Last updated: 9 November 2026
Short answerA WhatsApp chatbot does not have one price. It has four cost lines, paid to different people. The one-time build goes to the developer. Meta’s per-message fees go to Meta, often through your provider. A platform or provider fee, if you use one, is monthly. AI model usage and hosting are usage-based. At Coded Idea, a website plus WhatsApp FAQ chatbot starts from Rs 60,000 and takes about 3 to 4 weeks. A custom AI assistant that answers from your documents or connects to your CRM starts from Rs 1,50,000 and takes about 6 to 8 weeks. These are starting prices, not a promise: you get a fixed written quote after a scoping call, and AI usage, hosting and WhatsApp fees are extra.
This guide is for business owners and managers in India who want a WhatsApp chatbot for enquiries, bookings or customer support, and who have seen prices from Rs 25,000 to several lakh and cannot tell why. We are Coded Idea, a software company in Sector 127, Mohali, with 100+ projects since 2020. We build the bot and set up the WhatsApp Business API connection and the system behind it. Below you will find how Meta charges, a scope checker, an illustrative worked example, and what other developers publish. For our wider service, see AI development.
Checker: how big is your WhatsApp chatbot?
Tick what the first version must do. The checker shows which of our two starting bands your scope is closest to and which items will drive the build cost. It does not give a final price: that is a written quote after a scoping call. Your answers stay on this page until you choose to send them.
Items marked Heavy usually add the most build time and testing. WhatsApp fees, AI usage and hosting are always extra.
1. The four cost lines
| Cost line | Who you pay | When | What moves it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Build | The developer | One-time, fixed in a written quote | Number of flows and FAQs, languages, integrations, human handover, testing rounds |
| WhatsApp message fees | Meta, directly or through your provider | Monthly, per delivered message | Message category, the country of the receiver, how many messages you send |
| Provider or platform fee | Your WhatsApp provider, if you use one | Usually monthly | The plan, number of agents and chats, and any extra per-message charge the provider adds |
| AI usage and hosting | The AI model provider and the server provider | Monthly, by use | Number of AI replies, length of answers, model chosen, traffic |
Ask every vendor to show all four lines in the quote. A price that shows only the first line is not the cost of running a chatbot. Also ask in whose name the WhatsApp number, the Meta business account and the billing will be, because that decides who controls them later.
2. How Meta charges for WhatsApp messages
We read Meta’s official pricing page for the WhatsApp Business Platform on 9 November 2026. The page is marked “Updated: Sep 30, 2026” and says it reflects rates effective from 1 October 2026. This is what it says, in plain words:
- Per message, not per conversation. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges for each delivered message from a business to a user. It does not charge for messages from users to businesses. Old guides that talk about “conversation” pricing describe the earlier model, which Meta now lists as deprecated.
- The category and the country set the rate. Messages are marketing, utility, authentication or service, and the rate also depends on the receiver’s country. India is a named market with an INR rate card.
- Templates start the chat, free text answers it. A business can start a chat only with an approved template message. Non-template replies are possible only inside a 24-hour customer service window that opens when the customer writes. Meta counts such replies as service messages, whether a person or a third-party AI sends them.
- Some messages are free. Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, which do not roll over. If a customer reaches you through a click-to-WhatsApp ad, replies inside the free entry point window are not charged either.
- Rates change on set dates only. Meta may update rates on the first day of January, April, July or October.
We do not copy rupee rates into this page, because they change by quarter and by category. Open the interactive rate card on the WhatsApp Business website, choose India, and use the figures on the day you budget. A reply from a bot built on another AI model is billed twice: Meta bills the WhatsApp message and the model provider bills the AI usage. Meta also sells its own AI agent on the same platform, charged per message on a token basis.
3. A worked example (illustrative, not a client and not a quote)
A small training institute with one WhatsApp number
The institute wants a bot that answers course and fee questions, collects enquiries and hands the chat to staff. The message counts below are made up to show the method. They are not data from any business.
| Line | How it is worked out |
|---|---|
| Build, one-time | FAQ answers, lead capture and handover on WhatsApp and the website is the scope of our website plus WhatsApp FAQ chatbot, which starts from Rs 60,000. If the institute also wants every enquiry written into its CRM, the scope moves toward the custom band, which starts from Rs 1,50,000. The final figure is a fixed written quote after a scoping call. |
| Meta fees, per month | Say the bot sends 1,800 replies inside customer-started chats, 300 fee reminders (utility templates) and 200 course offers (marketing templates). The first 1,000 service messages are free, so 800 are charged at the service rate. Monthly Meta fee = 800 × service rate + 300 × utility rate + 200 × marketing rate, using the INR rate card for the month. Chats that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad and stay inside the free entry point window would not be charged. |
| Provider fee | Whatever your WhatsApp provider quotes per month for the plan and the number of agents. Ask whether it adds a charge on top of Meta’s per-message rates. |
| AI usage | Only if the bot uses an AI model: the model provider’s price per use × the number of AI replies. A rule-based FAQ bot has no AI usage. |
| Hosting and upkeep | The server and any monthly maintenance, quoted as its own line. |
4. What moves the build quote
- Number of flows and FAQs. Every flow (price enquiry, booking, order status) must be designed, written and tested. A bot with 20 approved answers is a different job from one with 200.
- Languages. Hindi, Hinglish and regional languages each need their own content, review and testing, not just a translation tool.
- Integrations. Writing leads into a CRM, reading order status or sending payment links is separate work with its own testing. For CRM scope, see our custom CRM cost guide.
- Rules or AI. A rule-based bot follows fixed paths. An AI assistant that answers from your documents needs clean source material, guard rails for wrong answers and more testing. See our AI chatbot cost guide for the wider picture.
- Human handover. Decide who takes over, in which hours, and how they are alerted. A handover rule that nobody owns loses leads.
- Templates and verification. Message templates need Meta approval, and the business account may need verification. Waiting time here is outside any developer’s control.
- Support after launch. Ask what the first months of changes and fixes cost, and how new FAQs are added.
5. What other developers publish (checked 9 November 2026)
We looked at what Indian chatbot developers state on their own pages. These are their published figures for their stated scope, on the date we read them. Scopes differ, so this is a guide and not a like-for-like comparison, and the figures may have changed since.
| Company | What the page lists | Scope they describe | Source and page date |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Company Mohali (Mohali) | Basic WhatsApp bot from Rs 25,000, live in 7 to 10 business days. Fully custom multilingual bot with CRM and ERP integration Rs 2 to 5 lakh, 3 to 6 weeks. | The page does not itemise what the prices include and does not mention Meta fees. | aicompanymohali.com, published 13 March, updated 18 March 2026 |
| IT Marketz (Mohali) | WhatsApp AI chatbot from Rs 35,000, 2 to 4 weeks. Basic rule-based bot for website or WhatsApp Rs 25,000, 2 to 3 weeks. | AI-model usage is billed by the AI provider. The WhatsApp Business API approval fee is paid to Meta directly. | itmarketz.com, undated page |
| Pacewalk (Chandigarh) | Build and training Rs 80,000 to 3,50,000, one-time. Running per month: AI usage Rs 4,000 to 18,000, WhatsApp Cloud API Rs 3,000 to 10,000, hosting Rs 2,000 to 5,000. | A general business chatbot guide, not WhatsApp only. AI usage is based on about 10,000 conversations. | pacewalk.com, 22 February 2026 |
| Codingclave (Lucknow) | WhatsApp AI chatbot Rs 2,00,000 to 5,50,000, one-time. 5 to 8 weeks in its price table and about 10 weeks in its timeline section. Running cost Rs 5,000 to 25,000 a month for AI usage and hosting, plus Meta fees. | One-time build. Running costs are separate. | codingclave.com, published 17 April, updated 29 October 2026 |
| Wati (platform, not a developer) | Plans at Rs 2,699, Rs 5,799 and Rs 16,799 a month, billed quarterly. Template message charges are extra. | A do-it-yourself subscription: you build and run the flows yourself. | wati.io, undated page |
Our starting point is in the short answer at the top: a website plus WhatsApp FAQ chatbot from Rs 60,000 in about 3 to 4 weeks, and a custom AI assistant from Rs 1,50,000 in about 6 to 8 weeks, both with a fixed written quote after a scoping call. If a price you are given is far below or far above these figures, ask what is in the scope: channels, languages, number of FAQs, integrations, handover and the support period. We will re-check these rows by 9 December 2026. If we have misquoted you, write to info@codedidea.com and we will correct it.
6. Ten questions to ask before you accept a quote
- In whose name are the WhatsApp number, the Meta business account and the billing?
- Do I pay Meta’s per-message fees at Meta’s rate, or does the provider add a charge per message?
- What is the monthly provider or platform fee, and what does it include?
- Does the bot use an AI model? Which one, and who pays for the usage?
- How many flows, FAQs and languages are in the price?
- Which integrations are included, and what does each extra one cost?
- How does the bot hand over to a person, and in which hours?
- Who writes and submits the message templates, and what if Meta rejects one?
- What support and changes are included after launch, and for how long?
- Do I own the flows, the content and the data if I move to another vendor?
If you are comparing vendors in Delhi NCR, read our page on an AI chatbot development company in Delhi. You can also see how bots connect to your systems in our RPA vs API integration vs AI automation guide.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a WhatsApp chatbot cost in India?
A WhatsApp chatbot has four cost lines: the one-time build, Meta’s per-message fees, a provider fee if you use one, and AI usage and hosting. At Coded Idea, a website plus WhatsApp FAQ chatbot starts from Rs 60,000 and takes about 3 to 4 weeks. A custom AI assistant that answers from your documents or connects to your CRM starts from Rs 1,50,000 and takes about 6 to 8 weeks. These are starting prices, not a promise: you get a fixed written quote after a scoping call. AI usage, hosting and WhatsApp fees are extra.
Does Meta charge for WhatsApp chatbot messages?
Yes, for messages a business sends. Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered message, by message category and the country of the person receiving it. Messages from a customer to your business are not charged. Each business phone number gets 1,000 free service messages a month, and replies inside a free entry point window opened by a click-to-WhatsApp ad are not charged. Meta publishes an INR rate card and changes rates only on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. Check the rate card on the day you budget.
How long does it take to build a WhatsApp chatbot?
A website plus WhatsApp FAQ chatbot usually takes about 3 to 4 weeks after the scope and your FAQ content are agreed. A custom AI assistant using your documents or a CRM connection usually takes about 6 to 8 weeks. WhatsApp Business verification and template approval depend on Meta and can add waiting time that no developer controls, so we plan for it in the written scope.
Can the chatbot reply in Hindi and hand the chat to a person?
Both are scope items that change the quote. Each extra language needs its own content and testing, and human handover needs a clear rule for who takes over, in which working hours, and how they are notified. Tell us the languages and the handover rule, and we put them in the written scope before work starts.
Get a scoped quote for your WhatsApp chatbot
Send us your checker answers and a short note on your business and what the bot should do. We reply with a written scope, what is included and what is not, and a fixed quote after a scoping call. Meet us in Sector 127, Mohali, or talk on video from anywhere in India.