A WhatsApp message template is a message your business writes in advance, Meta reviews and approves, and you then send through the API with its variables filled in. It is the only kind of message you can send outside the 24-hour window. Every template is marketing, utility or authentication.
In practice
The categories, according to Meta: marketing for offers and news, utility for something the customer asked for or did (an appointment confirmation, an order status) and authentication for verification codes. The category sets the price. As of October 2026, in Spain, €0.0585 per delivered marketing message and €0.0166 per utility or authentication message (Meta pricing).
A template has four components, and only the body is required:
| Component | What it holds | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Header | Text, or an image, video or document | 60 characters if text |
| Body | The main text, with variables | 1,024 characters |
| Footer | A closing line of text | 60 characters |
| Buttons | Actions when tapped | Up to 10 in total |
What Meta says in its template fundamentals:
- Variables. They can be named, like {{first_name}}, or positional, like {{1}}. When you create the template you must give an example value for each.
- Languages. Meta translates nothing. Each language is a separate template and counts towards your limit.
- Review. It is automatic and can take up to 24 hours. Only approved templates can be sent; a template with repeated complaints can be paused or disabled.
- Limits. 250 templates per account if your business portfolio is unverified, and up to 6,000 if it is verified and has a number with an approved display name. Templates unused for 12 months are archived and deleted after 28 days unless you restore them.
Typical uses in a small business: an appointment reminder, a notice that an order has shipped, an update on a repair request or a code to log in to a client area. Everything your business sends on its own initiative through the WhatsApp Business API goes this way.
Common mistakes
- Putting a promotion in a utility template. A template that mixes an update with an offer counts as marketing, which in Spain costs about 3.5 times as much.
- Sending without consent. You need the customer's prior opt-in, and it must make your business name clear.
- Creating the template on the day you need it. Review can take a day. Prepare templates before launch.
- Forgetting when you need one. Inside the 24-hour window a free-form message is enough; outside it, no template means no message.
The detail is in WhatsApp Business API pricing in Spain and how to build a WhatsApp AI agent.
Sources
- Meta, Template fundamentals (updated 21 May 2026)
- Meta, Template components (updated 24 June 2026)
- Meta, Template categorization
- Meta, Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (updated 30 September 2026)
- Meta, Get opt-in for WhatsApp