WhatsApp Business Premium is an available subscription model of WhatsApp Business. It extends the functionality of the WhatsApp Business app and is intended as an intermediate solution between the WhatsApp Business app and the WhatsApp Business platform.
WhatsApp Business Premium, also known as Meta Verified for WhatsApp, was launched in June 2024 for selected markets. In September 2024, Meta officially launched the program and highlighted the benefits. The exact date of availability in German-speaking countries is not clearly documented.
| Subscription | Monthly Price | Verification Badge | Counterfeit Protection | Protected Enterprise Accounts | Advanced Support | Verified Channel | Own Website | Linked Devices |
|---|
| Standard | €16.99 | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ (Faster problem resolution, in-app support) | 1 channel | ✅ | 4 devices |
| Plus | €49.49 (instead of €54.99) | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ (faster problem solving, in-app support) | 3 channels | ✅ | 6 devices |
| Premium | €131.99 (instead of €164.99) | ✅ | ✅ | Up to 10 included | ✅ (Faster problem resolution, in-app support, active case monitoring) | 5 channels | ✅ | 8 devices |
| Max | €384.99 (instead of €549.99) | ✅ | ✅ | Up to 50 included | ✅ (Faster problem solving, in-app support, active case monitoring) | 10 channels | ✅ | 10 devices |
This new feature is worthwhile for your company if you are satisfied with the functionality of the business app, but want to involve more employees and keep a better overview of who is answering which chats.
WhatsApp Business Premium is also not necessarily suitable for medium-sized and large companies. It also lacks many of the support functions that are standard in professional chat support. These include employee routing, forwarding and transferring to and from chatbots, as well as the option of static or dynamic FAQs. Only the WhatsApp Business platform offers these functions.
Here are further scalable WhatsApp Marketingcampaigns, interoperable integrations with your other system landscape, as well as other exciting use cases. Chatarmin is pioneering WhatsApp integrations for D2C brands. Our Klaviyo WhatsApp integration, our Shopify WhatsApp integration and our Shopware WhatsApp integration are becoming increasingly popular beyond national borders.
You can use this professional WhatsApp interface (“API”) to link your WhatsApp Business account directly from your Facebook Business account to business software for WhatsApp.
The data protection situation is also problematic with WhatsApp Business Premium. By accessing the phone book of the connected smartphone, numbers are potentially passed on directly to WhatsApp without authorization. This is also prevented by the end-to-end encryption when using the WhatsApp Business platform.
WhatsApp Business Premium App in summary
- Employee accounts: 1
- Linkable devices: 11
- Assign chats to employees: Yes
- Approved WhatsApp newsletters: No
- WhatsApp campaign addressees: Up to 256
- Sales and support features: Advanced basic functions
- Data protection compliant: No
The WhatsApp Business Platform is the only GDPR-compliant and scalable version of the WhatsApp business account. It provides an interface for software providers such as Chatarmin, who program dashboards in the form of browser applications based on the WhatsApp API.
Screenshot of the Chatarmin desktop application, based on the WhatsApp Business Platform
The WhatsApp Business Platform is theoretically infinitely scalable, making it the only viable method for large companies with structures, teams and large databases. As soon as compliance guidelines are an issue, the use of the WhatsApp Business Platform is the only option. The two “small alternatives” of WhatsApp business accounts - the WhatsApp Business App and WhatsApp Business Premium - are invariably inadequate for this purpose.
The WhatsApp Business platform is used via Chatarmin by large companies with professional service, marketing and/or sales teams. From top retailers such as BAUHAUS or Nah&Frisch, to digital sales machines such as elopage, to eCommerce D2C brands such as waterdrop® or olakala.
The WhatsApp Business Platform is not an app from a PlayStore, but a professional software interface that can be used by authorized providers (“Business Solution Partners” or “Initial Software Vendors”) such as Chatarmin for end customer applications. The WhatsApp Business Platform is connected to your WhatsApp account in Facebook Business Manager via an API interface.
The only way for you to implement this is by either developing your own application based on the open endpoints from the WhatsApp Business Platform documentation or by using a ready-made service like Chatarmin, which is tailored to meet your specific needs.
The WhatsApp Business Platform is highly scalable and can be flexibly integrated into your business processes.
A visual representation of the differences between non-API and API solutions for WhatsApp business accounts.
Through connected customer messaging software like Chatarmin, you can use WhatsApp with advanced sales, marketing, and service features such as routing to support agents, automatic translations, and support and marketing automation in the form of WhatsApp-Chatbots, Integrations and Automations.
We believe that in the near future, there will be dedicated vertical WhatsApp Business Platform SaaS providers for all validated WhatsApp use cases. The hospitality industry, for example, can leverage the WhatsApp Business Platform just as effectively as the restaurant industry, B2B sales, or eCommerce for marketing and service. The possibilities are endless, and at Chatarmin, we anticipate an imminent oversupply of niche-specialized WhatsApp software solutions.
Since the WhatsApp Business Platform has only been scalable, stable, and GDPR-compliant since spring 2022, the markets are still untapped, and software developers have yet to catch up. Over the coming years, we expect four-digit annual growth and a 50-fold increase in "conversational turnover" within the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Only with the WhatsApp Business Platform can you send approved WhatsApp newsletters and WhatsApp campaigns.
Employee accounts: Unlimited
Connectable devices: Unlimited
Assign chats to employees: Yes
Approved WhatsApp newsletters: Yes
Sales and support features: Professional tools for customer communication
GDPR-compliant: Yes
API integrations with your CRM, shop system, ERP, and more
Paid service: Yes
Number of registrable WABAs per company: Up to five
The WhatsApp Business Platform, unlike the WhatsApp Business App, is not available for free due to its extensive features and strong focus on data protection. Additionally, its pricing model differs as it follows a "conversational billing" approach.
| WhatsApp Business Account | Type of Costs | Extra costs |
|---|
| Business App | free | no costs |
| Business Premium | Abo | no costs |
| Business Plattform | Konversationen | Business Service Provider |
Overview about the different WhatsApp Business Apps
Costs for the WhatsApp Business Platform arise from two main factors: first, the monthly or annual license fee for software like Chatarmin, and second, if you exceed 1,000 support conversations per month, additional charges apply for the conversations handled directly through the WhatsApp Business Platform. An Overview about the different costs from the API you can find here..
Let's go through the details of the costs associated with the WhatsApp Business Platform together.
Monthly costs of the WhatsApp Business Platform
While you have to download and set up the free WhatsApp Business App yourself, access to the WhatsApp Business Platform is provided through a messaging software solution, exclusively via official WhatsApp partners or licensed subcontractors.
The costs for using the platform vary significantly depending on the provider you choose, so it’s worth making a comparison. For example, with SinchEngage or hello-charles, costs start at around €399 per month. In contrast, Chatarmin offers access to the WhatsApp Business Platform starting at just €99 per month, with a flexible monthly cancellation policy and no minimum contract term.
This makes Chatarmin one of the most accessible, popular, and affordable WhatsApp Business Platform providers.
An overview of the features and costs of the most common WhatsApp CRMs, such as SinchEngage (formerly MessengerPeople), hello-charles, and Chatarmin findest du hier in diesem Artikel.
| Company | Package Preis | Price/Conversation |
|---|
| SinchEngage | €399,00+ | €0,07 |
| hello-charles | €499,00+ | €0,07 |
| Chatarmin | €199,00+ | €0,00 |
Fees per Conversation
WhatsApp charges a small fee per conversation, but only once you exceed the monthly free allowance of 1,000 conversations. This quota of "free conversations" can only be used for user-initiated service chats. Free conversations are—except for additional edge cases that we will explore later in this blog post—limited to chats where the customer contacts the business first, not the other way around.
If you, as a business, proactively message customers via WhatsApp, you cannot use the free conversations for this purpose. This applies to WhatsApp campaigns, WhatsApp newsletters, WhatsApp flyers, or API-triggered automations that initiate a "business-initiated conversation."
In D2C eCommerce, typical business-initiated automations would include cart abandonment reminders after a customer leaves their online purchase unfinished, as well as shipping confirmations, satisfaction surveys, or other post-purchase notifications.
What Counts as a "Conversation"?
A paid conversation consists of a 24-hour chat session, which begins as soon as either a business messages an end user or the end user messages a business. This applies only if the business operates a WABA (WhatsApp Business Account) based on the WhatsApp Business Platform.
Any messages exchanged within this 24-hour conversation window are covered by a single conversation fee.
Overviews about the official META Pricing catalogue fort he WhatsApp Business Platform.
How Much Does a Conversation Cost?
Once you have used up the 1,000 free user-initiated conversations for the current month, charges apply. These costs are transparently calculated based on the country code of your end user and the use case of the conversation. Unfortunately, META has made this monetization model quite complex.
For user-initiated conversations, which are typically support inquiries, costs start at €0.0456 per response in Germany (from July 2025). In Austria and Switzerland, the cost for a user-initiated conversation is €0.0249.
For business-initiated marketing conversations, the cost is €0.1131 per conversation in Germany, while in Austria and Switzerland, it is only €0.0490. This makes Germany one of the most expensive WhatsApp markets, second only to the Netherlands. We hope META will adjust these pricing discrepancies in the future.
Types of Business-Initiated Conversations & Pricing
WhatsApp classifies business-initiated conversations into four categories, each with different pricing:
- Service/Support (user-initiated, valid once the business responds)
- Transactional (business-initiated, €0.0456)
- Authentication (business-initiated, €0.0636 in Germany, €0.0313 in Austria and Switzerland)
- Marketing (business-initiated, €0.1131 in Germany, €0.0490 in Austria and Switzerland)
Each use case comes with different cost structures, with marketing conversations being the most expensive. META aims to prevent businesses from spamming WhatsApp, a primarily private and discreet communication channel.
According to the official META documentation, conversations from different categories can overlap or run in parallel.
Example:
If you respond to a customer at 11:00 AM regarding a support inquiry, a business-initiated support conversation window opens at that time. If you then send the same customer a marketing campaign at 6:00 PM, a separate business-initiated marketing conversation window opens.
Both interactions trigger separate 24-hour paid conversation windows. Until 11:00 AM the next day, you can send as many support-related message templates (pre-approved campaign templates) as you want at the same cost. The same applies to the marketing conversation window that started at 6:00 PM. The end user can also exchange unlimited messages within these timeframes without generating additional costs for your business.
Here is the translated pricing table for WhatsApp conversations starting from July 1, 2025:
| Prices from 01.07.2025 | User-initiated (Service/Support) | Business-initiated (Transaction) | Business-initiated (Authentication) | Business-initiated (Marketing) |
|---|
| Germany | €0.0459 | €0.0456 | €0.0636 | €0.1131 |
| Austria | €0.0249 | €0.0249 | €0.0313 | €0.0490 |
| Switzerland | €0.0249 | €0.0249 | €0.0313 | €0.0490 |
Note:
Since your messages are sent through the customer messaging platform of your choice, the provider charges a processing fee per conversation. Chatarmin does not apply any "conversational premium." In contrast, Userlike adds a fee of €0.001 per conversation, Zoko charges approximately €0.006, and hello-charles and SinchEngage impose an expensive and excessive surcharge of €0.07 per conversation.
This factor is the biggest cost driver when scaling your WhatsApp marketing activities.
How much does the WhatsApp Business API cost?
The API interface is provided by one of WhatsApp's software partner companies (WhatsApp BSP - Business Solution Provider) and allows businesses to connect their accounts to the provider’s WhatsApp Business Platform. Therefore, the monthly costs for using the WhatsApp Business API depend on the pricing packages of the provider you choose. Additionally, WhatsApp charges fees per conversation.
Below is an overview of the average pricing packages from popular WhatsApp Business Platform software providers:
| Provider | Average Package Price | Surcharge per Conversation |
|---|
| SinchEngage | €399.00+ | €0.07 |
| hello-charles | €499.00+ | €0.07 |
| Chatarmin | €199.00+ | €0.00 |
How many conversations are free per month?
Each month, 1,000 user-initiated conversations are free. This means you can conduct up to 1,000 support chats, each lasting up to 24 hours, before additional charges apply. Business-initiated conversations are always chargeable, except for certain exceptions like Chat Start Ads.
Can I use free conversations for WhatsApp campaigns?
For marketing or other business-initiated messages, charges apply from the first conversation each month. You can find a detailed breakdown of the relevant pricing models for the META WhatsApp Business Platform earlier in this blog post.
New Pricing Model from July 1, 2025: Why and How Have WhatsApp Business Prices Changed?
As of July 2025, WhatsApp has updated its pricing model for the WhatsApp Business Platform. Since July 2025, conversations have been categorized into four types:
- User-initiated / Service (charged once the business responds)
- Utility (business-initiated)
- Authentication (business-initiated)
- Marketing (business-initiated)
The pricing for Service, Utility, and Authentication conversations has become even cheaper for the German-speaking market, with Austria and Switzerland seeing significant price reductions across all categories. However, Germany's pricing for marketing conversations remains unchanged.
Additionally, there is a new regulation for Click-to-WhatsApp ads: free conversations now only last up to 24 hours. After that, the standard pricing for the respective conversation category applies.
Quelle: Chatarmin / WhatsApp Business API META Kosten
An overview of WhatsApp Business API costs
You can find a cost breakdown further up in this article or directly on META.
Bonus: What are “free entry points”?
Free entry points allow businesses to direct customers into a WhatsApp chat with a single button click and initiate the first conversation at no cost. Currently, the following are free entry points:
- Chat start ads on Facebook or Instagram
- CTAs ("Call to Actions") on a Facebook business page
Since the introduction of the new WhatsApp Business Platform pricing on June 1, the free conversation window for Chat Start Ads has been extended from 24 hours to 72 hours.
Note: A user-initiated conversation must be answered within 24 hours. If the business does not respond within this timeframe, the conversation closes, and only message templates (pre-approved "templates") can be used to initiate a new business-initiated conversation.
By signing up for the free REWE WhatsApp flyer, REWE does not incur variable WhatsApp costs initially.
Does "user-initiated conversation" mean I have to pay if a customer messages me—even if I don’t reply?
No, "user-initiated" does not mean that businesses are charged for receiving WhatsApp messages from customers. You are only charged if you reply, which officially starts a user-initiated conversation.
If you receive an unwanted message and simply ignore it, no charges apply. Receiving messages from customers is always free with the WhatsApp Business Platform (formerly known as the API).
You can find an up-to-date pricing overview in the Meta for Developers documentation.
How can I integrate WhatsApp into support and marketing in the simplest and most cost-effective way?
Chatarmin’s WhatsApp Business Platform is GDPR-compliant, suitable for businesses of all sizes, and available from just €99 per month.
We proudly call ourselves the "WhatsApp Powerhouse" and have been passionately developing Austria's most specialized WhatsApp CRM since early 2022. In fact, we are Austria’s only WhatsApp specialists.
Chatarmin specializes in eCommerce, retail, and franchise use cases, and according to the Klaviyo Partner Team, we offer the "most robust Klaviyo WhatsApp integration" worldwide.
💬 Book your free 25-minute WhatsApp consulting call with me, Johannes Mansbart—Founder of Chatarmin—to kickstart your WhatsApp marketing strategy: --
