Two timing rules decide when you can message a customer freely on WhatsApp and when you must pay for a template. Understanding them is one of the simplest ways to cut your messaging cost.
WhatsApp messaging runs on windows. When a window is open you can send freely; when it is closed you need an approved template, which you pay for. Two windows matter, and using them well keeps a large share of your messaging free.
When a customer messages you, a 24-hour window opens. Inside it you can reply with free-form messages, no template needed, and since November 2024 those service replies are free for all businesses. Each new message from the customer resets the 24 hours. The catch: once the window closes, you cannot send a free-form message again until they write back; to reach them you must use a template.
There is a second, more generous window. When a customer messages you from a click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page call-to-action and you reply within 24 hours, a free entry-point conversation opens that lasts 72 hours. Inside it, even business-initiated messages are not charged. For businesses that run paid acquisition, structuring follow-up to land inside this window is a real saving.
The pattern is simple: get customers to message you first, through ads, a website widget, a QR code, or a quick reply, and then do as much as you can inside the open window. Reserve paid templates for when you genuinely need to reach someone who has gone quiet. Done well, this turns the cost structure in your favour.
Every reply inside an open window is free. Inbound-first acquisition, ads, widgets, QR codes, keeps more of your conversations in that free zone and your template spend for when it truly counts.
Want this handled for you? Start free, and if you get stuck, we are the only platform in India that answers you live on WhatsApp.
Start Free → Browse the docs