WAHA vs Twilio: The SQL That Finds Your Real WhatsApp Bill

说明与用途

通过 SQL 查询可以准确识别哪些 WhatsApp 出站消息在 Meta 的模板规则下计费，并将实际成本与 Twilio 的定价进行比较。每月 10,000 条消息时，Twilio 成本在 63 美元到 138 美元之间，而 WAHA 的成本几乎为零。

问题

Determining the actual cost of WhatsApp messaging when self-hosting with WAHA versus using Twilio’s paid service, accounting for Meta’s template pricing rules and WAHA’s licensing changes.

结果

The SQL query accurately identifies billable outbound messages, revealing that Meta charges only for messages sent outside a 24‑hour window. At 10,000 messages/month, the estimated Twilio cost ranges from ~$63 (utility templates) to ~$138 (marketing templates), while WAHA’s cost is effectively $0 for software and ~$10 for hardware, making self-hosting several times cheaper.

工作流

• 1. Identify WhatsApp inbox IDs in Chatwoot.
• 2. Run the provided SQL query against the Chatwoot messages table, pulling 33 days of history and counting outbound messages inside and outside the 24‑hour window.
• 3. Extract the "outside_window" count – the only messages that incur Meta charges.
• 4. Apply Meta’s template rate (e.g., $0.0053 for utility in Israel) to the outside_window count.
• 5. Add Twilio’s $0.005 per message fee for all messages to estimate total Twilio cost.
• 6. Compare the estimated Twilio cost to the negligible WAHA cost (software $0 + hardware ~$10).

证据

Meta does not charge per message. It charges per template sent outside an open customer service window.

来源

Since November 1, 2024 non-template messages are free. Since July 1, 2025 utility templates answering a user inside an open 24-hour window are also free.

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In release 2026.6.1, announced June 21, 2026, every Plus feature moved into the free Core image and the tiers collapsed into a single optional $5/month Community subscription.

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Twilio’s WhatsApp pricing is two layers. Its own fee is $0.005 per message, inbound or outbound, and that one applies to every message.

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