For hospitals in Madurai, knitwear exporters in Tiruppur, Texvalley wholesalers in Erode and silver workshops in Salem: the official WhatsApp Business API, set up by a verified Meta Tech Provider, with Tamil templates, current per-message rates and SMS fallback from the same account.
AvanceZone Technology is a Meta-verified Tech Provider for the WhatsApp Business Platform, based in Sulur, Coimbatore, and onboards businesses across Tamil Nadu. Meta bills per delivered message. Approximate India rates in October 2026 are ₹0.8631 per marketing message and ₹0.115 per utility or authentication message, plus 18% GST and our platform fee. Since 1 October 2026, service replies inside a customer-started chat are free only for the first 1,000 per business number each month and are then billed per delivered message, and utility templates sent inside an open chat are charged again.
Meta charges per delivered message, by category. Length and language make no difference: a Tamil message costs the same as an English one. These are Meta's approximate rates for Indian (+91) numbers, in rupees.
| Category | What it covers | Meta rate (approx.) | With 18% GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marketing | Offers, launches, catalogue broadcasts, re-engagement | ₹0.8631/ message | ₹1.0185 |
| Utility | Order, booking, dispatch and payment updates; appointment reminders. Charged inside an open chat as well, since 1 Oct 2026 | ₹0.115/ message | ₹0.1357 |
| Authentication | One-time passwords and login codes | ₹0.115/ message | ₹0.1357 |
| Service | Your free-form replies inside a chat the customer started. First 1,000 per business number per month free, no rollover | 1,000 freethen billed per message | Live rate card |
Approximate rates as of October 2026 for messages to Indian numbers. Meta revises its rates; messages to numbers in other countries are charged at that country's rate, and utility and authentication rates fall in volume tiers. Our platform fee is quoted separately. Worked examples: WhatsApp Business API pricing in India.
What changed on 1 October 2026. From 1 November 2024 to 30 September 2026, replies inside a customer-started 24-hour window cost nothing. Meta now bills them after the first 1,000 a month per number, and utility templates sent inside an open window, free since July 2025, are charged again. Meta also required a payment method on file by 30 September 2026; accounts without one had service-message delivery halted.
4,000 appointment reminders (utility) and 2,500 replies to patients' questions (service). The reminders cost ₹460 in Meta charges, about ₹543 with GST. The first 1,000 replies are free; the other 1,500 are billed at Meta's current service rate, which we confirm from the live rate card. No marketing messages, so the bill stays small.
Two catalogue broadcasts to 3,000 retailers (6,000 marketing), 1,500 order confirmations (utility) and 1,800 replies (800 billed after the free 1,000). Meta charges for the broadcasts and confirmations: ₹5,178.60 + ₹172.50 = ₹5,351.10, about ₹6,314 with GST, plus the 800 billed replies at the current service rate. The broadcasts are almost all of it, so list quality matters more than anything else.
Meta has verified AvanceZone as a Tech Provider: a company vetted to build on the WhatsApp Business Platform and to onboard other businesses onto it. For a business in Tamil Nadu, that means your WhatsApp Business Account is created and run through our own platform rather than a reseller's panel, and the people who answer your support call are the people who operate the system.
What verification involves, and what it does not promise, is set out on our Meta Tech Provider page.
A message that starts a conversation, or goes out after the customer's 24-hour window has closed, must use a template Meta has approved. Templates are approved per language: the Tamil version is submitted as its own entry under the same template name, with Tamil as the language. Placeholders such as {{1}} are filled when you send.
Utility template · Tamil (ta)வணக்கம் {{1}}, {{2}} அன்று {{3}} மணிக்கு உங்கள் மருத்துவர் சந்திப்பு உறுதி செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது. மாற்ற வேண்டுமானால் இந்தச் செய்திக்குப் பதில் அனுப்பவும்.
"Hello {{1}}, your doctor's appointment on {{2}} at {{3}} is confirmed. Reply to this message to change it."
{
"to": "919876543210",
"template": "appointment_confirmation",
"language": "ta",
"params": ["முருகன்", "12 நவம்பர்", "காலை 10:30"]
}Hospitals and eye clinics are the clearest fit. A patient books by phone or on the website and gets a utility template confirming the slot; on the day, any question they send is answered inside the free service allowance. When results are ready, a utility template with a PDF header delivers the report to the patient's phone instead of a second visit to collect it.
Lodges near the Meenakshi temple confirm bookings and send directions. Sungudi saree sellers (GI-registered in 2005) and jasmine traders (Madurai Malli, GI since 2013) send photos and rates to buyers who have opted in, as marketing messages. For Madurai senders who also need SMS, see bulk SMS in Madurai.
Knitwear exports reached a record ₹46,000 crore in FY26, nearly 60% of India's knitwear exports, according to the Tiruppur Exporters' Association (June 2026). WhatsApp carries sample-dispatch and shipment updates to buyers, and job-work status between factory and job-workers. Buyers abroad are billed at their own country's rate.
Texvalley, the wholesale textile market on the Erode bypass, opened in 2014 with about 1,599 shops. Wholesalers send catalogue photos to retailers, take orders in the chat and confirm them with a utility template. Turmeric traders, whose Erode Turmeric has had a GI tag since 2019, can send lot and price updates the same way.
Silver anklet workshops send new designs as photo broadcasts to dealers ahead of Pongal, Akshaya Tritiya and Deepavali. Sago traders, whose Salem Sago received a GI tag in March 2023, confirm lots and dispatches as utility messages. For SMS, see bulk SMS in Salem.
We onboard businesses in Chennai and Tiruchirappalli remotely, the same way as everywhere else: video call, documents by email, templates drafted in Tamil and English. Rates and platform are identical across the state.
Close to our Sulur office. Coimbatore businesses should start with WhatsApp Business API in Coimbatore, which covers the chatbot builder, team inbox and in-chat payments in detail.
The category decides the price, so it is worth deciding before a template is written.
| Business | Message | Category | Meta charge, excl. GST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tiruppur exporter | Sample dispatched, with courier number | Utility | ₹0.115 to Indian numbers |
| Tiruppur exporter | New-season lookbook to buyers | Marketing | ₹0.8631 to Indian numbers |
| Madurai hospital | Appointment confirmation; report as PDF | Utility | ₹0.115 |
| Madurai hospital | Answering a patient's question in the chat | Service | Free for 1,000 a month, then billed per message |
| Erode wholesaler | Catalogue broadcast to retailers | Marketing | ₹0.8631 |
| Erode wholesaler | Order confirmation and dispatch | Utility | ₹0.115 |
| Salem silver workshop | Login code for the dealer ordering app | Authentication | ₹0.115 |
| Salem silver workshop | Festival design photos to dealers | Marketing | ₹0.8631 |
Not every customer has WhatsApp on the number you hold, and plenty of workers and older patients use basic handsets. Because we run an SMS gateway on the same platform, a message that cannot be delivered on WhatsApp can fall back to SMS automatically.
The SMS leg follows Indian SMS rules, not Meta's: it needs a DLT-registered sender and a template with every variable tagged, promotional SMS is limited to 9 AM–9 PM, and Tamil SMS is billed per 70-character part. Start with DLT registration and our guide to transactional vs promotional SMS.
| Channel | Billing basis | Cost per patient |
|---|---|---|
| WhatsApp utility | Per delivered message | ≈ ₹0.136 incl. GST, before platform fee |
| SMS, Tamil, 2 parts | Per 67-character part | ₹0.28–₹0.36 (2 credits at ₹0.14–₹0.18) |
That is why we usually send WhatsApp first and keep SMS for the failures. SMS prices and DLT setup by city: Coimbatore, Madurai, Salem, or anywhere in India.
Which messages, which languages, which numbers. We map each flow to a category and estimate the monthly Meta charge.
Your business details are verified with Meta and the display name approved. Keep your GST or registration certificate handy.
Connect your business number for two-way chat, and top up the WhatsApp wallet that Meta charges are drawn from.
We draft each template in both languages under the right category and submit them for approval.
API and webhooks into your software, SMS fallback with DLT templates, test sends, then go live.
All cities and districts are listed on our areas we serve page.
Tell us what you send and how often. We will map each message to a category, estimate the Meta charges at October 2026 rates, and show you the platform in a live demo.