WhatsApp Marketing Messages API: what it is and when to switch
Meta now has a separate route for marketing templates. Same templates, same per-message rate, but Meta decides how and when to deliver each message, aiming to get more of them read. This guide covers how it works, what it costs, and how to turn it on in NaWaBiz.
What the Marketing Messages API is
Until recently every WhatsApp template, whether a sale announcement or an OTP, went out through
one Cloud API call: /messages. Meta has added a second one,
/marketing_messages, that only carries marketing templates. You may
still see it called MM Lite, its name while it was in beta.
The difference is what happens after you hit send. On the marketing route Meta applies its own delivery optimisation, using the same kind of signals it uses for ads, to pick the moment and the people most likely to engage. It also reports clicks and, if you connect them, conversions. Your phone number, your WhatsApp Business Account and your approved templates stay exactly as they are.
Before a business can use it, someone with full control of its Meta business portfolio has to accept Meta's Marketing Messages terms. That one step is what most of the switch comes down to.
How it differs from sending on the Cloud API
Most things stay the same. The table shows where the two routes part ways.
| Topic | Cloud API | Marketing Messages API |
|---|---|---|
| Endpoint | /messages | /marketing_messages |
| What it carries | Every template category, plus free-form replies inside the 24-hour window | Marketing templates only |
| Templates | Your approved templates | The same approved templates, no new review |
| Delivery | Sent straight away, no optimisation | Meta optimises delivery, except in a few countries where it is not offered |
| Price | Per delivered message at the marketing rate | Same marketing rate, or an optional max price per template |
| Message expiry | Time-to-live you can set on templates | Time-to-live of 12 hours to 30 days for marketing templates |
| Reporting | Sent, delivered, read | Sent, delivered, read, plus clicks and conversions |
| Pricing category in webhooks | marketing | marketing_lite, or marketing_lite_dynamic with a max price |
| Setup | Already done if you send today | Accept Meta's Marketing Messages terms |
Meta lists the countries where delivery optimisation is not available, including a restricted group of EEA countries and Thailand. Messages to those countries still send; they just are not optimised.
Who should switch, and when
You send offers or broadcasts
If marketing templates are a regular part of how you sell, switch now. The price is the same and you get delivery optimisation and click data for nothing extra.
You only send utility or OTPs
Order updates, reminders and login codes stay on the Cloud API either way. There is no rush, but accepting the terms costs nothing and keeps the door open.
You want to be ready for Meta's changes
Partners report that Meta may retire marketing sends on the Cloud API around the end of 2027. Meta has not confirmed a date, but switching early means no scramble later.
Switching it on in NaWaBiz
In NaWaBiz this is called Optimized Marketing Messages. You do not rebuild templates or change how you create campaigns. Once Meta confirms your account is onboarded, we route your marketing templates through the new API on our own.
-
1
Open your WhatsApp settings
Each business account shows whether Optimized Marketing Messages is on, off, or waiting for Meta's terms.
-
2
Accept Meta's terms
For a number connected straight to Meta, click Reconnect to switch on and accept the Marketing Messages terms in the Facebook window. For a NaWaBiz wallet number, click Accept the terms and accept them on the page that opens.
-
3
Let Meta confirm
Meta needs to confirm the account is onboarded before anything changes. If the status has not updated, click Check status.
-
4
Send as usual
Your next marketing campaign goes through the new route. You can turn it off for any account from the same screen.
Pricing and max price, simply
Billing works the way it already does for marketing templates: Meta charges per delivered message, at the marketing rate for the recipient's country. Moving to the Marketing Messages API does not change that rate, and a message that is never delivered is never charged.
What max price adds
Max price lets you set the most you are willing to pay for each delivered message, per template. Meta then charges that amount or less for each delivery, much like a bid cap on an ad. A higher ceiling can reach more people; a lower one keeps spend tight. Templates without a max price are billed at the normal marketing rate.
In NaWaBiz you set it from a marketing template's Delivery settings, in your own currency per delivered message, and remove it the same way. It is offered on accounts Meta bills directly.
Max price has been in open beta since 1 October 2026. Meta expects general availability in Q2 2027, and its docs say max price becomes required in eligible countries at that point. Dates like these can move.
Delivery webhooks carry the pricing category marketing_lite for messages on the new route, or marketing_lite_dynamic when a max price applied.
On NaWaBiz the cost still comes out of your prepaid wallet in the usual way: the campaign reserves an estimate, the real charge is taken per delivered message, and whatever is left over goes back to your balance. See pricing for plans.
Time-to-live: how long Meta keeps trying
Phones go offline. Time-to-live, or TTL, is how long Meta keeps trying to deliver a message before it gives up. For marketing templates it can be anywhere from 12 hours to 30 days. If the window runs out first, the message is dropped and, because it was never delivered, you are not charged for it.
A short TTL suits anything that goes stale: a flash sale that ends tonight, a same-day slot, a live event. A longer one suits evergreen offers where a late delivery is still useful.
In NaWaBiz you pick the validity when you create a marketing template, and can change it later from the template's Delivery settings.
Measuring clicks and conversions
On the Cloud API you see whether a message was delivered and read. The Marketing Messages API adds what happened next. Meta counts taps on your template's buttons and links, and if you connect the Meta Pixel on your website or send events through the Conversions API, it can tie purchases, sign-ups and other actions back to the message that led to them.
Click and conversion numbers show up in WhatsApp Manager, and in NaWaBiz too: each campaign report charts how many of its messages went out through Optimized Marketing Messages, the path from sent to delivered, read and clicked, clicks per button, spend and any conversions Meta reports, so you can compare runs before and after the switch.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need new templates for the Marketing Messages API?
No. Your approved marketing templates work as they are. Nothing is resubmitted and nothing goes back into review.
Does it cost more than sending marketing messages on the Cloud API?
No. Meta charges per delivered message at the same marketing rate for the recipient's country. If you set a max price on a template, Meta charges that amount or less for each delivery.
Can I keep using the WhatsApp Business app on the same number?
Yes. Numbers on Coexistence can use the Marketing Messages API too. The number has to be connected to the Cloud API, which it already is if you send through NaWaBiz.
What happens to my utility and OTP messages?
Nothing changes for them. Utility and authentication templates, and your replies inside the 24-hour window, keep going through the regular Cloud API.
Is Meta turning off marketing on the Cloud API?
Meta has not announced a date. Some partners report that Meta may stop marketing sends on the Cloud API around the end of 2027, but that is not confirmed. Switching early means you are ready either way.
Who has to accept Meta's terms?
Someone with full control of your Meta business portfolio. NaWaBiz cannot accept the terms for you; we only take you to the right screen.
Can I switch it off again?
Yes. In NaWaBiz's WhatsApp settings there is a Turn off button for each business account. Marketing templates then go back to the regular API.
Based on Meta's Marketing Messages API documentation and changelog, checked November 2026. Meta changes this product often; when its docs and this page disagree, Meta's docs win.
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