Broadcast limits in the WhatsApp Business app
In some countries the Business app also offers paid business broadcasts. You add a payment method and pay for each message delivered, and the price depends on each recipient's country code. Availability varies by country.
- Each broadcast list can include up to 256 contacts.
- You can create as many broadcast lists as you like.
- Only people who have saved your number in their phone contacts receive the broadcast. Everyone else silently gets nothing.
- Each person receives it as a normal one-to-one message, and their replies come only to you.
- Broadcast lists are not supported on Windows, Mac or WhatsApp Web.
- WhatsApp says people in some countries may also see a monthly broadcast limit. This is rolling out gradually and may not apply to you yet.
Source: WhatsApp Help Center, How to use broadcast lists, and About pricing for business broadcasts. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
Messaging limits on the WhatsApp Business API
On the API there is no list size. Instead Meta sets a messaging limit: the maximum number of different WhatsApp users your business can deliver messages to, outside a customer service window, in any moving 24-hour period.
It counts people, not messages. Sending three templates to the same customer in a day uses one place in the limit. Replies inside a 24-hour customer service window, which the customer opened by messaging you, do not count at all.
| Limit | How you reach it |
|---|---|
| 250 | Where every new business portfolio starts |
| 2,000 | Complete one scaling path (see below) |
| 10,000 | Automatic scaling |
| 100,000 | Automatic scaling |
| Unlimited | Automatic scaling |
Source: Meta for Developers, Messaging limits and the messaging limits changes page (updated 21 May 2026). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
The limit belongs to your business portfolio, not each number
Since 7 October 2025 Meta calculates the messaging limit for the whole business portfolio, and every phone number in that portfolio shares it.
Adding a second or third number does not add more capacity. One busy number can use up the entire portfolio's limit for the day, which leaves nothing for the others.
Meta's current list of limits has no 1,000 step. The first increase takes you from 250 straight to 2,000.
Source: Meta for Developers, Messaging limits and the messaging limits changes page (updated 21 May 2026). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
How to increase your WhatsApp messaging limit
To ask for 2,000, complete one of these. Meta then reviews your message quality and approves or denies the increase:
- Verify your business in Meta Business Suite.
- Have your partner verify your business, if a partner onboarded you.
- Deliver 2,000 messages outside customer service windows to different people within a 30-day moving period, using templates with a high quality rating.
| Condition | What Meta checks |
|---|---|
| Quality | You are sending high-quality messages across all your numbers and templates |
| Use | In the last 7 days you used at least half of your current limit |
| Result | Your portfolio moves up one level within 6 hours |
Source: Meta for Developers, Messaging limits and the messaging limits changes page (updated 21 May 2026). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
Quality rating and what it does now
WhatsApp rates each number's message quality from how customers received your messages over the past seven days, using signals such as blocks, reports, mutes and archives. Busy numbers can see the rating change within minutes.
Under the October 2025 rules a drop in quality rating no longer lowers your messaging limit, and the old Flagged state no longer exists. Quality still matters: you need high-quality messages to qualify for the 2,000 path and for every automatic increase after it.
Source: Meta for Developers, Send messages (message quality) and the messaging limits changes page. Checked 29 Oct 2026.
How to check your limit
- In WhatsApp Manager, open Account tools, then Messaging limits.
- In Chatzyn, the Channels page shows the messaging limit Meta reports and reminds you that it is shared by every number in the same business portfolio, including numbers not connected to Chatzyn.
Source: Meta for Developers, Messaging limits and the messaging limits changes page (updated 21 May 2026). Checked 29 Oct 2026.
Questions people ask
How many contacts can I add to a WhatsApp broadcast list?
Up to 256 contacts per list in the WhatsApp Business app. You can make as many lists as you like, but only people who saved your number receive the message.
What is the WhatsApp Business API broadcast limit per day?
It is your messaging limit: 250, 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 or unlimited different people in a moving 24-hour period, counting only messages sent outside a customer service window.
Is the WhatsApp API limit per phone number?
No. Since 7 October 2025 the limit is set for the whole business portfolio and shared by every number in it.
How do I get out of the 250 limit?
Verify your business in Meta Business Suite, have your onboarding partner verify it, or deliver 2,000 template messages to different people in 30 days with high-quality templates. Meta then reviews your message quality. If it approves, your limit moves to 2,000 straight away. If it denies, the limit stays at 250.
How long does WhatsApp take to raise the limit?
After 2,000, once you use at least half your limit over 7 days with high-quality messages, Meta raises it one level within 6 hours.
Will a low quality rating reduce my limit?
Not any more. Since the October 2025 change a quality drop does not downgrade the limit, but you need high quality to keep scaling up.
Do replies to customers count toward the limit?
No. Messages inside a 24-hour customer service window, opened when the customer messages you, do not count.