To message many customers without getting your number blocked, write only to people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from you, send through the API with approved marketing templates, and keep blocks and reports low. WhatsApp watches how customers react: if many block you, Meta may limit your sending and, in serious cases, restricts your account. In Colombia each marketing message costs US$0.0125; in Mexico, US$0.0397.
Two ways to message many people
WhatsApp Business app
App broadcasts
One-to-one messages to several people at once. Meta offers them to eligible users in select countries. Fine for small volumes, with no templates or integrations.
WhatsApp Business API
Marketing templates
Templates approved by Meta, with per-customer variables, batch sending, metrics and a link to your CRM or store, if your platform offers them. This is the route for real campaigns.
Meta says app broadcasts can reach customers even if they have not saved your number. Check the contact cap and whether the feature is available in your country in your app. If you use coexistence, the app’s broadcast lists are turned off and existing ones become read-only; see the coexistence guide. The differences between the two routes are in app vs API.
Consent comes first
The WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy is clear:
- You may contact only people who gave you their number (or username) and opted in to hear from you.
- Consent is per message category. Agreeing to booking notices is not agreeing to promotions.
- Calls need their own consent.
- You alone are responsible for how you obtain that consent.
- If someone blocks you, asks you to stop or unsubscribes, inside or outside WhatsApp, you must honour it. Give clear instructions for declining specific categories.
A purchased list, a spreadsheet from an event where nobody agreed to anything, or a pile of old contacts does not qualify. Messaging them breaks the policy and is a direct path to blocks and reports.
What gets a number restricted
Users can block and report a business, and Meta may limit your messages and calls based on that feedback. The policy lists these grounds for restriction or a ban:
- Too much negative feedback.
- Harm to WhatsApp or to users.
- Policy violations.
- Mass messaging without authorisation.
Serious or repeated violations can end in cancellation of the account and a bar on using the service again. Templates have a quality too: if customers react badly or hardly anyone reads them, Meta can pause them, and a paused or disabled template cannot be sent. How templates are created and why they get rejected is in the WhatsApp message templates guide.
The limits that slow a campaign down
Per-customer limit
WhatsApp may limit how many marketing templates each person receives, and it adapts to how much they engage with your business. Every delivered marketing template counts. If a message is not delivered for this reason, the API returns error 131049. Wait at least 24 hours before resending: repeated early retries can be blocked for up to 24 hours.
Marketing messages sent inside a service window opened by a customer’s reply do not count toward this limit.
Sending limit per portfolio
Since 8 October 2025 the limit belongs to the business portfolio, not to each number. It is the number of unique people you can message outside a service window in a moving 24-hour period, shared by all your numbers.
| Level | Unique people per 24 hours |
|---|---|
| New portfolio | 250 |
| Next | 2,000 |
| Next | 10,000 |
| Next | 100,000 |
| Top | Unlimited |
To reach 2,000 you verify your business, a Meta partner verifies it, or you send 2,000 delivered messages, outside a service window, to unique numbers within 30 days using high-quality templates. After that, Meta raises you one level automatically when quality is high and you used at least half your limit in the last 7 days. You can see your level in WhatsApp Manager under Account tools, Messaging limits.
United States
Marketing templates are not delivered to US phone numbers. If your list includes them, those sends will not arrive.
What each message costs
Meta charges every delivered marketing message by the customer’s country (not yours). Rates in USD per message, from the card valid since 1 October 2026 (checked 30 September 2026):
| Customer’s country | Marketing |
|---|---|
| Colombia | 0.0125 |
| Mexico | 0.0397 |
| Argentina | 0.0618 |
| Chile | 0.0889 |
| Peru | 0.0703 |
| Brazil | 0.0625 |
A campaign of 1,000 messages to customers in Colombia costs US$12.50; in Mexico, US$39.70; in Chile, US$88.90. Only delivered messages are charged. To simulate your campaign, use the WhatsApp API cost calculator.
Checklist before a campaign
- Every contact agreed to receive promotions on WhatsApp and you have a record of when and how.
- The template is in the marketing category and approved. If it mixes a notice with a promotion, Meta classifies it as marketing anyway.
- It says how to opt out, and your team processes opt-outs before the next send.
- Your list excludes US numbers and anyone who already asked you to stop.
- The send fits your portfolio limit. With 250, do not send 5,000 in a day.
- You send in batches and check blocks and reads before continuing.
- Someone answers when the customer replies. A reply opens a 24-hour window to talk without another template.
One example per industry:
- Hospitality. To guests who booked and agreed to offers: a template with a room upgrade 3 days before arrival. More on hospitality.
- Real estate. To leads who asked about a project: a template announcing a new phase, with the project name as a variable. More on real estate.
- E-commerce. To customers who bought a product they need to restock: a template reminding them to reorder, with a link to their purchase. More on e-commerce.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send bulk messages from the WhatsApp Business app?
Yes, with broadcasts, where they are available in your country. For campaigns with templates, variables and metrics you need the API.
How many messages can I send per day?
It depends on your portfolio level: 250 unique people at the start, up to unlimited if you keep quality high.
Can I message someone who never wrote to me?
Only if they consented to that message category, and with an approved template.
How Manoflow helps
Manoflow connects your number to the API and answers your customers’ replies with AI, with your team in the dashboard ready to take over the conversation. To review your case before your first campaign, book a call.