WhatsApp Broadcast Limit: 256 Contacts, and What to Do When You Need More

If you sell loans, insurance or property, a WhatsApp broadcast looks like the perfect tool: write one offer, pick your leads, send it to all of them at once. Then you hit the WhatsApp broadcast limit, half your leads never see the message, and you start wondering whether sending more will get your number blocked. This guide explains exactly what the limit is, who actually receives a broadcast message, how to send one step by step, and what to do when your lead list outgrows the app.

What is the WhatsApp broadcast limit?

A WhatsApp broadcast list can hold up to 256 contacts. That is the limit on the normal WhatsApp app and on the free WhatsApp Business app. You can make more than one list, so a list of 600 leads becomes three lists.

But the 256 number is not the limit that hurts salesmen most. Two other rules decide who actually gets your offer:

• Only people who have saved your number receive it. A broadcast is delivered only to contacts who have your number in their own phone's address book. A new lead from a form, an exhibition or a cold list usually has not saved you, so your broadcast silently never reaches them. WhatsApp does not tell you who was skipped.
• Each message arrives as a normal one-to-one chat. Your leads do not see each other, and when someone replies, the reply comes only to you. This part is good: it feels personal, not like a group.

So if you send a broadcast to 256 people and only 90 have saved your number, 90 people get it. For a salesman working fresh leads, that is often the real broadcast limit.

How to send a broadcast message on WhatsApp

Here is how to create a broadcast list and send your first broadcast message from the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app. Menu names can change slightly between versions.

On Android:

1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three dots (⋮) at the top right.
2. Tap New broadcast.
3. Select the contacts you want, up to 256.
4. Tap the green tick to create the list.
5. Type your message and send. Every contact on the list gets it as a private chat.

On iPhone:

1. Open the Chats tab and tap Broadcast Lists (or Lists, depending on your version).
2. Tap New List and add up to 256 contacts.
3. Tap Create, then type your message and send.

Your list is saved, so next week you can send another offer to the same people without picking them again.

One step before you send: ask your leads to save your number. A short line like "Please save this number to get rate updates" in your first chat with each lead makes your later broadcasts actually arrive. You can also share a click-to-chat link so new leads message you first; our free WhatsApp link generator makes one in seconds.

Will a WhatsApp broadcast message get my number banned?

Broadcasting is allowed, and a broadcast to people who know you is safe. Problems start when the same number messages many people who did not expect it. WhatsApp watches for signals such as:

• Many people blocking or reporting you after a broadcast.
• Lots of messages to people who never reply. In October 2025, WhatsApp said it was testing a monthly cap on messages sent to people who have not replied, to cut down on mass "blast" messaging. The exact number has not been published, and it can differ by country.
• Copy-paste sending from unofficial tools that automate WhatsApp Web or ask you to scan a QR code.

For a salesman, the risk is real: your WhatsApp number holds every lead mid-conversation. Losing it to a ban costs far more than any tool saves. Keep broadcasts to people who know you, make each offer specific, and stop messaging anyone who asks you to.

When 256 contacts is not enough

The free app is good for a small, warm list: past customers, referrals, people who already chat with you. It starts to fail when:

• You get hundreds of new leads a month who have not saved your number.
• You want to send the same offer to 500 or 1,000 people without splitting them into lists by hand.
• You need to know who replied, who is interested and who to call back, not just send.

At that point you need the official WhatsApp Business API, the system banks and insurance companies use. It works differently from a broadcast list:

• Leads do not need to have saved your number. If they agreed to hear from you, they receive the message.
• Offers go out as approved message templates. You write the message once, WhatsApp reviews it (usually within minutes to a few hours; see how long WhatsApp template approval takes), and then you can send it to your whole list.
• The limit is per day, not per list, and it grows as you send good messages.

WhatsApp Business API limits: how many people a day

On the official API, WhatsApp limits how many different people your business can start a conversation with in a rolling 24 hours. Replies inside a conversation the customer started do not count.

• New business: 250 people per 24 hours.
• After business verification: 2,000 people per 24 hours.
• With good quality, it grows by itself: 10,000, then 100,000, then unlimited.

You move from 250 to 2,000 by verifying your business, or by sending 2,000 well-rated template messages to different people within 30 days. After that, WhatsApp raises your limit by itself when you use at least half of it with messages people do not block or report. The limit belongs to your business, so it is shared by all your WhatsApp numbers.

For most salesmen, 250 new people a day is already more than you can follow up properly. The difference from a broadcast list is that all 250 actually receive your offer.

What a WhatsApp broadcast costs on the official API

Broadcast lists in the app are free. On the official API you pay per delivered message, so you know exactly what each offer costs:

• Meta's charge for an offer (marketing message): about ₹1.02 each including GST, billed by Meta to your own WhatsApp account.
• A reminder or update (utility message): about ₹0.14 including GST.
• Replying to a customer who messaged you: free within 24 hours of their message, for the first 1,000 a month per number.
• Agniix plan: ₹500 a month, with the first month free. Agniix adds nothing to Meta's rates.

So sending an offer to 200 leads costs about ₹204 in Meta charges. See the full breakdown on our WhatsApp Business API pricing page.

WhatsApp broadcast vs official API: which one for you?

Broadcast list in the free app:

• Up to 256 people per list.
• Reaches only people who saved your number.
• Free.
• To see who replied, you scroll through your chats.
• Riskier with cold leads who do not know you.

Official WhatsApp Business API (for example, Agniix):

• 250 people a day to start, rising with verification.
• Reaches everyone who agreed to hear from you, saved or not.
• About ₹1 per offer, plus the plan.
• One list of who replied and who to call back.
• Low risk when you message people who opted in.

Use the free broadcast list for your warm, saved contacts. Move to the API when fresh leads are your business, and use our guide on how to send bulk messages on WhatsApp to set it up step by step.

Frequently asked questions

What is the WhatsApp broadcast limit per day?

On the free app, the limit is 256 contacts per broadcast list. WhatsApp does not publish a fixed daily number for the app, but sending to many people who do not know you can get your number restricted. On the official WhatsApp Business API, a new business can message 250 different people a day, and 2,000 after verification.

Why did my broadcast message not reach some people?

They have not saved your number in their phone. WhatsApp delivers a broadcast only to contacts who have your number in their address book. Ask leads to save your number, or use the official API, where saving is not required.

Can I send a WhatsApp broadcast to more than 256 people?

Not in one list. You can make several lists of up to 256 each. To send one offer to a bigger list in one go, you need the official WhatsApp Business API.

Is a broadcast the same as a WhatsApp group?

No. In a group, everyone sees every message and every member's number. In a broadcast, each person gets your message privately and replies only to you, which is better for sales.

Can I schedule a WhatsApp broadcast?

Not in the WhatsApp app. With the official API, you can send when you choose and track who received, read and replied.

Send your offer to every lead, not just the ones who saved you

The WhatsApp broadcast limit is 256 contacts per list, and in practice it is smaller: only people who saved your number get it. That works for warm customers. When fresh leads are your business, the official API reaches every lead who agreed to hear from you, safely and on your own number.

Agniix is built for exactly that: salesmen and small businesses in India. Send approved offers to your leads, see who replied, and get reminded who to call today. Your first month is free; see plans and pricing.