What they are and why Meta charges less
Order status notifications in WhatsApp (payment confirmed, shipped and cancelled) are Utility messages. Meta charges much less for them than for marketing messages.
Which notifications are covered
Payment confirmed
Order shipped
Order cancelled
edrone sets the category of each template: Utility for order status notices and Marketing for the rest. Meta confirms the category when it approves the template. A template with a promotion or product recommendation is approved as Marketing.
Utility credits
These notifications are sent only with Utility credits, never with your regular WhatsApp credits. Marketing messages keep using the regular credits.
In short: order status notifications use Utility credits. Marketing messages use regular WhatsApp credits.
Where to buy
You buy Utility credit packages as a monthly subscription. There are three ways:
In Payments and usage > Premium add-ons, in the WhatsApp Utility package, by clicking Buy Utility credits
In account health, in the top bar
In the hint in the WhatsApp message settings of the After sale flow
Utility packages come in the same sizes as the WhatsApp marketing packages. Credits have limited validity.
500 free Utility credits
Every client with a verified WhatsApp has 500 free Utility credits, valid until the beginning of January 2027. A new number gets 500 credits when it is verified, once per account.
How much it costs
Price per Utility message:
Brazil (BRL)
Message range | Price per message |
1 – 1,000 | R$ 0.08 |
1,001 – 10,000 | R$ 0.06 |
10,001 + | R$ 0.05 |
Poland (PLN)
Message range | Price per message |
1 – 1,000 | 0.19 zł |
1,001 – 10,000 | 0.15 zł |
10,001 + | 0.12 zł |
My order notifications are not being sent
If your Utility credits ran out or expired, order status notifications are not sent. They are sent again after you buy a Utility package.
How to fix it: buy a Utility package using one of the ways in the "Where to buy" section.
Clients in Mexico
Clients in Mexico cannot buy a Utility package yet. Notifications keep being sent until the 500 free credits run out or expire.
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Need additional help?
If you have any additional questions related to WhatsApp, please contact us via chat or email us at hello@edrone.me