How does WhatsApp work in Klaviyo, and what does it cost?

Why does WhatsApp matter for Klaviyo brands?

For UK and European brands, WhatsApp is the default messaging app in much of the market, and Klaviyo now runs it in the same place as email and SMS: the same profiles, the same flows and the same consent records. On Klaviyo’s credit table before July 2026, a UK marketing WhatsApp cost about twice a single-segment UK SMS; as of November 2026 marketing messages cannot reach US numbers, and Klaviyo’s WhatsApp billing changed twice this year. This guide covers all of it, and why revenue per message flatters the channel. Everboost plans WhatsApp alongside email and SMS, not instead of them.

How does WhatsApp work in Klaviyo?

Klaviyo connects to WhatsApp directly through Meta, using Meta’s embedded signup from Settings, WhatsApp. You do not need a separate provider. You need:

1. A Facebook account and a Meta Business Portfolio (both can be created during setup).
2. A WhatsApp Business Account, which must be verified within 30 days of creation.
3. A dedicated phone number that is not your Klaviyo SMS sending number. A number already on the WhatsApp Business app or another provider has to be migrated, and Klaviyo recommends a new WhatsApp Business Account when you move from another provider.
4. A Mobile Messaging plan, the same prepaid plan that pays for SMS.
5. An Owner, Admin or Manager role in Klaviyo to connect it.

Once connected, WhatsApp works like the other channels: campaigns, WhatsApp steps in flows, two-way conversations, consent stored on the profile and segments built on it. Messages that start a conversation must use a template: a pre-approved message Meta files as marketing, utility or authentication. Everboost has had marketing templates submitted through Klaviyo approved within minutes, so plan for approval but do not expect it to hold a launch up.

How much does WhatsApp cost in Klaviyo?

You pay per delivered template message, plus service replies beyond Meta’s free allowance. Meta decides which messages are billable and prices them by category and the recipient’s country; Klaviyo turns that into a per-message rate for your plan, lower on larger plans, and deducts it from your Mobile Messaging plan, which WhatsApp shares with SMS, MMS and RCS. Messages that fail to deliver are not charged.

Two changes in 2026 make most older articles out of date:

• July 2026: credits became dollars. On 13 July 2026 Klaviyo replaced Mobile Messaging credits with dollar per-message rates. New customers and accounts on a free Mobile Messaging plan moved straight away; paid plans moved on their first billing date after 13 August 2026. Your exact rate per country and message type is shown in Settings, Billing.
• 1 October 2026: service messages are charged again. Meta resumed charging per message for service messages, the replies you send inside the 24-hour window after a customer writes to you, beyond 1,000 free a month per business number. Utility messages sent inside an open window are now charged too. Klaviyo’s billing article says service replies are billed at your account’s Service rate, which can be free, so check yours.

Message	Charged?	As of November 2026
Marketing template	Yes	Highest rate; blocked to US numbers
Utility template (order, delivery, account updates)	Yes	Lower rate; now charged inside an open window too
Service reply inside 24 hours	First 1,000 a month per number free	Charged beyond that since 1 October 2026
Keyword auto-reply	No	Not billed by Klaviyo
Reply to a click-to-WhatsApp ad within 24 hours	No	Opens a free window of up to 7 days
Failed delivery	No	Only delivered messages are billed

On Klaviyo’s credit table before July 2026, a UK marketing WhatsApp cost 10 credits against 5 for a single-segment UK SMS, about twice as much per message, while a UK utility WhatsApp at 4 credits cost less than an SMS. Klaviyo’s public calculators show a monthly plan price by country and volume, not a per-message rate for marketing versus utility, and Klaviyo does not say whether it adds a margin to Meta’s rates, so check your own account before you budget.

One more limit affects reach rather than price. Meta caps how many marketing templates each person receives from businesses overall, so some marketing messages fail for people who get a lot of WhatsApp marketing. Failed sends are not billed, but expect delivered counts below your consented audience.

Can you send WhatsApp marketing to US customers?

No. Meta has blocked WhatsApp marketing templates to US phone numbers since 1 April 2025. Klaviyo says Meta has called the pause temporary, but as of November 2026 no end date has been given, and Klaviyo cannot override it.

For a US audience WhatsApp is therefore a utility and service channel: order and delivery updates, replies to customers who message you, and replies inside conversations customers start from click-to-WhatsApp ads. SMS remains the US text channel for marketing. For a UK brand with US customers, exclude profiles with a US WhatsApp number (+1 with a US area code; Canadian numbers also start +1, so do not filter on the dialling code alone) from your WhatsApp marketing segments, because the block follows the phone number rather than the shipping country, and keep sending those customers SMS and email. Everboost plans WhatsApp as a UK and European channel first for this reason.

When does WhatsApp beat SMS?

	WhatsApp	SMS
UK marketing cost per message	About 2x a single-segment SMS (pre-July credit table)	Baseline
US marketing	Blocked	Available
Format	Images, video, buttons, quick replies, long messages	Text, plus MMS in the US
Two-way conversation	Natural; customers reply as they would to a friend	Possible, less common
Consent	WhatsApp consent wording	SMS consent wording
Strongest use	High-intent moments in the UK and Europe	US marketing, short urgent alerts

WhatsApp wins where a customer is close to buying and a richer, conversational message helps: abandoned checkout, a welcome message for new WhatsApp subscribers, launches and early access, back in stock. It also wins in markets where customers barely use SMS and WhatsApp is the default messaging app.

SMS wins in the US, for short time-sensitive alerts, and wherever the extra cost of a marketing WhatsApp is not covered by extra revenue. Klaviyo’s Channel Affinity has included WhatsApp since April 2026, and since 29 October 2026 you can build segments on its WhatsApp rankings, so you can target each channel at the customers most likely to respond on it.

What should you send on WhatsApp?

Start narrow. Everboost starts in roughly this order:

1. Abandoned checkout for customers with WhatsApp consent, alongside the email, not instead of it.
2. Welcome for new WhatsApp subscribers, with the offer they signed up for.
3. Launches, early access and back in stock, the big moments rather than every campaign.
4. Replenishment reminders for products with a predictable reorder point.

Routine post-purchase updates are the ones to hold back: leave them on email until a test shows WhatsApp adds revenue there. A UK marketing WhatsApp has cost about twice an SMS, so it has to earn that at moments of buying intent.

Two build details that help. Add an “I have a question” quick reply routed to your support team and a “Reply STOP to opt out” footer, so the conversation has somewhere to go. Klaviyo shows quick replies above the link button, so we leave an Unsubscribe button off rather than lead with it. And either split the flow on WhatsApp consent or run WhatsApp as its own flow for reachable profiles, so the people who can be reached on WhatsApp get it and everyone else gets the email as it is.

How do you collect WhatsApp consent?

Use wording that names WhatsApp and how to opt out, so each channel only reaches people who chose it. Everboost has used three routes:

• A sign-up form step that offers WhatsApp or SMS, with consent wording for each channel.
• A full-screen opt-in page or form linked from existing emails, for customers already on your email list.
• Meta lead ads, set up by whoever runs your paid social, with a consent line such as a promise of early access on WhatsApp and “reply STOP to opt out”.

Keep the WhatsApp tick optional. Making it a condition of entering a giveaway or claiming an offer puts the consent at risk under UK GDPR, which requires consent to be freely given. Whichever route you use, check the consent field on the first batch of profiles before anything sends. Klaviyo treats WhatsApp consent as its own channel, so a mistake here means messages going to people who never asked for them.

Why does WhatsApp look so good per message?

Because the audience is small and self-selected. People who opt in to WhatsApp are usually among a brand’s most engaged customers, and they are usually a small share of any campaign audience. A channel sent only to your keenest customers will almost always earn more per message than a channel sent to everyone.

Judge WhatsApp on the total revenue it adds after its higher cost. Compare how much extra revenue the WhatsApp version of a flow or campaign brings in with sending the email alone, and check whether the people you move to WhatsApp keep buying. If WhatsApp mostly reaches people who would have bought from the email anyway, the per-message figure looks impressive and the business barely moves. Everboost judges every channel on the absolute revenue it adds, and our guide to Klaviyo attributed revenue explains why attributed revenue overstates what a message caused.

What should you do?

• UK or European brand, not on WhatsApp yet: connect it in Klaviyo, start collecting consent with its own opt-in, and launch abandoned checkout and welcome before anything else.
• Already on a separate WhatsApp provider: weigh moving to Klaviyo’s native channel, which puts WhatsApp on the same profile as everything else, against the work of migrating your number and rebuilding templates.
• Mostly US customers: use WhatsApp for utility and service messages only, and keep marketing on SMS and email.
• Already sending: check your billing rates since the July and October changes, and test each WhatsApp message against the email on its own for total revenue, not revenue per message.

For how WhatsApp fits into the rest of a Klaviyo bill, see our guide to how much Klaviyo costs. To see how other health and wellness brands grew their repeat revenue, read how a UK supplements business did it, or browse our case studies. If you want a retention agency to decide where WhatsApp earns its place in bringing first-time buyers back for a second order, book an intro call.