Let’s clarify: is WhatsApp free or is it paid? How much? How to pay? Many hoaxes circulate on the net about phantom monthly rates or other. Let’s see if, how and when the application really pays.

Update 2016: WhatsApp announces that the application becomes free for everyone

The web, as we know, loves to have fun. On WhatsApp, hoaxes flock, especially when it comes to money. It almost seems that the question of whether WhatsApp is free or paid can never find a definitive answer. In reality, the answer is simple: it depends . And not from the device on which we installed WhatsApp – whether iPhone, Android, Windows Phone or other type – but from the date we started using the application for the first time. Let’s go in order.

It is good to clarify some aspects that concern all types of phones right away. Whether you pay for WhatsApp or it has no cost, to use the application you have to take into account the Internet connection , which is absolutely necessary for sending messages, photos, videos, etc. So, unless you use a free hot spot, you always have to take into account the price of the connection we pay. Whether we use the Wi-Fi at home, which we pay in the telephone bill, or if we have a telephone contract with a data connection , for which we pay a hefty monthly amount for the telephone subscription.

Having clarified this, it is good to remember that WhatsApp does not have any type of advertising inside it. The company’s policy is clear, and has remained on this line even after the “change of ownership”. Well, many will ask, but how does he make money then? Why did Mark Zuckerberg, owner of Facebook, spend about $ 20 billion to buy it?

Before knowing the truth about the cost of WhatsApp, it is good to “forget” the false news – now hundreds – circulating on the web. Things like ‘From next month WhatsApp will be paid at a cost of tot euro per month ”, or,“ WhatsApp in 2015/2016 / etc. it will become paid ”or,“ If you don’t send this message to 10 people you will have to pay… ”. All false, any such news is nothing more than one of the latest hoaxes that aims to deceive users (and, in many cases, it succeeds very well). Finally, there are the quasi-hoaxes that teach you how to get WhatsApp for free. This is only partially true, we will talk about it in the last chapter of this post (# 3).

Is WhatsApp free or paid?

# 1. WhatsApp is free for the first year (with some exceptions)

Let’s get to the heart of the matter right away. WhatsApp is free only for the first year of use, which begins when you start using the application with your phone number. After that, WhatsApp becomes paid, at a cost of 89 euro cents per year.

In fact, there are exceptions . WhatsApp has in fact devised a discount system for those who decide to purchase the application for more than a year. In particular:

1. If you buy WhatsApp for 3 years , you will pay a total of 2.40 euros. The equivalent of 80 cents a year (and therefore 9 cents less than the 1-year subscription, with a discount of about 10%)
2. If you buy WhatsApp for 5 years , the fee is 3.34 euros in total. Equal to approximately 0.67 cents for each year of service (22 cents less than the one for a year and 13 less than the one for 3. With a discount of about 20%).

Then there is a third option, which allows you to have WhatsApp for free . Many users, when they hear about paid WhatsApp, smile, exclaiming: ‘but what if I’ve never paid anything for WhatsApp?’. Indeed, this possibility exists. If WhatsApp was downloaded before it became paid (early 2014) then the application remains free forever.

NB After you have made it, it takes approximately 3-5 days for your payment to be processed. Only then, will you see the updated payment info in your application.

#2. How to pay for WhatsApp?

WhatsApp, therefore, is paid, at least in the cases and methods listed above (we remind you once again: beware of the hoaxes that infest the network). Having solved this doubt, however, the problem arises: how do you pay for WhatsApp?

Before answering, you can know if you have to pay for WhatsApp or not. To find out the type of subscription we have active on our mobile, go to: Settings> Account> Payment Info .

If you find the word “WhatsApp service for life”, you can rest assured. You have the application for free forever. If not, let’s see how to make the payment.

There are four different alternatives to renew the WhatsApp service :

1. Google Wallet : it is possible to pay for WhatsApp with the Google payment service. To use them, you need to register for the service.

2. PayPal, PostePay, Prepaid: this option is available directly from the application. Just follow the guided procedure from the “Payment info” menu and enter your account or card details.

3. Payment from PC: by selecting the “send url for payment” option, you will receive an email with the procedure to follow to pay WhatsApp directly from your PC (always with an account or card)

4. Wind users: this telephone company provides the option to pay directly by debiting the telephone credit.

# 3. How to get WhatsApp for free?

We have already mentioned the first way to have WhatsApp without paying, that is to have downloaded the application before it became paid . If not, this option is to be discarded. The second way is to download WhatsApp on different devices – iPhone, Android, Windows – and take advantage of the free promotion for the first year.

Few, however, are willing to change their phone every year (even if, in reality, it is enough to change the phone number even on the same device).

The only real way to get WhatsApp for free, therefore, remains that of the ” gift “. One of the latest news of WhatsApp, in fact, is the possibility of giving the subscription to a friend. To do this, just follow option 3 (payment from PC) that we saw above and send the url for payment to whoever we want to give us the app. In this way, our dear “ benefactor ” will receive the email from which he can make the gift and pay for the application for us.

If your benefactor doesn’t know how to do this, you can share this article on his Facebook wall, so that he can’t have “excuses” related to alleged incapacity. If, on the other hand, you want to discover other methods to get WhatsApp for free, you can take a look at the article How not to pay WhatsApp every year .