WhatsApp marketing and advertising: what works, what it costs and what is allowed

WhatsApp marketing means using WhatsApp as a channel for service, follow-up and commercial messages. Advertising on WhatsApp is something else: it mostly happens outside WhatsApp, with ads on Facebook and Instagram that open a conversation (click-to-WhatsApp). This page explains how both work in 2026, what they cost, what the law requires in the Netherlands and the EU, and when you are better off not starting.

Two things decide whether it works: you may only message people who demonstrably opted in, and every marketing message costs money per message. That makes WhatsApp a channel for relevance, not for volume.

In one paragraph: what is WhatsApp marketing?

WhatsApp marketing is sending pre-approved messages (templates) to contacts who signed up, plus handling conversations customers start themselves. You do it through the free WhatsApp Business app (small scale, manual) or through the WhatsApp Business Platform (the Cloud API, usually via a provider) for automation, CRM integration and sending at scale. Advertising happens in Meta Ads Manager with click-to-WhatsApp ads, where the click opens a chat instead of a landing page.

Business app or Business Platform?

	WhatsApp Business app	WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API)
Cost	free	per delivered template plus your provider's fee
Sending to many people	broadcast list of up to 256 contacts who saved your number	templates to every opted-in contact, within your messaging limit
Automation	quick replies, away message	full automation, CRM and webshop integration
Multiple agents	limited number of linked devices	unlimited users via your provider's inbox
Suits	freelancers and small teams, service	webshops and B2B organisations with follow-up and volume

The practical line sits where several people need to read along, or where messages should depend on behaviour in your CRM or shop. At that point the app is too tight.

Messaging limits on the platform

Meta does not let you send unlimited volume from day one. A new account may reach a limited number of unique people per rolling 24 hours outside an open conversation, and that number grows in steps with business verification and message quality: 250, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000, unlimited. Source: Messaging Limits, Meta for Developers.

So do not plan a first campaign as one blast to your whole list. Build up, and watch your quality rating: it is per phone number and drops through blocks and reports. A low rating means Meta restricts your sending.

What does WhatsApp marketing cost?

Since 1 July 2025 Meta charges per delivered template message instead of per 24-hour conversation. The price depends on the template category and the recipient's country code. Source: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform.

Category	Used for	Indication, Netherlands
Marketing	offers, reactivation, news	roughly €0.12 to €0.14 per message
Utility	order, delivery, payment and reminder updates	roughly €0.04 per message
Authentication	login codes, verification	lower than marketing, varies per country
Service	free-form replies inside an open conversation	free so far, see below

Treat those numbers as an order of magnitude: Meta revises per-country rates during the year and sources disagree slightly. Check Meta's live rate card before you build a business case.

On top of Meta's rate comes your provider (BSP). That ranges from a markup per message — Twilio charges a fixed handling fee per message — to a flat monthly fee without markup, as with 360dialog from a few tens of euros a month. Compare on the combination: markup per message, monthly fee, number of users and whether your CRM connects.

Important for your 2026 business case

Meta has announced that the free part is shrinking. From 1 October 2026, replies inside the 24-hour window will be billed as service messages, and utility templates inside that window will no longer be free. Source: Upcoming pricing updates, Meta for Developers.

For a webshop with many service conversations that is the difference between "WhatsApp is almost free support" and a real line in your cost overview. Model your scenario with a price per conversation, not with zero.

The 24-hour window and templates

Two rules decide what you may send when:

• Within 24 hours of a customer messaging you, you may reply freely, without a template. That is the customer service window.
• Outside it, you may only send a template Meta approved.

You submit templates in advance. Meta assigns the category based on content and can recategorise a template — an "order update" carrying an offer becomes marketing, at the marketing rate. Source: Template categorization. Keep commerce and service separate in your templates: that is both cheaper and clearer for the recipient.

What the law requires in the Netherlands

A WhatsApp number is personal data, and a WhatsApp message with a commercial message is electronic marketing. That means:

• Prior consent. Article 11.7 of the Dutch Telecommunications Act requires opt-in for unsolicited commercial, charitable or ideological messages to natural persons. Since the 2021 amendment this reaches beyond consumers only.
• Clear sender and easy opt-out. The Dutch regulator ACM names WhatsApp messages explicitly and requires that opting out is as easy as opting in.
• Lawful basis and records under the GDPR. The Dutch Data Protection Authority confirms digital direct marketing generally requires consent. Record per contact when, where and for what consent was given.
• A data processing agreement with your provider. Your BSP processes numbers and message content on your behalf, which requires a DPA and clarity on retention.

In practice: do not convert an existing email list into a WhatsApp list, do not add numbers from inbound service conversations to a marketing list, and use one visible opt-in per purpose.

Advertising on WhatsApp: what actually works?

Click-to-WhatsApp ads

This is the form that delivers most and needs least explanation. In Meta Ads Manager you create a Facebook or Instagram ad whose click opens a WhatsApp conversation, optionally with a pre-filled opening question. Source: Meta Business Help Center.

It works well for questions people would rather ask than fill in: custom work, stock, planning, appointments, help choosing. It works badly if your team does not reply within the hour — then a form is cheaper and more honest. Note that Meta states on that same page that certain messaging metrics and campaigns are unavailable for Europe, so expect thinner measurement here than Meta's documentation suggests.

Ads in the Updates tab

In June 2025 Meta announced ads in the Updates tab, promoted channels and paid channel subscriptions (WhatsApp Blog). Meta's DMA compliance report of March 2026 states it intends to bring those ads to the EU as well. Rollout, features and conditions in Europe were not settled by mid-2026.

Our advice is short: do not build a plan on this. Put your energy into click-to-WhatsApp and into following up existing contacts, and step in once the EU rollout is actually there and measurable.

Channels

A WhatsApp channel is one-way broadcasting to followers, separate from your customer conversations. It is interesting if you regularly have news people genuinely want to follow, and it is not the place for offers you could also send as a template. Paid channel subscriptions exist since June 2025, but that is mainly a creator revenue model.

What WhatsApp realistically delivers

Nearly every vendor quotes a 98% open rate. That figure is unsubstantiated and is now contradicted by platforms' own measurement data. What holds up across vendor comparisons: messages are read more often than email — often above 90% — and click-through is higher than email, but the numbers are not independently audited and vary strongly by method. Present them internally as direction, not as a promise.

Where we see the effect in practice:

• Following up enquiries. An enquiry that gets a personal WhatsApp message within ten minutes turns into a conversation more often than the same enquiry by email. It is the cheapest use of this channel, and it counts as service rather than marketing.
• Utility messages. Order, delivery and appointment updates reduce "where is my..." questions. Low price per message, high appreciation.
• Repeat purchase on a small, warm list. A few hundred people who actively signed up deliver more than ten thousand numbers you "happened to have".

What structurally goes wrong: one list for everything, too high a frequency, and marketing dressed up as service. That earns you blocks, and blocks cost you sending capacity.

When WhatsApp is not your first choice

• You have no consented list and no logical place for people to sign up.
• Nobody can reply within a working day to what comes back.
• Your margin per customer is too thin for a price per message plus human follow-up.
• You want reach among people who do not know you yet. Then Google Ads or social advertising is more logical, and WhatsApp comes in during follow-up.

How we set it up

1. Fix the goal and role. Service, follow-up or repeat purchase — one main role per number.
2. Set up the opt-in. One clear sign-up point on your site, in your checkout or in a service message, with consent recorded.
3. Choose provider and inbox. Based on number of users, integration with your CRM or HubSpot and cost per message.
4. Build templates. Separated per category, with unsubscribe instructions in marketing templates.
5. Start small and build up. Within your messaging limit, at a fixed frequency, with one measurable goal.
6. Measure in context. Conversations, replies, opt-outs and revenue in your CRM, alongside your other channels — see measurement and attribution.

From sign-up to first send takes two to four weeks in practice: business verification and template approval set the pace, not the build.

Continue reading

WhatsApp is one channel within a bigger whole. How it compares to SEO, paid search, content and email is in channels compared. Follow-up after a conversation is in online leads, and the conversion page explains how a conversation becomes a customer.