WhatsApp Broadcast Limits: Contacts, Messaging Tiers and Charges
Business app lists stop at 256 contacts, the API caps unique users per 24 hours, and marketing messages cost about Tk 9 each in Bangladesh. Here is how each limit works.
In this article
A shop in Mirpur sends its Eid offer to a WhatsApp broadcast list of 256 past buyers at 9 pm. Ninety of them get it. The rest never saved the shop's number, and the app doesn't say so. There is no single WhatsApp broadcast limit, and the one that bit here isn't the one most people search for. In the WhatsApp Business app, a broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts and only reaches people who have saved your number. On the WhatsApp Business API (the WhatsApp Business Platform), Meta caps how many unique people you can message outside a customer service window in a rolling 24 hours, starting at 250 and rising to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited. Marketing messages sent through the API are charged per delivered message.
Key takeaways
- Business app broadcast lists: up to 256 contacts per list, unlimited lists, and only contacts who saved your number receive the message.
- WhatsApp is rolling out a monthly broadcast cap in some countries; its help centre says up to 35 free broadcast messages per month.
- API messaging limits are set per business portfolio (since 7 October 2025): 250, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 or unlimited unique users per 24 hours.
- A marketing template to a Bangladeshi number costs $0.0732 on Meta's current rate card, about Tk 9.
- Quality matters more than volume: templates with poor feedback get paused for 3 hours, then 6 hours, then disabled.
What is the WhatsApp broadcast limit in the Business app?
In the free WhatsApp Business app, each broadcast list can hold up to 256 contacts, and you can create as many lists as you like. The catch is delivery: only people who have saved your number in their phone's address book receive the message. Everyone else on the list simply never sees it, with no error shown to you.
That second rule is the one that hurts sellers. The Mirpur shop above wrote "Notun collection eseche, 20% off till Chand Raat" and sent it to 256 people. Only 90 had ever saved the number, so 90 got it. The other 166 are on the list, the app says sent, and the message goes nowhere.
Replies come back as normal one-to-one chats, and nobody sees anyone else's reply or number. Lists are mobile-only: not supported on Windows, Mac or Web.
How do you get more customers to save your number?
Ask when they are already happy with you, when the parcel arrives and the kurti fits, not when you want to sell them something. Put "Save this number for restock alerts" on the parcel slip, in your order confirmation and on your Facebook page's WhatsApp button. A customer who saves you because they want something also reports you less.
Is there a WhatsApp broadcast message limit per month?
Yes, in some countries. WhatsApp's help centre says people in some countries might see a monthly broadcast limit, rolling out gradually, and that you can send up to 35 free broadcast messages per month. You can check yours under Settings, then Broadcasts, and WhatsApp warns you when you are close to the limit.
The same article points businesses towards the Business app's "more advanced messaging tools", and it doesn't say clearly whether the 35-message cap also covers Business app lists. If you rely on lists, open that Settings screen on your own phone rather than trusting a blog post, this one included.
Business broadcasts: the paid option inside the app
WhatsApp has added a separate feature called business broadcasts to the Business app, under Tools. Meta announced in April 2025 that this would be a paid feature "to ensure businesses are thoughtful about what they send". In some countries it has replaced what used to be called marketing messages.
WhatsApp's own help pages describe it this way.
- It can reach customers who haven't saved your number, which is the big difference from a broadcast list.
- You pay for each message delivered within five days of sending, priced by the recipient's country code. Undelivered messages are credited back.
- Meta reviews each broadcast before it is sent and tells you if a draft isn't approved.
- Message packs (prepaid credits that don't expire) exist, currently on iOS only.
- If many people report or block you, you get a warning first. Keep sending spam and business broadcasts are suspended for three days, with no appeal.
- It is available in limited countries, and the WhatsApp Business Platform doesn't support it.
WhatsApp's pages don't publish a recipient cap per business broadcast, and the price shows in the app before checkout. Check Tools in your own app to see if it is offered to you yet. If it is, we'd try one small broadcast to recent buyers before putting money into packs; the three-day suspension has no appeal.
How do WhatsApp Business API messaging limits work?
On the API, a messaging limit is the number of unique WhatsApp users your business can deliver messages to outside a customer service window in a moving 24 hours. Since 7 October 2025, Meta sets it per business portfolio, so every number in the portfolio shares one limit. New portfolios start at 250.
The customer service window is the 24 hours after a customer's last message to you. Replies inside it don't count towards the limit. What counts is outreach: a restock alert, an Eid offer, a "your cart is waiting" reminder at 8 pm, all sent as approved templates to people who haven't messaged you in the last day.
| Messaging limit | Unique users per rolling 24 hours | How you reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Starting limit | 250 | Every new business portfolio |
| 2,000 | 2,000 | Verify your business, have your partner verify it, or deliver 2,000 template messages to unique users outside windows within 30 days using high-quality templates |
| 10,000 | 10,000 | Automatic: high-quality messaging and at least half your current limit used in the last 7 days |
| 100,000 | 100,000 | Automatic, same rule |
| Unlimited | No cap | Automatic, same rule |
Automatic upgrades happen within 6 hours of meeting the criteria. Since October 2025, a falling phone number quality rating no longer downgrades the limit. The sharing cuts both ways, though: if your Dhaka number and your Chattogram number sit in one portfolio, the Dhaka number's Eid blast can use up the Chattogram number's allowance for the day. Your current limit is in WhatsApp Manager under Account tools, then Messaging limits.
Per-user marketing limits are a separate cap
Even with an unlimited portfolio, some marketing templates won't arrive. Meta may cap how many marketing templates one person receives from all businesses over a period, based on things like how often that person reads marketing messages. Blocked deliveries come back with error 131049. Meta's advice is to wait at least 24 hours before trying that person again, because quick retries can block further attempts for up to a day. Marketing messages sent inside an open customer service window don't count towards this cap.
WhatsApp broadcast charges: what you actually pay
Broadcast lists in the Business app carry no Meta fee. Business broadcasts cost per delivered message, with the price shown in the app. On the API, every delivered marketing template is charged by the recipient's country. Using Meta's own rate calculator on 12 October 2026, a marketing message to a +880 number costs $0.0732, and a utility message $0.0037.
| Broadcast size (Bangladeshi numbers) | Meta fee in USD | About in taka | Fits which API limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 250 customers | $18.30 | Tk 2,255 | Starting limit |
| 1,000 customers | $73.20 | Tk 9,022 | 2,000 |
| 2,000 customers | $146.40 | Tk 18,044 | 2,000 |
| 10,000 customers | $732.00 | Tk 90,219 | 10,000 |
Taka figures use Tk 123.25 per US dollar (exchange-rates.org, 11 October 2026) and exclude your provider's fee and VAT. Meta only charges for delivered messages, so a list full of dead numbers costs less than it looks. It also tells you the list needs cleaning. Tk 18,000 to reach 2,000 people is a fair price for an Eid collection launch; it's a terrible price for "we're open today".
The broadcast is only half the bill. Every customer who replies opens a 24-hour window, and your answers are service messages. Since 1 October 2026 Meta charges service messages at the same rate as utility messages in that market. Meta's pricing page (updated 30 September 2026) also gives each business phone number 1,000 free service messages a month, resetting monthly, so a shop sending fewer than 1,000 replies a month pays nothing for them. Our WhatsApp Business API pricing guide walks through a full month.
Quality rating: the limit nobody shows you
Meta rates every template green, yellow or red (high, medium or low quality) based on negative feedback from customers and on low read rates. A template that keeps getting bad feedback is paused for 3 hours the first time, 6 hours the second time, and disabled the third time. Attempts to send a paused template aren't charged and don't count towards your messaging limit, but they don't arrive either.
On the Business app side, WhatsApp's own advice is blunt: frequent broadcasts lead people to report you, and it bans accounts that are reported many times. The volume you are allowed to send is not the volume your customers will tolerate. One offer a week is plenty. Three a day is how numbers get banned in Ramadan, when every shop is shouting.
How to grow your WhatsApp limits safely
- Verify your business first. It is the fastest route from 250 to 2,000 on the API. Our guide to Meta business verification and Meta Verified explains the difference between the two.
- Send to people who asked. Recent buyers and people who messaged you in the last 90 days. Not a contact list bought from a reseller or scraped from a Facebook group.
- Keep marketing and utility apart. An order update with a discount code in it is marketing. Our template approval guide shows where Meta draws the line.
- Use about half your limit, consistently. Automatic scaling needs at least 50% of your current limit used in the last 7 days. A steady 1,100 a day beats one burst of 2,000 a month.
- Give an easy way out. A "Reply STOP for no more offers" line costs nothing and turns a would-be block into a quiet opt-out.
- Answer the replies fast. A broadcast that gets 200 replies at 9:30 pm and no answers until morning teaches customers to ignore you next time.
For big, low-value announcements, SMS is still cheaper per head: see WhatsApp broadcast vs SMS for promotions.
Where WisperBot fits
WisperBot, a reply-first inbox for WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger and website chat, includes broadcast campaigns over WhatsApp or SMS. WhatsApp campaigns use your approved templates, and variables show as [Field] so each recipient gets their own value from their contact details. Meta's messaging limits and template rules still apply, and Meta's WhatsApp fees, where they apply, are separate from WisperBot plans.
The part we care about most is what happens next: replies land in one inbox, and a Smart Bot answers the "dam koto?" questions in seconds before a person takes over. See marketing and engagement for how campaigns and the inbox work together.
Frequently asked questions
How many contacts can I add to a WhatsApp broadcast list?
Up to 256 contacts per broadcast list, and you can create as many lists as you want. Only contacts who have saved your number in their phone's address book will receive the message, so the number that actually gets it is often much lower than 256.
Why are my WhatsApp broadcast messages not delivered?
On the Business app, the most common reason is that the customer hasn't saved your number. On the API, the cause is usually your messaging limit, a paused template, or Meta's per-user marketing cap, which returns error 131049. Check WhatsApp Manager for template status before resending.
How much are WhatsApp broadcast charges in Bangladesh?
Broadcast lists in the free Business app have no Meta fee. On the API, Meta charges $0.0732 per delivered marketing message to a Bangladeshi number, about Tk 9, plus your provider's fee and VAT. Paid business broadcasts in the app show their price before you check out.
Can I send a WhatsApp broadcast to 1,000 people at once?
Not with a single Business app broadcast list, which stops at 256 contacts. With paid business broadcasts or the API you can, but on the API you need a messaging limit of at least 2,000, which usually means verifying your business first. New portfolios start at 250.
Does my messaging limit go down if my quality rating drops?
No, not any more. Since Meta's October 2025 change, a lower phone number quality rating no longer downgrades the messaging limit. Low-quality templates still get paused and then disabled, and heavy negative feedback can still lead to restrictions, so quality still decides how much you can really send.
Sources
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use broadcast lists
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use broadcast lists on the WhatsApp Business app
- WhatsApp Help Center: About broadcast limits
- WhatsApp Help Center: About pricing for business broadcasts
- WhatsApp Help Center: Can't send business broadcasts
- WhatsApp Help Center: About message packs for business broadcasts
- Meta Newsroom: Ways to manage your business chats on WhatsApp (3 April 2025)
- Meta for Developers: Messaging limits
- Meta for Developers: Messaging limits changes (October 2025)
- Meta for Developers: Per-user marketing template message limits
- Meta for Developers: Template quality rating
- Meta for Developers: Template pausing
- Meta for Developers: Pricing on the WhatsApp Business Platform (updated 30 September 2026)
- WhatsApp Business: Platform pricing and rate calculator
- WhatsApp Help Center: How to use WhatsApp responsibly
- Exchange-rates.org: USD to BDT (11 October 2026)
Last checked: 12 October 2026.
