WhatsApp Business API pricing in Rest of Africa
Meta's per-message rates for recipients in Rest of Africa, effective 1 October 2026, with volume tiers, free-message rules and a worked monthly example. OmniChannels.ai passes Meta's rate through with zero markup.
- Marketing
- $0.0225
- Utility
- $0.0040
- Authentication
- $0.0040
- Service (after 1,000 free)
- $0.0040
Short answer
A WhatsApp marketing message to Rest of Africa costs $0.0225, a utility message $0.0040 and an authentication (OTP) message $0.0040 from 1 October 2026, charged by Meta per delivered message. The first 1,000 service messages per number each month are free. OmniChannels.ai charges Meta's rate with zero markup.
Rates by message category
| Category | USD per message | Per 1,000 messages | vs nearby average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | $0.0225 | $22.50 | −54% |
| Utility | $0.0040 | $4.00 | −63% |
| Authentication | $0.0040 | $4.00 | −63% |
| Service | $0.0040 | $4.00 | −63% |
This rate applies to recipients in: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Eswatini, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Free-message rules, how volume tiers are counted and Meta's price-change calendar are the same in every market: see the rules on the WhatsApp pricing hub.
SMS rates across Rest of Africa
18 of the 40 countries billed at this Meta rate also have a published SMS rate card with us. A WhatsApp authentication template costs $0.0040 in all of them; compare it with each country's cheapest SMS rate:
SMS in French fits 160 GSM-7 characters per segment until one character outside GSM-7, or an emoji, drops it to 70.
| Country | SMS from | vs WhatsApp OTP | Regulator · sender ID lead time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya | $0.0300 | +650% | CA5-7 business days |
| Ghana | $0.0320 | +700% | NCA-GH5-7 business days |
| Rwanda | $0.0320 | +700% | RURA5-7 business days |
| Tanzania | $0.0340 | +750% | TCRA5-10 business days |
| Uganda | $0.0340 | +750% | UCC5-10 business days |
| Botswana | $0.0360 | +800% | BOCRA5-7 business days |
| Ivory Coast | $0.0360 | +800% | ARTCI7-10 business days |
| Cameroon | $0.0380 | +850% | ART7-14 business days |
| Senegal | $0.0380 | +850% | ARTP7-10 business days |
| Zambia | $0.0380 | +850% | ZICTA5-10 business days |
| Madagascar | $0.0440 | +1,000% | ARTEC10-14 business days |
| Mozambique | $0.0440 | +1,000% | INCM10-14 business days |
| Namibia | $0.0440 | +1,000% | CRAN5-10 business days |
| Tunisia | $0.0460 | +1,050% | INT5-7 business days |
| Angola | $0.0480 | +1,100% | INACOM10-14 business days |
| Ethiopia | $0.0520 | +1,200% | ECA10-14 business days |
| Algeria | $0.0540 | +1,250% | ARPCE10-14 business days |
| Mauritania | $0.0640 | +1,500% | ARE10-14 business days |
Template languages for Rest of Africa
Customers in Rest of Africa mostly read French, English, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili. Arabic is written right to left: preview templates on a phone, keep numbers, codes and links in their own variable, and do not mix scripts in one button label. With 5 languages in common use, pick the template language from the customer's stored preference, not from the phone number's country code.
Volume tiers
utility
| Monthly messages | Rate | vs list |
|---|---|---|
| 0–100,000 | $0.0040 | list |
| 100,001–1,000,000 | $0.0038 | -5% |
| 1,000,001–4,500,000 | $0.0036 | -10% |
| 4,500,001–40,000,000 | $0.0034 | -15% |
| 40,000,001–80,000,000 | $0.0032 | -20% |
| 80,000,001+ | $0.0030 | -25% |
authentication
| Monthly messages | Rate | vs list |
|---|---|---|
| 0–300,000 | $0.0040 | list |
| 300,001–2,000,000 | $0.0038 | -5% |
| 2,000,001–10,000,000 | $0.0036 | -10% |
| 10,000,001–20,000,000 | $0.0034 | -15% |
| 20,000,001–40,000,000 | $0.0032 | -20% |
| 40,000,001+ | $0.0030 | -25% |
Volume tiers at 2,000,000 utility messages
2,000,000 utility templates a month in Rest of Africa: $7420.00 instead of $8000.00 at list, a blended $0.00371 per message (7% off).
| Messages in the month | Messages | Rate | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–100,000 | 100,000 | $0.0040 | $400.00 |
| 100,001–1,000,000 | 900,000 | $0.0038 | $3420.00 |
| 1,000,001–2,000,000 | 1,000,000 | $0.0036 | $3600.00 |
Worked example
An illustrative month for a business messaging customers in Rest of Africa, at list rates before volume tiers:
| Marketing | 50,000 × $0.0225 | $1125.00 |
| Utility | 200,000 × $0.0040 | $800.00 |
| Authentication | 100,000 × $0.0040 | $400.00 |
| Service (1,000 free) | 29,000 × $0.0040 | $116.00 |
| Meta charges for the month | $2441.00 |
Illustrative volumes. Excludes taxes, platform fees and volume-tier discounts.
Which category drives the bill
In the example month, marketing is 46% of the bill in Rest of Africa but only 13% of the messages: one marketing template costs as much as 5.6 utility templates. Moving order and account updates to utility templates, and answering inside the free service window, lowers the bill fastest.
Rest of Africa compared with nearby markets
Marketing in Rest of Africa ranks 1 of 5 in this group (1 = cheapest) and is 54% below the average of the other markets. Utility and authentication are 63% below their average.
| Market | Marketing | Utility | Authentication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rest of Africa | $0.0225 | $0.0040 | $0.0040 |
| Nigeria | $0.0516 | $0.0067 | $0.0067 |
| South Africa | $0.0379 | $0.0095 | $0.0095 |
| Egypt | $0.0644 | $0.0036 | $0.0036 |
| Morocco | $0.0414 | $0.0230 | $0.0230 |
Source: Meta's official WhatsApp Business Platform rate card (USD), effective 1 October 2026, retrieved 2026-10-10. Rates are set by Meta and can change; your quote confirms the current rate.
WhatsApp pricing in Rest of Africa: questions
How much does a WhatsApp message cost in Rest of Africa?
From 1 October 2026, Meta charges per delivered template message to recipients in Rest of Africa: $0.0225 for marketing, $0.0040 for utility and $0.0040 for authentication. Rates are in USD.
Which WhatsApp messages cost the most in Rest of Africa?
In the example month, marketing is 46% of the bill in Rest of Africa but only 13% of the messages: one marketing template costs as much as 5.6 utility templates. Moving order and account updates to utility templates, and answering inside the free service window, lowers the bill fastest.
What do 2,000,000 utility messages a month cost in Rest of Africa?
2,000,000 utility templates a month in Rest of Africa: $7420.00 instead of $8000.00 at list, a blended $0.00371 per message (7% off).
Which languages should WhatsApp templates for Rest of Africa use?
Customers in Rest of Africa mostly read French, English, Arabic, Portuguese and Swahili. Arabic is written right to left: preview templates on a phone, keep numbers, codes and links in their own variable, and do not mix scripts in one button label. With 5 languages in common use, pick the template language from the customer's stored preference, not from the phone number's country code.
How does WhatsApp pricing in Rest of Africa compare with nearby markets?
Marketing in Rest of Africa ranks 1 of 5 in this group (1 = cheapest) and is 54% below the average of the other markets. Utility and authentication are 63% below their average.