Does replying from the WhatsApp Business app in Coexistence mode get charged as a service message after Oct 1?
I want to sort out a billing thing before I build around it.
My client takes orders through WhatsApp. My plan is to connect their number to the Cloud API in Coexistence mode, but only to listen and record incoming messages through webhooks. They keep replying to customers by hand from the WhatsApp Business app. I never send anything through the API.
The thing I can't figure out is the Oct 1 2026 change where service messages stop being free and get billed per message.
So if the number is connected via Coexistence and the client replies from the app, does Meta count that reply as a billable service message? The WABA is on the Platform and app messages get echoed to the API as smb_message_echoes, so I don't know if those echoes get metered or if billing only kicks in when there's an actual API send call.
Basically what I need to know is whether the charge is triggered by the message going through the API, or just by the number being API connected no matter where the reply comes from.
If anyone is running Coexistence right now and can check their billing after replying from the app, that would settle it for me. I already know receiving is free. It's only the app reply I'm unsure about.