WhatsApp Broadcast: the limits, the charges, and the proper way to message a list

A WhatsApp broadcast sends one message to many contacts, each receiving it as a private chat. Limits and charges depend on the tool: the free Business app, its paid business broadcasts, or the Business Platform. The proper way to message a list is the same on all three: recorded opt-in first, an approved message, then replies handled in one place.

What do people want to know about WhatsApp broadcast?

We probed "whatsapp broadcast" on Google on 29 October 2026 before writing this. All fifteen suggestions were typed searches, and almost all of them are about limits and money: "whatsapp broadcast limit", "whatsapp broadcast limit per day", "whatsapp broadcast limit per month", "whatsapp broadcast charges" and "whatsapp broadcast is free or paid". Others ask about broadcast lists, broadcast channels and "whatsapp broadcast for business".

That is a sensible worry. The answer changes depending on which of the three WhatsApp tools a business is using, so it helps to separate them.

What are the three ways to broadcast on WhatsApp?

Tool	Who receives it	Cost
Broadcast list in the WhatsApp Business app	Only contacts who have saved your number in their phone	No per-message charge
Business broadcasts in the Business app	Contacts you choose in the app; WhatsApp recommends only people who opted in	A fee per delivered message, priced by the recipient's country
WhatsApp Business Platform (API)	Opted-in contacts, outside a conversation, using an approved template	A charge per delivered template message, priced by the recipient's country

A broadcast channel is a fourth thing: a one-way feed people choose to follow, not a message to a list you hold.

What are the WhatsApp broadcast limits?

In the Business app, the limit that matters most is not a number. WhatsApp's Help Center says broadcast list messages are only received by people who have added your number to their contacts. Anyone who has not saved you simply does not get it, and you are not told.

On the Business Platform, Meta sets a messaging limit: the number of unique people a business can message outside a customer service window in a rolling 24 hours. According to Meta's developer documentation, new business portfolios start at 250 and can rise to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and then unlimited. The limit is shared by every number in the business portfolio. Verifying the business is one route to the higher tier, and after that the limit rises automatically while message quality stays high and the business uses at least half of its current limit over seven days.

Quality is the part owners underestimate. If people block or report your broadcasts, the limit stops growing and the number can be restricted. A list that never agreed to hear from you is the fastest way there.

Is a WhatsApp broadcast free or paid?

It depends on the tool. A broadcast list in the Business app has no per-message fee. Business broadcasts, the paid feature in the app, charge per message delivered within five days of sending, priced by the recipient's country code, and WhatsApp notes the feature is only available in some countries so far.

On the Business Platform, Meta has charged per delivered message since 1 July 2025, and the rate for a marketing template depends on the recipient's country. Meta only changes rates on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October. Since 1 October 2026 service replies are also charged once a number passes 1,000 free service messages in a month, which we covered in WhatsApp replies are now billable. For the per-category detail, see WhatsApp Business API cost per message.

Messages customers send to you are not charged. That matters for the strategy below: a broadcast that earns replies costs less over time than one that is ignored.

What is the proper way to message a list on WhatsApp?

1. Record the permission. Each contact on the list should have agreed to hear from you on WhatsApp, and you should be able to show when and how. In South Africa, unsolicited direct marketing is governed by section 69 of POPIA; our plain guide to section 69 explains the rule. This is general information, not legal advice.
2. Use an approved message. On the Business Platform, anything sent outside a conversation goes out as a pre-approved template. Keep marketing and utility templates separate; WhatsApp templates explains the categories.
3. Segment, do not blast. Send to the people the message is for. A smaller relevant send protects quality and therefore your limit.
4. Make leaving easy. Every marketing message should say how to stop receiving them, and a stop request must be honoured on every channel, not only on WhatsApp.
5. Be ready for the replies. A broadcast creates conversations. If replies land on one person's phone, they wait, and a slow answer undoes the point of sending.

How does NexBrand handle WhatsApp broadcasts?

NexBrand is the omni-channel communications platform NexBDM sets up and manages for you. For broadcasts, it removes the parts that usually go wrong:

• Permission lives on the contact. Whether someone agreed to WhatsApp messages, when, and where they agreed is stored on their record, so a list can be filtered to opted-in contacts only before anything is sent.
• One list, many channels. The same contact record holds WhatsApp, email and phone, so you do not keep a separate broadcast list on someone's handset that drifts away from the real customer list.
• Approved templates, sent from the business number. Broadcasts go out through the WhatsApp Business Platform rather than from a staff phone, so they are not limited to people who saved one person's number.
• Replies come back to a shared inbox. Answers land in one omni-channel inbox that the whole team can work from, on the customer's record, with the original broadcast visible.
• Opt-outs stick. When someone asks to stop, the contact is marked once and excluded from every later send.

If you are restarting contact with an old list, database reactivation covers how to do it without burning it.

What changes for the owner?

You stop sending broadcasts from your own phone at night and then fielding the replies for days. You know that everyone who received a message agreed to it, which protects both your number and your reputation. And the conversations a broadcast starts become pipeline the team can follow up, instead of chats that disappear into one handset.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my WhatsApp broadcast messages not being delivered?

In the WhatsApp Business app, broadcast list messages only reach people who have saved your number in their contacts. Anyone who has not saved it will not receive the message, and the app does not warn you.

Is there a daily limit on WhatsApp broadcasts?

On the WhatsApp Business Platform, Meta limits how many unique people you can message outside a conversation in a rolling 24 hours. New businesses start at 250, and the limit rises with verification and good message quality.

Do I pay for WhatsApp broadcast messages?

Broadcast lists in the free Business app have no per-message fee. Paid business broadcasts and Business Platform templates are charged per delivered message, priced by the recipient's country, and rates can change each quarter.

Do I need permission to send WhatsApp broadcasts?

Yes. WhatsApp recommends only messaging people who opted in, and South African direct marketing rules require consent from non-customers. Record when and how each contact agreed, and honour every request to stop.

Find out what your WhatsApp list is really worth

If your broadcasts go out from one phone and the replies get lost, that is pipeline leaking every week. Book a free Business Autopsy and we will look at how your messages, lists and replies actually move, or see how NexBrand brings every channel into one inbox. You can also start a discovery conversation.

Sources, all read 29 October 2026: Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform messaging limits and pricing pages; WhatsApp Help Center, "About pricing for business broadcasts" and its guidance on broadcast lists; Google autosuggest probe for "whatsapp broadcast".