Why are Click-to-WhatsApp ads the cheapest entry point in India?

A click on a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a Facebook page CTA opens a 72-hour window in which Meta charges nothing for messages. That window survived the 1 October 2026 pricing change that made service replies and in-window utility templates chargeable, so it is now the only genuinely free messaging window on the platform. The practical consequence is that qualifying a lead inside the 72 hours costs nothing, while re-engaging the same lead a week later needs a marketing template at ₹0.8631. Sequencing beats budget: brands that qualify in-window report reply rates around 4.6× a static lead form.

Paid acquisition

Click-to-WhatsApp ads — the cheapest first touch in India

A CTWA or page-CTA click opens a 72-hour free messaging window. Qualify the lead with a bot, hand the warm ones to a human, and report cost per qualified conversation instead of cost per click.

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72 hrs: free window per ad click
4.6×: reply rate vs a lead form
CPQC: reported, not just CPC

‹AS

Acme Storechat from your ad

Hi! I saw your ad for the festive sale.

12:02✓✓

Welcome 👋 Here is your 15% code: FEST15. Want to shop the offers?

12:02

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Run it properly

Ad-level attribution

ctwa_clid is captured on the first message, so every order traces back to campaign, ad set and creative.

Instant qualification

The AI agent asks your two or three qualifying questions in seconds, while intent is still hot.

Routing that respects the window

Hot leads to a human inside 72 hours; the rest to nurture before the window closes and a template becomes chargeable.

Creative feedback loop

Reply rate and qualified rate per creative, not just CTR — kill the ads that bring tyre-kickers.

Welcome message testing

A/B the first bot message; it moves qualified rate more than the ad copy usually does.

Spend guardrails

Cap conversations per ad per day so a runaway creative cannot drain the wallet.

Questions on this page

Each answer is written to stand alone, so search engines and AI assistants can quote it.

Does the 72-hour window really cost nothing?

Correct, and it survives the 1 October 2026 change that made service and in-window utility messages chargeable. The 72-hour entry-point window opened by a Click-to-WhatsApp ad or a page CTA is still free, which now makes it the cheapest remaining entry point into WhatsApp in India.

What happens after 72 hours?

The free window closes and re-engagement needs a template at its category rate. Nurture before it lapses, or bring them back with a fresh CTWA click.

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