specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
provider: WhatsApp
providerId: whatsapp
publisherName: Meta Platforms, Inc.
serviceCategory: Business Messaging
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Messaging
  - Business
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - Conversation-Based Pricing
description: 'FOCUS-aligned FinOps for WhatsApp Business Platform: pay-per-conversation across four categories (Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service) with per-recipient-country pricing, plus free entry-point and a service-conversation free allotment. The billable unit is the 24-hour conversation, not the API call.'
sources:
  - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing
  - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing/conversation-based-pricing
  - https://business.whatsapp.com/products/platform-pricing
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Conversation-Based Pay-As-You-Go
  billingFrequency: Monthly
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Usage
    - Credit
    - Tax
    - Adjustment
    - Refund
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: WhatsApp Business Platform
  ServiceCategory: Business Messaging
  ProviderName: Meta
  PublisherName: Meta Platforms, Inc.
  InvoiceIssuerName: Meta Platforms, Inc.
  BillingCurrency: USD
meters:
  - name: marketing_conversations
    unit: conversation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - recipient_country
      - waba_id
      - phone_number
      - template_id
  - name: utility_conversations
    unit: conversation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - recipient_country
      - waba_id
      - phone_number
      - template_id
  - name: authentication_conversations
    unit: conversation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - recipient_country
      - waba_id
      - phone_number
      - international_authentication_flag
  - name: service_conversations
    unit: conversation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - recipient_country
      - waba_id
      - phone_number
      - free_tier_allotment_used
  - name: free_entry_point_conversations
    unit: conversation
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - entry_point
      - waba_id
  - name: messages_sent
    unit: message
    aggregation: sum
    dimensions:
      - waba_id
      - phone_number
      - direction
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: 'Pull conversation analytics from the WhatsApp Business Management API (conversation_analytics, pricing_analytics) and the WABA-level usage views in Meta Business Manager; reconcile against the monthly Meta invoice.'
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate by WABA, phone number, conversation category, recipient country, and template ID. Templates and entry points drive category classification, which directly drives unit price.
  - name: Optimization
    description: 'Levers are: send Utility instead of Marketing where the use case allows (lower per-conversation rate in most countries), exhaust the monthly service-conversation free allotment before opening paid Marketing, route ads-that-click-to-WhatsApp through the free entry-point window, and consolidate multiple notifications into one 24h conversation.'
  - name: Accountability
    description: Marketing owns Marketing-conversation spend (campaign tied to template ID); product / lifecycle owns Utility and Authentication; CX owns Service. Phone-number quality rating (Green / Yellow / Red) is a shared signal because demotion lowers tier caps and constrains all categories.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com