Understanding Maxchat's WhatsApp Business API Pricing & Quota Mechanism

If you’re using the WhatsApp Business API through Maxchat, it’s crucial to understand how “conversations” are counted and billed. Maxchat applies a pricing mechanism based on conversation sessions, not on the number of messages sent or received. Understanding this will help you manage your usage and expenses more efficiently.

This article explains how the mechanism works based on official sources, covering what counts as a conversation, how quota reductions occur, and when charges apply.

Let’s break it down together!

What Is a “Conversation” in WhatsApp Business API?

In Maxchat, a conversation refers to a series of messages exchanged between you (the business owner) and a single customer, lasting for 24 hours.

When Does a Conversation Start?

A conversation is opened and starts consuming quota when your message to a customer is delivered. There are two main types of conversations based on who initiates them:

Service Conversation (Inbound):
Template-Based Conversation (Outbound):

WhatsApp Conversation Quota Mechanism

When you subscribe to Maxchat, you receive a "WhatsApp Conversation" quota. This quota decreases each time a conversation session is opened.

Inbound Service Conversation Quota Deduction:

When a customer starts a conversation and you reply, a service conversation opens for 24 hours. At that moment, 1 point from your inbound conversation quota is deducted.
If the conversation continues beyond 24 hours, and you reply again after the same time the next day or later, another quota point will be deducted since the previous 24-hour window has expired.

Outbound Template Conversation Quota Deduction:

When you send a message template categorized as marketing, utility, or authentication, Maxchat checks if there’s already an open conversation with the same customer for that category.
If no conversation is open for that category, a new 24-hour session starts and 1 point from your outbound conversation quota is deducted.
If there’s already an open conversation for that category within the last 24 hours, no new conversation is created and no additional quota is deducted.
What if there are multiple conversation categories within 24 hours?

Examples of Quota Deduction:

Example 1 (Service + Marketing):
Example 2 (Marketing + Utility):
Example 3 (Utility + Utility on the Same Day):
Example 4 (Template with Mixed Content: Utility & Marketing):

Pricing Mechanism (When Quota Runs Out)

If your WhatsApp Conversation quota is exhausted, you will be charged per conversation session opened. These rates apply to phone numbers with the Indonesian country code (+62).

Business Service Conversation Fees (Inbound):

Each service conversation session opened with a customer is charged IDR 274 per session per customer.
The charge applies when a customer initiates a conversation and you reply.
If the conversation continues beyond 24 hours, and you respond again the next day, you’ll be charged IDR 274 once more.

Template-Based Conversation Fees (Outbound):

Fees apply when a new conversation from a template category (marketing, utility, authentication) opens because you sent a template and no active conversation for that category exists.
The per-category rates are:

What If Multiple Conversation Categories Occur Within 24 Hours (After Quota Ends)?

The same rule applies, charges occur per newly opened conversation of different categories.

Example Scenarios:

Example 1 (Service + Marketing):
Example 2 (Marketing + Utility):
Example 3 (Utility + Utility on the Same Day):
Example 4 (Template with Mixed Content: Utility & Marketing):

Conclusion

Understanding that the WhatsApp Business API in Maxchat operates on 24-hour conversation sessions per customer is key. Quotas and charges are based on the opening of new conversations, triggered either by your reply to a customer message (service) or by sending templates under different categories (marketing, utility, authentication).

Sending templates from different categories within the same 24-hour window opens new conversations and consumes more quota or incurs additional costs. Conversely, sending templates from the same category within an active 24-hour session will not trigger new charges or quota deductions.

By understanding this mechanism, you can plan your communication strategy and template usage more effectively, helping you control your WhatsApp Business API costs in Maxchat.

For more information on this pricing mechanism, visit the Pricing Mechanism section in Maxchat’s documentation.

If you require further assistance, please contact the Maxchat support team via WhatsApp.

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