On the WhatsApp Business API, your messaging limit decides it. A new business portfolio can message 250 unique people outside a customer service window in a moving 24-hour period. Verifying your business can raise this to 2,000, and Meta then raises it to 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited as you send high-quality messages and use at least half your limit.
The answer depends on how you send. On the official WhatsApp Business API there is no fixed list size. What limits a broadcast is your messaging limit: the number of unique people your business can message outside a customer service window in a moving 24-hour period. In the WhatsApp Business app, broadcast lists work differently and are meant for small groups of saved contacts.
Messaging limit levels on the WhatsApp Business API
Meta's messaging limits documentation, checked on 1 November 2026, sets these levels:
| Level | Unique people per moving 24 hours | How you reach it |
|---|---|---|
| Starting limit | 250 | Every new business portfolio |
| Level 2 | 2,000 | Complete a scaling path, such as business verification |
| Level 3 | 10,000 | Automatic scaling |
| Level 4 | 100,000 | Automatic scaling |
| Top level | Unlimited | Automatic scaling |
The limit belongs to your business portfolio, not to one phone number. All numbers in the portfolio share it. Sending to the same person twice in the period uses only one slot, and replies inside an open 24-hour window do not count at all.
How the limit goes up
To move from 250 to 2,000 you complete one scaling path: verify your business, have your onboarding partner verify it, or deliver 2,000 messages outside service windows to unique people within 30 days using high-quality templates. Meta then reviews your message quality before approving the increase.
From 2,000 upwards, Meta raises your limit one level within 6 hours when two things are true: your messages are high quality across all numbers and templates, and you used at least half your current limit in the last 7 days. So a business on 2,000 needs to reach at least 1,000 unique people in a week before it can move to 10,000. You can see your current level in WhatsApp Manager under Account tools, then Messaging limits.
Other things that can slow a big broadcast
- Per-person marketing caps. WhatsApp limits how many marketing templates one person receives from all businesses combined. Blocked sends fail with error 131049.
- Template pacing. New marketing templates, or those without a high quality rating, may be sent to part of the audience first while Meta waits for feedback.
- US numbers. WhatsApp does not currently deliver marketing templates to users with US phone numbers.
- Opt-in. The limit is a ceiling, not a target list. You may only message people who agreed to hear from your business.
Broadcast lists in the WhatsApp Business app
App broadcast lists reach only people who have saved your number in their contacts, according to WhatsApp's Help Center. WhatsApp also warns that frequent broadcasts can lead people to report you, and accounts reported many times are banned. If your list is in the thousands, or most people have not saved your number, the API is the right route. Note that if you connect your app number to the API with coexistence, app broadcast lists become read-only.
How salestrack helps
salestrack sends WhatsApp broadcasts through the official API to opted-in lists and segments. Before you send, it shows how many people will receive the message, with opted-out contacts removed, and the exact cost from your prepaid WhatsApp wallet. If your list is bigger than your daily limit, split it into segments and send across several days, most engaged contacts first. See send a broadcast for the steps.
Related questions
How do I increase my WhatsApp broadcast limit?
To go from 250 to 2,000, verify your business, have the partner who onboarded you verify it, or deliver 2,000 messages outside service windows to unique people within 30 days using high-quality templates. After that, Meta raises the limit one level within 6 hours when your messages are high quality and you used at least half your current limit in the last 7 days.
Is the WhatsApp broadcast limit per day?
On the API it works over a moving 24-hour period, not a calendar day. It counts unique people you message outside a customer service window in the last 24 hours, so it frees up gradually rather than resetting at midnight.
Is the messaging limit per phone number?
No. Meta sets the limit for the whole business portfolio, and all its phone numbers share it. One number running a large campaign can use up the allowance for every other number in the portfolio.
Do replies to customers count toward the limit?
No. The limit applies only to messages sent outside a customer service window. Replies within 24 hours of a customer's last message do not count.
Why did some of my broadcast messages fail even though I was within my limit?
WhatsApp also caps how many marketing messages each person receives from all businesses combined. Those sends fail with error 131049, and Meta asks you to wait at least 24 hours before trying that person again. WhatsApp also does not currently deliver marketing templates to US phone numbers.
Sources
Checked on 1 November 2026. WhatsApp and Meta change their rules and prices often, so check the source before you rely on a detail.