Per agent seats plus a 20% markup on Meta
Freshchat WhatsApp Pricing and Freshdesk WhatsApp Integration Cost
On Freshworks, WhatsApp is priced per agent and every message carries Meta's fee plus 20%. Set your team size and volume in the estimator to see the monthly bill, and what the same send costs on a flat campaign plan with no seat fee.
Seat prices read from Freshworks' US pricing pages. Markup and allowances from Freshworks' own help center.
Freshworks WhatsApp bill estimator
US recipientsUS utility, authentication and service rate $0.0034 per message. Service replies include 1,000 free per number each month. WaBulkSend plans have no per-seat fee, and Meta bills its fee to your own account with no markup.
WhatsApp on Freshworks costs a per-agent seat plus Meta's message fee with a 20% Freshworks markup. Freshchat Growth, the cheapest plan with WhatsApp, is $23 per agent a month or $19 billed annually. Freshdesk Omni Growth is $35 or $29. The free Freshchat plan has no WhatsApp at all.
For a US utility template Meta charges $0.0034, so you pay $0.00408 through Freshworks. The markup is small per message. The seat fee is the line that grows, because every agent who needs the inbox adds $23 to $143 a month whether or not they send a single campaign.
10,000 US utility a month
Freshchat Growth, monthly billing
Which Freshworks plans include WhatsApp
Freshworks sells WhatsApp inside three customer service products. All prices are per agent per month in USD, read from each product's US pricing page. Annual billing is the cheaper column.
| Product and plan | Monthly billing | Annual billing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freshchat Free (up to 10 agents) | $0 | $0 | No |
| Freshchat Growth | $23 | $19 | Yes |
| Freshchat Pro | $59 | $49 | Yes |
| Freshchat Enterprise | $95 | $79 | Yes |
| Freshdesk Omni Growth | $35 | $29 | Yes |
| Freshdesk Omni Pro | $95 | $79 | Yes |
| Freshdesk Omni Enterprise | $143 | $119 | Yes |
| Freshdesk Growth / Pro / Enterprise | $23 / $66 / $107 | $19 / $55 / $89 | Yes, per the help center |
The free plan stops short
Freshchat Free gives up to 10 agents web chat, email and a shared inbox. Text messaging and WhatsApp are listed from Growth upward, so the first WhatsApp message means the first paid seat.
Monthly costs about 20% more
Freshworks advertises a 20% saving on annual billing. On Freshchat Growth that is $23 against $19 per agent, so a 10 agent team on monthly billing pays $40 a month for the flexibility.
Number caps differ by product
The Freshdesk article allows up to 50 WhatsApp numbers on paid plans and 1 on a trial. The Freshchat article caps it at 25 and routes anything above that through support.
The 20% Freshworks markup on Meta's WhatsApp fees
Freshworks' WhatsApp pricing article, last updated September 11, 2026, says it plainly: "Freshworks applies a 20% markup to the total WhatsApp cost billed from Meta." Here is what that does to the North America rates a US team actually pays.
| Message to a US number | Meta's fee | Through Freshworks | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utility template | $0.0034 | $0.00408 | Order, shipping, billing and account updates |
| Authentication template | $0.0034 | $0.00408 | One-time passcodes |
| Service reply in the 24 hour window | $0.0034 | $0.00408 | Since October 1, 2026, after 1,000 free per number each month |
| Any message in a free entry point window | $0 | $0 | 72 hours after a click-to-WhatsApp ad or Page button |
| Marketing template | Not delivered | Not delivered | Meta pauses marketing templates to US numbers |
Usage shows up under Admin, Channels, WhatsApp, Utilization, where Freshdesk lists the monthly message total and its cost by category. If you run several numbers, the 1,000 free service replies apply to each number separately, so a team that splits support across regional numbers keeps more of its replies free. The full Meta rate picture, including volume tiers for utility, is on our WhatsApp Business API pricing page.
Freshchat and Freshdesk Omni WhatsApp cost by team size
Every row sends 10,000 US utility templates a month ($34.00 from Meta, $40.80 after the markup) on the Growth plan with monthly billing. Only the agent count changes.
| Agents | Freshchat Growth | Freshdesk Omni Growth |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $63.80 | $75.80 |
| 3 | $109.80 | $145.80 |
| 5 | $155.80 | $215.80 |
| 10 | $270.80 | $390.80 |
| 25 | $615.80 | $915.80 |
Where a flat plan wins, and where it does not
A one agent Freshchat Growth account sending 10,000 utility messages costs $63.80, less than the $133 the same send costs on WaBulkSend Pro. If one to three people handle both support and the occasional broadcast, Freshchat is the cheaper bill and we would say so.
At four agents the two bills are level, $132.80 against $133. From the fifth agent every added seat widens the gap, and at 10 agents the Freshchat bill is about twice ours for the identical send. Teams that need the campaign channel, not ten inbox seats, are the ones paying for capacity they never use.
How bulk WhatsApp campaigns work on Freshworks
Freshchat and Freshdesk are built around the inbox, so outbound campaigns arrive through add-ons. Freshworks publishes a free WhatsApp Proactive Campaigns app for Freshdesk and Freshdesk Omni that sends approved templates to a CSV list. Freshchat sells campaign contacts separately at $100 a month per 5,000 contacts, on top of the seats.
Either way, every delivered template still carries Meta's fee plus the 20% markup, and US numbers only receive utility and authentication templates. A shipping notice or a renewal reminder goes through. A promotional blast to a US list does not, on Freshworks or anywhere else.
If your list already lives in Freshdesk, export the opted-in contacts with their consent date and you can send the same templates from a dedicated campaign tool. Our guide to WhatsApp opt-in requirements covers the consent wording Meta expects you to be able to show.
Freshchat vs a dedicated WhatsApp campaign tool
Different jobs. Freshworks is a support desk that also sends WhatsApp. WaBulkSend is a campaign sender. The honest split looks like this.
| Freshchat / Freshdesk Omni | WaBulkSend | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Per agent, $23 to $143 a month | Flat plan, $49 / $99 / $299 a month, no seat fee |
| Meta fees | Billed through Freshworks plus 20% | Billed by Meta to your own account, no markup |
| Bulk sends | Proactive Campaigns app or paid campaign contacts | Built in, CSV or Excel upload with variable mapping |
| Ticketing, SLAs, help center | Yes, the core of the product | No, it is not a help desk |
| Phone numbers | Up to 25 or 50 depending on product | 1, 3 or unlimited by plan |
| Best for | Support teams that live in tickets and want WhatsApp beside email and chat | Teams that send templates to lists and do not need extra inbox seats |
You can also run both: Freshdesk for inbound tickets, a campaign tool for outbound notices. Meta lets one business manage several numbers, so support and campaigns can sit on separate numbers without stepping on each other. If you are weighing other help desks too, our Zendesk WhatsApp integration page runs the same math for Zendesk.
How to send WhatsApp campaigns to a Freshdesk list without adding seats
Export opted-in contacts
Pull contacts with a WhatsApp consent field from Freshdesk or Freshsales as CSV, including the phone number in +1 format.
Connect a number
Link a WhatsApp Business number through Meta's signup. Keep the support number in Freshdesk and use a second one for campaigns if you prefer.
Map columns to variables
Upload the file, map first name, order number or due date to the template variables, and preview each message.
Send and track
Send now or schedule, then follow sent, delivered and read status for every recipient. Replies keep flowing to whichever inbox owns that number.
Questions buyers ask about Freshchat WhatsApp pricing
How much does Freshchat WhatsApp cost?
A seat fee plus messages. WhatsApp starts on Freshchat Growth at $23 per agent a month, or $19 billed annually, and every message carries Meta's fee plus a 20% Freshworks markup. A US utility template costs $0.0034 from Meta, so $0.00408 through Freshworks. Five agents sending 10,000 US utility messages pay about $155.80 a month.
Is WhatsApp free on Freshchat?
No. Freshchat's free plan covers up to 10 agents on web chat, email and a shared inbox, but WhatsApp, SMS and the other messaging channels start on the paid Growth plan. Meta's per-message fees and the 20% Freshworks markup apply on top of the seat price.
Which Freshdesk plan includes WhatsApp?
Growth, Pro and Enterprise. Freshworks' help center lists WhatsApp on those three tiers for both Freshdesk and Freshdesk Omni, and not on the free plan. Freshdesk Omni Growth is $35 per agent a month or $29 billed annually; Freshdesk Growth is $23 or $19.
Does Freshworks charge a markup on WhatsApp messages?
Yes. Freshworks' WhatsApp pricing article states that Freshworks applies a 20% markup to the total WhatsApp cost billed from Meta. A US utility or authentication template that costs $0.0034 from Meta therefore costs $0.00408 through Freshchat or Freshdesk.
Can Freshchat send bulk WhatsApp messages?
Yes, with approved templates. Freshworks publishes a free WhatsApp Proactive Campaigns app for Freshdesk and Freshdesk Omni that sends templates to a CSV list, and Freshchat sells campaign contacts at $100 a month per 5,000 contacts. Meta's fees and the 20% markup apply to every delivered template.
How many WhatsApp numbers can I connect to Freshdesk?
Freshworks' Freshdesk article allows up to 50 numbers on paid plans and 1 on a trial. Its Freshchat article sets a maximum of 25 numbers and asks you to contact support for more. Unverified Meta business accounts are limited to 2 numbers until verification completes.
Does Freshchat charge for WhatsApp service messages?
Since October 1, 2026, Meta charges for service messages after 1,000 free per business phone number each month, at the utility rate of the recipient country. Freshworks' article confirms the allowance, and its 20% markup applies to the total billed from Meta, so a US service reply past the allowance costs about $0.00408. More on the change on our WhatsApp service messages page.
What is a cheaper alternative to Freshchat for WhatsApp campaigns?
For broadcasts rather than a support inbox, a campaign tool with a flat plan and no seat fee costs less as the team grows. On WaBulkSend Pro, 10,000 US utility templates cost $133 a month ($99 plan plus Meta's $0.0034 fee billed to your own account) with no per-agent charge. See the full plan list on our pricing page.
Send WhatsApp campaigns to your Freshdesk list from $49 a month
No per-agent seats and no markup on Meta's fees. Upload the list, map the variables, send.
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