28 April 2026 · 5 min read
WhatsApp’s 24-hour conversation window, explained for Indian businesses
Meta’s 24-hour service window is the single most confusing part of WhatsApp Business. Here’s a plain-English breakdown — and how to design automations around it.
When you start using WhatsApp Cloud API, you’ll hit the 24-hour rule fast. Get it wrong and your templates get rejected; get it right and your costs drop dramatically.
The rule, in one sentence
Once a customer messages you, you have 24 hours to reply with free-form text. Outside that window, you can only send pre-approved templates.
The four conversation categories
Meta bills you per conversation, not per message — and the category determines the price:
- Marketing — most expensive; for promotional sends.
- Utility — for transactional updates (order confirmations, reminders).
- Authentication — for OTPs.
- Service — free if the customer messaged you first (within 24h).
Designing automations around the window
Any workflow that might fire after the window closes needs a service-window check node. If the window is open, send free-form. If it’s closed, fall back to an approved Utility template.