WhatsApp messaging limits
How many customers you can message each day, how to raise your limit and how Meta's quality rules work.
WhatsApp is strict about who businesses can message. Meta sets limits to protect customers from spam, and the limits apply to every WhatsApp business, not only NexusBot users. This page explains the rules so a broadcast never surprises you.
The daily limit
Meta counts the unique phone numbers you send a template to, over a moving 24-hour period. It is not a calendar day, so the count never resets at midnight. Each customer counts once, however many templates you send them.
| Level | Different customers per 24 hours |
|---|---|
| Starting level for a new account | 250 |
| After business verification | 2,000 |
| Next levels, as Meta approves them | 10,000, then 100,000 |
| Top level | Unlimited |
What counts: marketing, utility and authentication templates sent to a customer outside the 24-hour window, including broadcasts.
What doesn't count: replies inside the 24-hour window, because the customer started that chat.
Raise your limit
- Verify your business. In Meta Business Settings, open Security Center and complete business verification. Meta then lets you reach 2,000. A verified business can also add more phone numbers. See WhatsApp business verification and multiple numbers for the steps.
- Or earn it by sending. You can also reach 2,000 by sending 2,000 messages to different customers within 30 days, using templates Meta rates as high quality.
- Let it grow. From 2,000 upward, Meta raises your limit by itself. You need to send high-quality messages and use at least half of your current limit in the last 7 days. Increases usually arrive within 6 hours.
What happens when you reach the limit
Template messages to new customers fail. You'll see an Error on each failed recipient in your broadcast report. You can still reply to customers who message you.
Nothing is lost. Wait until some of the last 24 hours have passed, then send to the rest. Your limit rises later as your messages prove to be good.
Quality: how Meta decides
Meta watches how customers react to your messages. Good signs are reads and replies. Bad signs are blocks, reports and messages that are ignored.
- Your limit stops growing. Poor quality means Meta won't raise your limit, however much you send.
- Templates can be paused. A template that many customers block or ignore is rated lower, and Meta can slow it down or pause it. You'll see PAUSED next to it. Fix the wording, then Resubmit. See Create WhatsApp message templates.
- Marketing messages can be held back. Meta limits how many marketing messages one customer gets from all businesses in a short time. If a customer has received many, yours may not be delivered, and you'll see the error "This message was not delivered to maintain healthy ecosystem engagement". It happens to marketing templates only. Don't resend at once. Wait at least 24 hours, or send a useful utility message instead if the customer is waiting on an order or a booking.
Other limits
| Limit | What to know |
|---|---|
| Sending speed | A Cloud API number sends up to 80 messages per second, and Meta can raise this automatically. A number connected through the WhatsApp Business App sends up to 20 per second. |
| Messages to the same customer | About one message every 6 seconds. Sending faster is slowed down. |
| Templates | An account that isn't verified can keep 250 templates. A verified one can keep up to 6,000. |
| Phone numbers | A new portfolio can hold 2 numbers. After verification it can hold up to 20. |
| US numbers | Meta currently doesn't deliver marketing templates to numbers starting with +1. |
Stay in good standing
- Only message people who agreed. Ask for permission when you collect a phone number, and keep a record.
- Make it easy to say no. Add a quick-reply button like "Stop promotions" and add those customers to an "unsubscribed" tag. Exclude that tag from broadcasts.
- Start small. Send new campaigns to a small group first and watch the read rate.
- Keep messages useful. Short, clear messages with a purpose get read. Long repeated promotions get blocked.
- Don't spread one campaign across numbers. Extra numbers in the same portfolio don't give you extra capacity.