A WhatsApp message template is a message format Meta approves before a business can send it. On the WhatsApp Business Platform (the official API), a template is the only way to open a conversation yourself or to write to a customer whose last message is more than 24 hours old. Inside that 24-hour customer service window you can reply freely; outside it, the Business Messaging Policy allows only approved templates.
Each template has one of three categories, and the category sets the price. For recipients in Brazil, Meta charges R$0.3217 per delivered marketing template, R$0.0350 per utility template and R$0.0350 per authentication template (rate card in force on 24 September 2026). Meta checks the category you pick and can change it.
Review takes up to 24 hours. Meta's review page lists the usual causes, from badly formatted variables to requests for full card or ID numbers. Meta makes the decision, so no provider can promise approval.
When a template is required
- Outside the service window. The window opens, and resets, with every customer message. After 24 hours of silence, only templates go through.
- To start a conversation. Shipping updates, Pix due-date reminders and campaigns are business-initiated, so they are templates, and the policy requires the person's opt-in first.
- Except in free entry points. A customer who arrives from a Click to WhatsApp ad or a Facebook Page button opens a 72-hour window in which delivery is free.
Until 30 September 2026, free-form replies and utility templates sent inside an open window are free, while marketing templates are charged either way. From 1 October 2026 Meta charges both: a utility template in the window costs R$0.0350, and a free-form service message costs R$0.0350 after 1,000 free per business phone number per month. The 72-hour free entry point window stays free. The guide to WhatsApp API pricing in Brazil shows how this adds up on a monthly bill.
The three categories and what each costs in Brazil
| Category | Used for | Brazilian examples | Meta rate per delivered message |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Offers, sales, retargeting | Black Friday coupon, abandoned cart | R$0.3217 |
| Utility | Follow-up on a customer action or request | Order confirmed after Pix payment, delivery tracking, boleto due date | R$0.0350 |
| Authentication | One-time codes | Login code, new-device check | R$0.0350 |
Meta charges on delivery, by the recipient's country code (+55), and changes rates only on the first day of a quarter. A campaign to 10,000 opted-in customers costs 10,000 × R$0.3217 in Meta fees before any provider markup, which each platform card records.
How much does each provider charge per template in Brazil?
Meta's rate is the floor. A provider either passes it through at cost, adds its own fee per message, or sells one all-in price that already includes Meta's share. Per template sent to a Brazilian number, on each platform's scored plan, cheapest marketing template first:
| Platform | Marketing | Utility | How it bills |
|---|---|---|---|
| 360dialog | R$0.3217 | R$0.035 | Meta's rate at cost |
| Kommo | R$0.3217 | R$0.035 | Meta's rate at cost |
| respond.io | R$0.3217 | R$0.035 | Meta's rate at cost |
| Twilio | R$0.3474 | R$0.0607 | Meta's rate + provider fee |
| Gupshup | R$0.3628 | R$0.0761 | Meta's rate + provider fee |
| RD Station Conversas | R$0.39 | R$0.04 | Provider's all-in price |
| SendPulse | R$0.39 | R$0.051 | Provider's all-in price |
| BotConversa | R$0.50 | R$0.05 | Provider's all-in price |
| VTEX CX Platform (Weni) | R$0.5141 | R$0.0566 | Provider's all-in price |
| Zenvia | R$0.55 | R$0.55 | Provider's all-in price |
| Huggy | R$0.5913 | R$0.2571 | Provider's all-in price |
| Blip Go | R$0.69 | R$0.69 | Provider's all-in price |
- Utility templates are where prices differ most in proportion: an all-in price can be many times Meta's own utility rate (R$0.0350), so check both columns if you send order updates and reminders.
- Platforms missing from the table do not publish a per-template price, or do not say how Meta's fees are billed.
- The monthly plan comes on top. The pricing guide adds everything up for one standard month.
How Meta assigns and changes the category
Meta's categorization rules say a utility template must be non-promotional and also specific to or requested by the user (or essential, like a fraud alert). Mixed content counts as marketing. In practice:
- A wrong utility choice is approved as marketing. Since 9 April 2025 Meta changes the category instead of rejecting, and the invoice shows it.
- Approved templates are re-checked. A utility template moved to marketing stays approved, with one day's notice (none since 16 April 2025 for businesses already warned for abuse), by email, in WhatsApp Manager and through the
template_category_updatewebhook. - You have 60 days to object. In WhatsApp Manager, open Message Templates, then Template Category Updates, and click Request Review. The category of an approved template cannot be edited, so a real change means a new template.
This is how a store ends up paying the marketing rate: "Your order 4821 has shipped. Use VOLTA10 for 10% off your next purchase." The coupon makes the whole template marketing. Send tracking as utility and the coupon as a separate marketing template to customers who accepted offers.
Components and their limits
| Component | Required | Limits in Meta's documentation |
|---|---|---|
| Header | No | Text up to 60 characters with one variable, or image, video, GIF, document, location |
| Body | Yes | Up to 1,024 characters; {{1}} or named variables such as {{first_name}}, with sample values |
| Footer | No | Up to 60 characters, no variables |
| Buttons | No | Up to 10: quick replies, URL (max 2, one variable at the end), phone (1), copy code (1); 25 characters of text each |
Names use lowercase letters, numbers and underscores. Meta translates nothing, so templates for Brazil are written in Portuguese under pt_BR. An account holds 250 templates while the business portfolio is unverified and up to 6,000 once verified with an approved display name. Authentication templates use Meta's preset text ("[code] is your verification code", in the template's language) with copy code, one-tap autofill or zero-tap delivery; URLs, media and emojis are not allowed.
A utility template as a Brazilian store would submit it:
- Header: "Pedido confirmado"
- Body: "Olá,
{{1}}! Recebemos o pagamento via Pix do pedido{{2}}. A entrega está prevista para{{3}}. Se tiver alguma dúvida, responda esta mensagem." - Footer: "Loja Exemplo"
- URL button: "Acompanhar pedido", with the order number as the variable
It confirms a customer's payment, opens and closes with fixed text, and sells nothing.
Why templates get rejected, and the fix
Meta's template review page lists these reasons. If your provider returns a reason code (INVALID_FORMAT, INCORRECT_CATEGORY, ABUSIVE_CONTENT, SCAM), match it here.
| Reason | Example | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Missing or mismatched braces | {1}, {{1} | Write {{1}} exactly |
| Special characters in a variable | {{#order}} | {{1}} or {{order_number}} |
| Variables out of sequence | {{1}}, {{2}}, {{5}} | Renumber 1, 2, 3 |
| Too many variables for the length | {{1}} {{2}}, {{3}} {{4}}. | Add fixed text |
| Starts or ends with a variable | {{1}}, your bill is due | Hi {{1}}, your bill is due on {{2}}. Thank you. |
| Sensitive identifier requested | Full card number, full CPF | Ask for partial data; Meta allows the last 4 digits |
| Threatening content | Legal action or public exposure over a late payment | Neutral reminder with due date and payment link |
| Commerce Policy violation | Prohibited goods | Check the product against the policy |
| Duplicate | Same text as an existing template | Reuse it or reword |
A rejected template can be edited and resubmitted, or appealed with a sample (decision within 24 hours). An approved template allows 10 edits in 30 days, at most one per 24 hours, and the name of a deleted approved template stays blocked for 30 days.
Quality rating, pacing and pausing
Meta rates each active template green, yellow or red from negative feedback and read rates. New or low-rated marketing and utility templates may be paced: part of a send is held until early feedback arrives, then released or dropped.
A red template is paused for 3 hours, then 6 hours on the second time, and disabled on the third. Sends during a pause are rejected and not charged. You can unpause early in WhatsApp Manager or by API, and the message_template_status_update webhook reports each change. The practical defense is list hygiene: marketing only to people who opted in to offers, and a quick-reply button such as "Parar ofertas" so they leave instead of blocking you.
Managing templates by API through a provider
Meta's Business Management API creates, edits and deletes templates. Through a provider, automation depends on its API. From the catalog cards:
| What the provider's API does | Platforms |
|---|---|
| Create, edit and submit templates | 360dialog, Digisac, Gupshup, Infobip, Kommo, Sinch, Zenvia |
| Create and submit, no content edits | BotConversa (MCP connector), Botmaker, SendPulse, Twilio, Umbler Talk (Impulso, Escala) |
| Read status only; templates made in the dashboard | Blip Platform, Octadesk, Poli Digital, respond.io (Growth and up), Treble (webhook), VTEX CX Platform (Weni) |
| Dashboard only | Blip Go, Manychat, RD Station Conversas, Umbler Talk Essencial; Huggy (Meta's Graph API only) |
A status webhook is documented by 360dialog, Botmaker, Gupshup, Infobip, Sinch, Treble, Twilio and WATI (Pro and Business); the others need polling. Blip Go, Manychat, Poli Digital and Treble confirm they do not return Meta's rejection reason; for Huggy, Octadesk, Weni, Zenvia and WATI, whose template creation by API is also unconfirmed, we found no public answer. For bulk work, look for create-and-edit plus a webhook on the plan you buy. The guide to choosing a WhatsApp BSP lists other questions for a provider.
Related guides
- WhatsApp Business API in Brazil: the full guide
- WhatsApp Cloud API explained
- WhatsApp chatbots for Brazilian businesses
- AI agents and MCP on WhatsApp
About this guide
Written by the editorial team of WABA Index, an independent catalog of WhatsApp Business platforms for companies selling in Brazil. No platform pays for its position or coverage, and the page carries no affiliate links.
Methodology
On 24 September 2026 we read Meta's template, pricing and policy pages listed in the sources. Meta's rates render from the catalog's rate table, taken from Meta's Brazil rate card; provider facts come from the platform cards, with evidence and sources, as the methodology describes. Nothing was tested hands-on and no templates were submitted.
Last updated
24 September 2026: Meta's Brazil rates in force on that date and from 1 October 2026, Meta's review, categorization and pausing rules, and the template facts on every card.
FAQ
Can I send a template inside the 24-hour window?
Yes. A utility template sent inside an open window is free until 30 September 2026 and costs R$0.0350 from 1 October 2026. Marketing templates are charged inside the window too; only the 72-hour free entry point window makes them free.
How long does approval take?
Up to 24 hours, per Meta's documentation; appeals too.
Can Meta move my utility template to marketing after approval?
Yes. It stays approved at the marketing rate. You can request a review within 60 days.
Why was my template paused?
Its quality reached red, which Meta ties to negative customer feedback or low read rates. Pauses last 3 hours, then 6 hours; the third disables it.
Which language code do I use for Brazil?
pt_BR. Meta does not translate, so customers receive the Portuguese text you submitted.