SMS and WhatsApp Billing¶
SMS and WhatsApp are paid for in units. You can buy them with your plan or at any time later, and you see everything in one place. Every message beyond what you have paid for costs KES 1 and is added to your next subscription invoice, so sending never just stops because a balance ran out.
Where to find it: Billing, SMS and Billing, WhatsApp in Notifications, or Billing in Subscriptions. Both show the same balances.
What you can buy¶
| What | Price | You get |
|---|---|---|
| SMS bundle | KES 100, 500, 1,000 or 5,000 | 100, 500, 1,000 or 5,000 SMS |
| WhatsApp bundle | KES 100, 500, 1,000 or 5,000 | 100, 500, 1,000 or 5,000 messages |
| WhatsApp Tier 1 | KES 500 a month | 400 messages a month |
| WhatsApp Tier 2 | KES 1,000 a month | 800 messages a month |
| WhatsApp Pro | KES 2,000 a month | Unlimited messages |
Bundle units never expire. A monthly plan's messages are renewed at the start of each calendar month and are used before your bundle units.
How a message is paid for¶
- The messages in your monthly plan, if you have one.
- Your bundle units.
- KES 1 per message beyond those, added to your next invoice.
A message counts when it is sent. If the provider rejects a message, it is not charged. A customer messaging you does not count, and neither does a connection check with no recipient.
If the amount owed for extra messages reaches the limit shown on the page (KES 500 unless your account team has changed it), sending pauses until you pay the invoice or buy a bundle. Email and push keep working.
Buying with your plan¶
When you subscribe to a paid plan, the checkout offers an SMS bundle, a WhatsApp plan and a WhatsApp bundle. Whatever you pick is added to the same payment as the plan. Free plans and free trials cannot carry these, so buy them from the billing page once you are subscribed.
Buying later and changing plans¶
On the billing page, choose a bundle or a monthly plan and pay in the checkout window. Units arrive as soon as the payment is confirmed. Choosing the plan you already have extends it by a month.
Your WhatsApp plan is added to your subscription invoice each period and paid together with it. Untick Add this plan to my bill each period to stop that. You keep the plan until the end of the period you already paid for.
Without a subscription¶
You need an active subscription, and SMS or WhatsApp activated by buying a bundle or plan, before messages go out. This applies to every send: automated notifications, WhatsApp Inbox replies, and test connections with a real recipient. Your platform's own sign-in codes and platform invoices are not charged to you. See Why WhatsApp has no shared fallback.
Common issues¶
"no_subscription", "service_not_activated" or "overage_cap" when sending. The first means your account has no active subscription. The second means you have not bought an SMS or WhatsApp bundle or plan yet. The third means the amount owed for extra messages reached the limit: pay your invoice or buy a bundle.
I paid outside the in-app checkout and the units are not there. A bank transfer, cash or till payment does not add units by itself. Contact your account team with your payment reference and they will add the units for you.