Click-to-WhatsApp ads: the free messaging window

How the free entry point window works

Meta calls it the free entry point (FEP) window. Meta's developer pricing page sets out the sequence:

1. A person taps your ad and messages youThe ad has to be one that clicks to WhatsApp, and the person has to be on WhatsApp's Android or iOS app. Meta says desktop and web are not supported. Their message opens the normal 24-hour customer service window.
2. You reply within that 24 hoursYour reply can be a marketing, utility, authentication or service message. That reply isn't charged, and it opens the free entry point window "starting from the time when you responded."
3. Messages stay free while the window is openMeta doesn't charge for marketing, utility, authentication or service messages to that person. The one exception is messages from Meta's own AI, the Meta Business Agent, which are still charged.

Two details from the same page are worth knowing. First, the window belongs to the pairing of your business phone number and that WhatsApp user, so it applies to any Messaging account that sends on that number. Second, utility and authentication messages sent in the window don't count towards Meta's monthly volume tiers, because only charged messages count.

Source: Meta, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform, page updated 30 September 2026, checked 26 October 2026.

72 hours or 7 days? Meta's pages disagree

If you've read that the free window lasts 72 hours, and then read that it lasts 7 days, you haven't misread anything. Meta's own pages currently say both.

The developer page is the more recent one, and Meta's marketing site lags behind it in other places too. For example, it still says service messages are free, which stopped being true on 1 October 2026. So the developer page is the better guide to how billing works now.

But "up to 7 days" is a ceiling, not a promise. Meta doesn't say what decides whether a particular window runs for 3 days or 7. That's why we plan campaigns on at least 72 hours and treat anything after that as a bonus.

What the free window doesn't change

The free entry point window is about billing. It doesn't change Meta's messaging rules, and it's easy to mix the two up.

• The 24-hour rule still applies. Meta only lets you send free-form (non-template) messages while the customer service window is open: 24 hours from the customer's last message. On day 2 or day 3 of the free window, if they haven't replied, your follow-up has to be an approved template. The template is free, but it still has to be a template.
• You have to reply in time. If nobody answers within 24 hours, the window never opens. A weekend of unanswered ad leads is a weekend of lost free messaging, and probably lost customers.
• The ad isn't free. You pay for the ad in Meta Ads Manager as usual. The free window only covers the WhatsApp messages afterwards.
• Meta's AI is still charged. Replies from the Meta Business Agent are charged at Meta's token rate even inside the window. Replies written by a third-party AI or by your staff are sent as service messages, which are free in the window.
• Phone app only. Someone who taps the ad and lands on WhatsApp Web or desktop doesn't get the free window, according to Meta.

What it saves an SA business

Here are Meta's South African rates from 1 October 2026, in US dollars per delivered message. Meta doesn't bill in rand, so SA businesses usually pay in US dollars.

Source: Meta rate card, effective 1 October 2026. Meta can change rates on the first day of a quarter, so the next possible change is 1 January 2027.

The savings per message are small. Their real value is that you can follow up properly without worrying about cost: send the quote, a booking confirmation, a reminder and a "still interested?" nudge. For a business that has paid to get the person into the chat, that matters more than the cents.

example Say an ad brings in a lead who receives one marketing follow-up and three utility messages (quote, booking confirmation, reminder) over three days. At normal SA rates that's US$0.0379 + 3 × US$0.0095 = US$0.0664. Inside the free window it's US$0. Across 500 ad leads in a month, that's about US$33 in Meta fees that you don't pay.

For the full rate card and a rand calculator, see WhatsApp API pricing in South Africa. For what changed on 1 October, see the October 2026 pricing change.

How to use it in SA campaigns

The free window rewards businesses that answer quickly and finish the job inside the chat. Here's how we'd plan around it.

1. Answer the first message automatically, within seconds

The window only opens when you reply, so the first reply should never depend on someone being at a desk. An automatic first reply that asks a useful question ("Which suburb are you in?", "Is this for a new or used vehicle?") opens the window and starts qualifying the lead. People tap ads in the evening and over weekends too, so this matters.

2. Do the real work in the first 24 hours

While the customer service window is open you can send free-form messages of any type: buttons, lists, a WhatsApp Flow form, a payment link. Use that time to get the quote out, the booking made or the deposit paid. Read lead capture into your CRM, quotes and bookings and rescheduling for the patterns.

3. Plan follow-ups for days 2 and 3, as templates

Get the templates you'll need approved before the campaign launches: a quote reminder, a booking confirmation, a "can we help you finish this?" nudge. Send them inside the first 72 hours, when they're free. Anything you schedule after day 3 should be budgeted at normal rates, even if it may turn out to be free.

4. Hand hot leads to a person, fast

Some leads want to talk to someone. Every chat shows in the shared inbox, and when a team member replies there, the automation pauses for that chat. Their replies are service messages, so they're free inside the window too. See AI support with human handover.

5. Ask for permission to stay in touch

When the window closes, any further marketing is charged at US$0.0379 and should only go to people who agreed to hear from you. Ask during the conversation ("Can we send you specials on WhatsApp?") and record the answer. Then later campaigns go to opted-in customers only, and opt-outs are handled.

Examples that suit the free window

• Solar and backup power: a few questions about the home, an estimate range, a site-visit booking, and a reminder the day before.
• Vehicle dealers: which model, trade-in or not, finance or cash, then the lead goes to the right branch's CRM.
• Clinics, salons and workshops: book from the ad, pay a deposit by Paystack or Yoco link, get a reminder.
• Education and training: course enquiry, a short application in a Flow, and a follow-up about documents.
• Online shops: product questions answered, then the order paid for in the chat and sent to your Shopify store as a draft order.

Who does what: Ads Manager and Euphony

Euphony doesn't create, run or optimise ads. You or your ads agency do that in Meta Ads Manager, choosing WhatsApp as the destination, and the ad results are reported there.

We build the conversation the ad leads to, on your own WhatsApp Business Platform account:

• The automatic first reply and the qualifying questions
• WhatsApp Flows for quotes, applications and bookings, with live data from your systems
• Payment links through Paystack or Yoco, and bookings in the chat
• Sorting replies and drafting answers with Claude, and transcribing voice notes
• The handover to your team in a shared inbox
• Custom builds that connect the lead to your CRM, such as HubSpot or Zoho, or to your own software, through its API
• The follow-up templates, written and submitted for Meta's approval

Codeswop is a Meta Tech Provider. You connect your own WhatsApp account through Meta's sign-up, and Meta bills you directly at Meta's rates, so any free window savings go straight to you. We charge for building and running the conversation, from R15,000 ex VAT, plus R7,500 per integration.

Questions people ask