WhatsApp platform
Session message
A session message is a free-form reply sent inside the conversation window, written in whatever words you like without needing Meta to approve it first.
Also calledfree-form messageservice message
It is the ordinary case: a customer messages you, and you answer. Meta treats session messages differently from templates for both permission and pricing, and typically does not charge for a service reply to a customer-initiated conversation. The distinction between a session message and a template is the single most useful thing to understand about WhatsApp costs.
More in WhatsApp platform
Worth knowing alongside it.
- Conversation window
- The conversation window is the period, 24 hours on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Messenger, during which a business may send free-form messages after a customer's most recent message.
- Message template
- A message template is a message format submitted to Meta for review in advance, which a business may then send to a customer outside the conversation window with variables filled in.
- Per-message pricing
- Per-message pricing is Meta's current WhatsApp billing model, which charges for each delivered template message according to its category and the recipient's country.