Menuthere's order updates are utility templates and always billed; only the reply to Hi counts toward the 1,000 free service messages a month.
Why should Indonesian restaurants send fewer WhatsApp updates?
Because each update to an Indonesian number costs Rp356.65, more than half the marketing price, and every update is billed. Sending two updates per order instead of five cuts the update bill by 60%.
Can customers pay inside WhatsApp in Indonesia?
WhatsApp's Help Center lists Indonesia as a country where people can pay registered businesses in the app. Menuthere doesn't use in-chat payments, so customers pay cash, by bank transfer or at pickup.
Does Menuthere support QRIS or GoPay?
No. Menuthere doesn't connect QRIS, GoPay, OVO, DANA or ShopeePay. You can take those payments yourself and record how each order was paid.
Can I keep selling on GoFood?
Yes. Menuthere doesn't bring GoFood or GrabFood orders into its dashboard, so you run them side by side. You can use the apps to find new customers and WhatsApp for your regulars.
Sources (6)
- Reuters Institute, Digital News Report 2026: Indonesia, published June 2026: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2026/indonesia (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (IDR and USD list rates effective October 1, 2026): https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- WhatsApp Help Center, Learn more about participating countries: https://faq.whatsapp.com/1293279751500598 (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Meta for Developers, WhatsApp documentation index (Payments API pages for India and Brazil): https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/llms.txt (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Stripe, Global availability (Indonesia: Preview): https://stripe.com/global (accessed 19 Oct 2026)
- Menuthere commission pages for GoFood, GrabFood and ShopeeFood Indonesia (accessed 19 Oct 2026)