What free entry points are
Meta lets businesses earn free WhatsApp conversations when customers reach them through specific paid surfaces. The mechanism is called free entry points, and it is the single most effective lever for reducing WhatsApp Business Platform costs at scale.
The two qualifying entry points
First, Click-to-WhatsApp ads run on Facebook and Instagram. When a user taps the ad and opens a chat with you, the next 72 hours of conversation are free across all categories. Second, the WhatsApp button on a Facebook Page or Instagram profile. Tapping it also opens a chat that qualifies for the same 72-hour window.
Why Meta does this
Meta wants to keep its three big surfaces, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, working together. Free entry points incentivise advertisers to use WhatsApp as the conversion endpoint, which is good for Meta and often cheaper for businesses than landing pages with form fills.
How the credit applies
When a free entry point conversation begins, your billing dashboard shows a free conversation. Any messages, of any category, sent within the 72-hour window are absorbed by the free credit. After 72 hours, normal billing resumes.
Stacking with other lever
Free entry points stack with the natural incentives of conversation-based pricing. If a customer arrives via a Click-to-WhatsApp ad and you handle the entire conversation within the free window, your effective cost for that lead is zero on the WhatsApp side.
Practical campaign design
Build campaigns where the call-to-action is always Click-to-WhatsApp rather than a website link, especially for high-intent traffic. Pair them with a structured chatbot or interactive menu so customers reach a resolution before the 72 hours expires.
Reporting and measurement
Monitor the share of conversations entering through paid Meta surfaces versus organic. A healthy commerce account often sees 40 to 60 percent of its conversations qualify for free entry points after a few months of optimisation, which is a major cost line saved.
What does not qualify
Conversations initiated from Google ads, email, SMS, your website chat widget or word of mouth do not qualify, even if the customer opens WhatsApp from a deep link. Only chats originating from the Click-to-WhatsApp ad surface or the Page or profile call-to-action button qualify.
Watch the changelog
Meta has expanded and contracted free entry point benefits over time. The current list and free window length live on the official pricing page; check it before you build your annual budget.