WhatsApp Coexistence in the UAE: availability, Meta rates and AED billing
Coexistence is available for numbers in the United Arab Emirates, because Meta's onboarding documentation for Business app users names no country restriction. From October 1, 2026, Meta charges US$ 0.0576 (AED 0.2115) for each marketing template delivered to a +971 number and US$ 0.0157 (AED 0.0576) for each utility or authentication template.
Meta's rate for a marketing template delivered to a UAE number, effective October 1, 2026.
Meta's AED rate for a utility or authentication template delivered to a UAE number.
Date Meta introduced AED as a billing currency, one of eight added that day.
The UAE's authentication-international rate, for eligible businesses based outside the UAE.
Is WhatsApp Coexistence available in the UAE?
Yes. Meta's documentation for onboarding WhatsApp Business app users to Cloud API lists what the business and the partner need, chiefly app version 2.24.17 or newer and a Tech Provider or Solution Partner using Embedded Signup, and it contains no country, region or calling code exclusion. A +971 number in active use on the WhatsApp Business app qualifies.
A UAE number fails for the same reasons a number anywhere fails: it is on the consumer WhatsApp app, the app is out of date, or the number is still attached to another provider. Embedded Signup itself is the reliable test, since it either accepts the number or says why not.
What does Meta charge per message in the UAE?
Meta charges per delivered template, priced by the recipient's country calling code. Any template delivered to a +971 number is billed at the UAE rate, regardless of where the sending business is registered. The UAE has its own line on Meta's rate card rather than sharing the Rest of Middle East rate.
The figures below are from Meta's USD and AED cards effective October 1, 2026. Free-form replies within an open 24 hour customer service window are free, a utility template sent inside that window is free, and messages sent from the WhatsApp Business app on a Coexistence number remain free. Marketing templates are charged every time they are delivered.
What has changed in UAE pricing and billing recently?
Two changes in Meta's pricing changelog apply directly. On October 1, 2025 Meta raised the marketing message rate for the United Arab Emirates. On April 1, 2026 it added eight billing currencies, AED among them, so a business in the Emirates can now be billed in dirhams and read its costs from an AED rate card.
The UAE is also on Meta's list of markets with an authentication-international rate. A business based outside the Emirates that sends one time passcodes to +971 numbers can be moved to US$ 0.051 per authentication template once Meta sets a start date for it, which it announces 30 days ahead.
How do you connect a UAE number to the API and keep the app?
Through Meta's Embedded Signup with the existing WhatsApp Business app option, run by a Tech Provider. The business logs in with Facebook, picks its Business Portfolio, enters the +971 number and confirms with a QR code shown in the app. Media from synced chat history is only available for the last two weeks.
Afterwards the WhatsApp Business app keeps working on the phone and the same number receives and sends through Cloud API at a fixed 20 messages per second. The connecting a number page lists every step and what each one needs.
Common mistakes
- Assuming the UAE is priced as Rest of Middle East. It has its own, higher line on Meta's rate card.
- Converting USD rates to dirhams by hand. Since April 1, 2026 Meta publishes an AED card with its own figures.
- Sending passcodes to +971 numbers from abroad at the domestic budget. The authentication-international rate is more than three times higher.
EasyCoexistence connects a +971 number through Meta's own Embedded Signup in about two minutes, for a flat fee per connected number starting at US$ 9 a month. Meta bills its message rates to your own WhatsApp Business Account, and we add nothing on top.
Frequently asked questions
Can Meta bill a UAE business in dirhams?
Yes. AED became a WhatsApp Business Platform billing currency on April 1, 2026, with its own rate card.
Are the UAE and Saudi Arabia priced the same?
For marketing, yes: both are US$ 0.0576 on the October 1, 2026 card. Utility and authentication differ, at US$ 0.0157 for the UAE and US$ 0.0107 for Saudi Arabia.
Is a reply to a customer who wrote first charged?
Not if it is a free-form reply inside the 24 hour customer service window. Templates sent outside the window are charged.
Does the app on the phone stop working?
No. Coexistence keeps the WhatsApp Business app working on the same number, and messages sent from it stay free.
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