WhatsApp Broadcast Messages: App Lists vs Bulk Campaigns via the API

A WhatsApp broadcast is a way to send the same message to many contacts at once without creating a group: each person gets it in a private chat and replies only to you. There are two ways to do it. Broadcast lists in the WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business apps, built for small sends, and bulk campaigns with approved templates through the official API, built for businesses that need scale, segmentation, and reporting.

In this guide you will see how each option works, its real limits, what each message costs on the API, and how to plan a campaign that sells instead of getting your number blocked.

What a WhatsApp broadcast is

A broadcast is a one-to-many message delivered as one-to-one. Unlike a group:

• Recipients cannot see each other or each other’s replies.
• Every reply opens (or continues) a private conversation with you.
• The message arrives like any normal chat, with no sign that it was part of a bulk send.

That makes broadcasts a great fit for announcements, promotions, reminders, and updates, as long as the content is relevant to the person receiving it. If you are still deciding which app to use, read our breakdown of WhatsApp vs WhatsApp Business.

Broadcast lists in the app: how they work and their limits

Broadcast lists in the app are free and you create them from your phone. According to the WhatsApp Help Center, two rules matter before you plan any send:

1. Up to 256 contacts per list. You can create several lists, but each one has that cap.
2. Only people who saved your number receive it. If a customer does not have you in their contacts, the broadcast simply does not reach them, and you get no notice that it failed.

On top of that come practical limits: the list lives on a single phone, there is no automatic segmentation, there is no click or conversion reporting, and if several people handle customers, nobody else sees the replies in a shared place.

How to create a broadcast list in WhatsApp Business

Exact menu names change between app versions and between Android and iOS, but the general process looks like this:

1. Open WhatsApp Business and find the option for new lists or broadcasts (usually in the Chats screen menu or in the business tools).
2. Pick the contacts you want to include, up to 256.
3. Name the list so you can find it later (for example, “Wholesale customers”).
4. Write your message, add an image or link if it helps, and send it.

Replies land in your individual chats. You can edit the list to add or remove contacts at any time.

WhatsApp Business has also added paid business broadcasts inside the app, billed per delivered message. Availability and terms vary by market, so check the WhatsApp Help Center before you count on that option.

Bulk campaigns with templates via the official API

Once your customer base passes a few hundred contacts, or several people sell and support from the same number, app broadcasts fall short. The alternative is the official WhatsApp Business API, which lets you send campaigns to thousands of contacts under these rules:

• Meta-approved templates. Any message you start outside the 24-hour window must use an approved WhatsApp message template with its category (marketing, utility, or authentication).
• Customer consent. You need each person’s opt-in before you message them.
• They do not need to have saved you. Unlike the app, the message is delivered even if the customer does not have your number in their contacts.
• Dynamic sending limits. Meta gives each account a cap on business-initiated messages per 24 hours, and that cap grows as you send with good quality. Meta may also limit how many marketing messages a single person receives.
• Number quality. If many users block or report your messages, your quality rating drops and Meta can pause templates or restrict sending.

What bulk WhatsApp API campaigns cost

Since July 1, 2025, Meta charges for each delivered template message, no longer per 24-hour conversation, and since October 1, 2026, it charges for replies too. In practice:

• Marketing, utility, and authentication templates each have their own rate, which varies by the recipient’s country.
• Service messages (your replies inside the 24-hour window the customer opens by messaging you) are charged since October 1, 2026, at the country’s utility rate.
• Utility templates sent inside that open window are charged since that date too.
• Messages inside the 72-hour window that opens when a customer arrives from a click-to-WhatsApp ad remain free.

A useful consequence: if your campaign invites a reply and the customer answers, you can continue in free-form text inside those 24 hours, with no approved template needed and at the service rate, which is lower than a marketing template. To estimate what a campaign would cost in your country, use the WhatsApp API pricing calculator.

Broadcast list vs bulk campaign: quick comparison

Broadcast ideas that actually work

A good broadcast feels like a message the customer wanted. A few uses that tend to perform:

• Back-in-stock alerts for people who asked about a sold-out product.
• Segment-specific promotions, for example a discount only for customers who bought in the last 90 days.
• Appointment, payment, or renewal reminders, which usually fit as utility templates.
• Product launches with an image and a button to ask questions.
• Win-back offers for inactive customers, with a clear deadline.
• Helpful content, like a short guide or an event invite, with no sales pressure.

For the messages that come after a campaign, such as reminding non-responders about an offer, follow the guidelines in our post on WhatsApp customer follow-up.

Best practices to keep your broadcasts from getting blocked

1. Ask for permission explicitly. On your website, at checkout, or in the first chat, make it clear you will send updates on WhatsApp.
2. Segment before you send. One message for your whole base usually generates more blocks than sales.
3. Personalize with variables. A first name, the last product purchased, or the city changes how the message lands.
4. Include one clear action. A button or a direct question (“Want me to hold one for you?”) invites a reply and opens the 24-hour window.
5. Offer an easy opt-out. Honoring it protects your number’s quality.
6. Watch your frequency. Track replies and blocks per campaign and adjust the pace before Meta does it for you.
7. Get your team ready for replies. A successful campaign triggers a wave of chats; if nobody answers quickly, the sale cools off.

How to run bulk WhatsApp campaigns with Mercately

Mercately connects your number to the official WhatsApp API as an official Meta partner and turns broadcasting into a full sales process:

• Campaigns with approved templates, segmented by tags or funnel stage, at the volume Meta’s messaging policies allow. Learn more on the Mercately CRM page.
• Shared inbox: replies from every campaign land in one view with the customer’s history, and automatic assignment spreads them across your team with WhatsApp Multiagent.
• Funnels and deals: anyone who replies can move to a stage with an owner, so no opportunity slips. To see how it all connects, read our guide to a WhatsApp CRM.
• Chatbots and MIA: a chatbot or the AI agent MIA can handle the first reply to a campaign, qualify the lead, and hand off to a person when needed.
• In-chat payments with payment links, so you close the sale in the same conversation with digital payments.

Plans include campaigns, but Meta’s WhatsApp messages are billed separately. See current plans on the pricing page.

Bottom line

App broadcast lists are a fine place to start: they are free and fast, but they cap out at 256 contacts per list, depend on people saving your number, and give you no reporting. When your business needs to reach its whole base, segment, and handle replies as a team, the next step is template campaigns via the API, with a per-delivered-message cost you can estimate before you send.

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