Line Pricing: Messaging API Plans and Costs (2026)

Pricing overview

Line's Messaging API pricing structure is designed to accommodate various usage levels, from individual developers to large enterprises. The primary cost driver for the Messaging API is the volume of push messages sent to users. Reply messages, sent in response to user actions within a 7-day window, are generally unlimited across all plans (Line Messaging API pricing details). This distinction is crucial for understanding potential costs, as proactive communication incurs charges while reactive customer service typically does not.

In addition to the core Messaging API, Line offers other services such as LINE Login for authentication, LINE MINI App for in-app experiences, and LINE Pay API for payment processing, each with its own pricing considerations or usage terms (Line developer documentation). This page focuses specifically on the Messaging API, which is central to most Line-based communication solutions.

Line's pricing is typically denominated in Japanese Yen (¥), reflecting its primary market presence. International users should consider exchange rates when evaluating costs.

Plans and tiers

Line's Messaging API offers four main plans: the Free plan, Basic plan, Advanced plan, and Unlimited plan. Each plan provides a different allocation of push messages and features, scaling with the expected usage volume.

The pricing model includes a base monthly fee for paid plans, which covers a certain number of push messages. Beyond this included volume, additional push messages are charged at a per-message rate that decreases with higher-tier plans. Reply messages, which are messages sent within 7 days of a user's last message, are unlimited across all plans, including the Free plan (Line Messaging API plans).

The following table summarizes the key features and costs of each plan:

Note: All pricing listed is in Japanese Yen (¥) and accurate as of the last update to the Line Developers pricing page. Specific rates for additional messages are tiered, meaning the per-message cost decreases after reaching certain volume thresholds within a given month.

Free tier and limits

Line offers a robust Free plan for its Messaging API, making it accessible for developers to experiment and build applications without initial financial commitment. The Free plan includes:

• 1,000 push messages per month: These are messages sent proactively by your Line bot or service to users, such as notifications or promotional content. Once this limit is reached, no further push messages can be sent until the next billing cycle.
• Unlimited reply messages: Messages sent in direct response to user input within a 7-day window are not counted towards any limit and are free of charge. This allows for continuous conversational interactions in customer service or chatbot scenarios.
• Basic features: Access to core Messaging API functionalities, including sending various message types (text, image, sticker, video), rich menus, and webhook integration (Line Messaging API reference).

The Free plan is ideal for:

• Development and testing: Building and iterating on Line bots or services before deployment.
• Small-scale personal projects: Managing very low-volume communication for hobbies or small communities.
• Proof-of-concept projects: Demonstrating the capabilities of a Line-based solution to stakeholders.

Users exceeding 1,000 push messages consistently will need to upgrade to a paid plan to continue sending proactive messages.

Real-world cost examples

To illustrate the potential costs, consider a few common scenarios for businesses using the Line Messaging API:

Scenario 1: Small Business Customer Support Bot

• Usage: A small online shop uses a Line bot for customer service. It sends an average of 500 proactive order confirmation messages (push messages) per month and handles approximately 5,000 customer inquiries (reply messages) per month.
• Cost Calculation:
• Push messages: 500 (within Free plan limit of 1,000)
• Reply messages: 5,000 (unlimited on Free plan)
• Estimated Monthly Cost: ¥0 (Free plan sufficient)
• Conclusion: The Free plan is adequate for this usage, allowing the business to manage customer inquiries without cost.

Scenario 2: Medium-Sized Business Marketing Campaign

• Usage: A retail brand runs a monthly promotional campaign, sending a broadcast message to 20,000 followers. They also handle about 10,000 customer reply messages.
• Cost Calculation:
• Base plan needed: Basic Plan (includes 15,000 push messages for ¥5,000)
• Additional push messages: 20,000 (total) - 15,000 (included) = 5,000 additional messages.
• Cost for additional messages: 5,000 messages * ¥0.5/message = ¥2,500.
• Reply messages: 10,000 (unlimited on Basic plan).
• Estimated Monthly Cost: ¥5,000 (Basic Plan) + ¥2,500 (additional messages) = ¥7,500.
• Conclusion: The Basic Plan with overage charges provides a cost-effective solution for this level of marketing.

Scenario 3: Large Enterprise for Extensive Broadcasting

• Usage: A major media company uses Line for daily news updates and promotional content, sending an average of 150,000 push messages per month to subscribers and handling 50,000 reply messages.
• Cost Calculation:
• Base plan needed: Advanced Plan (includes 45,000 push messages for ¥15,000)
• Additional push messages: 150,000 (total) - 45,000 (included) = 105,000 additional messages.
• Cost for additional messages:
• First 80,000 (up to 125,000 total): 80,000 * ¥0.2/message = ¥16,000
• Remaining 25,000 (over 125,000 total): 25,000 * ¥0.1/message = ¥2,500
• Total additional cost: ¥16,000 + ¥2,500 = ¥18,500.
• Reply messages: 50,000 (unlimited on Advanced plan).
• Estimated Monthly Cost: ¥15,000 (Advanced Plan) + ¥18,500 (additional messages) = ¥33,500.
• Conclusion: The Advanced Plan supports high-volume communication with tiered overage rates, making it more economical than simply scaling up from lower plans. The Unlimited Plan might be considered for even higher, unpredictable volumes.

How the pricing compares

When comparing Line's pricing to alternatives like WhatsApp Business Platform or WeChat Official Accounts, several factors emerge. Line's model, heavily reliant on push message volume, is common among messaging platforms. However, the specific tiers, included messages, and overage rates vary significantly.

• WhatsApp Business Platform: WhatsApp typically charges per conversation, which can be initiated by either the business or the user. Business-initiated conversations usually have a higher per-conversation cost than user-initiated ones. This model differs from Line's push message focus, as a single WhatsApp conversation might involve multiple messages and still count as one chargeable unit for a period (WhatsApp Business Platform pricing).
• WeChat Official Accounts: WeChat's pricing often involves annual verification fees for Official Accounts and can have limits on daily message broadcasts depending on the account type (e.g., Subscription vs. Service accounts). While some basic messaging is free, advanced features and higher message volumes may incur costs, though less explicitly tiered by individual message count like Line (WeChat Official Accounts FAQ, in Chinese).
• Telegram Bot API: The Telegram Bot API is notable for being entirely free to use, without any per-message charges or tiered plans (Telegram Bot API documentation). This makes it a highly cost-effective option for developers, though its user base and market penetration differ significantly from Line, WhatsApp, or WeChat in certain regions.

Line's pricing structure is generally competitive for its target markets, particularly in Asia. The distinction between free reply messages and paid push messages offers flexibility for customer support applications, where most interactions are user-initiated and therefore free. For marketing and broadcast use cases, the tiered pricing incentivizes larger deployments by reducing the per-message cost at higher volumes, similar to many cloud service providers (Google Cloud pricing models).