# What are WhatsApp Business messaging limits? > The messaging limit is the maximum number of different customers a business portfolio can message outside the customer service window in a rolling 24 hours: 250 for a newly created business portfolio, then 2,000, 10,000, 100,000 and unlimited. ## The definition in two minutes Meta limits how many different customer phone numbers your business can message, outside the customer service window, in a moving 24-hour period. A customer you message several times in that period counts once. Only messages sent outside the 24-hour window count, which means message templates. Your replies within 24 hours of a customer’s message do not count towards it. Meta sets the limit for the business portfolio, not for a single number. Every number in the portfolio shares it: one number can use up the whole capacity. ## Meta’s tiers | Tier | How you reach it | | --- | --- | | 250 | The starting point of a newly created business portfolio. | | 2,000 | One route of your choice: verify the business, have the partner that onboarded it verify it, or deliver 2,000 messages outside the service window to different numbers within 30 days using high-quality templates. Meta then reviews quality and approves or declines. | | 10,000, 100,000, then unlimited | Automatic scaling, one level at a time, once the quality and usage criteria are met. | *Source: Meta’s documentation on messaging limits, read on 20 October 2026.* Above 2,000, Meta raises the limit by one level in about 6 hours if your messages are high quality across all your numbers and templates, and you have used at least half of the limit over the last 7 days. ## Not to be confused with - **Frequency capping**: It caps what one person receives from all businesses. The messaging limit caps how many customers your portfolio can message. - **The free service messages**: That is a pricing allowance, not a sending limit: 1,000 service messages per month and per number before charging starts. - **“Conversations”**: The limit counts customer phone numbers, not conversations. The word remains in the names of some of Meta’s technical fields, a legacy of the old per-conversation pricing, replaced by per-message pricing on 1 July 2025. - **The old per-number limit**: Since 8 October 2025, according to Meta’s changelog, the limit is set for the portfolio rather than for a number, and the first step up leads to 2,000. It used to lead to 1,000: older articles still give that figure. - [WhatsApp Business number quality](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-quality-rating) ## Where to see your limit In WhatsApp Manager, open Account tools, then Messaging limits: the current limit is shown there. Technical teams can also read it through Meta’s API, in the “whatsapp\_business\_manager\_messaging\_limit” field. ## What it means for a small business A newly created portfolio starts at the first tier: 250 different customers per 24 hours. A campaign to a longer list therefore has to be spread over several days. To move up, you need good-quality messages and to use at least half of the limit. Sending more is not enough if customers block or report your messages. - [Messaging limits explained](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-messaging-limits) - [WhatsApp campaigns](https://wyp.chat/en/features/whatsapp-campaigns) ## Example Illustrative case: a shop connects its first number to WhatsApp. Its portfolio is at the first tier, 250 different customers per 24 hours. It wants to tell 600 customers about a private sale. It cannot message them all on the same day: the send is spread over about 3 days. Verifying the business is one of the routes to the next tier. ## Frequently asked questions ### What is the messaging limit of a new WhatsApp Business account? 250 different customers in a rolling 24 hours, outside the customer service window, for a newly created business portfolio. ### How do you move up to 2,000? By one of these routes: verify the business, have the partner that onboarded it verify it, or deliver 2,000 messages outside the window to different numbers within 30 days using high-quality templates. Meta then reviews quality. ### Is the limit 1,000 messages? No. It counts different customers, not messages. And since 8 October 2025 the first step up leads to 2,000. 1,000 was the old tier, set per number. ### Do my replies to customers count towards the limit? No. The limit counts customers messaged outside the customer service window. A reply sent within 24 hours of a customer’s message is inside the window. ### Do several numbers share the limit? Yes. It is set for the business portfolio and shared by all its numbers: one number can use up the whole capacity. ### Where can I see my messaging limit? In WhatsApp Manager, under Account tools, then Messaging limits. ## Related terms - [Frequency capping (per-user limit)](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/frequency-capping) - [Broadcast](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/broadcast) - [Message template](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/modele) - [24-hour window (customer service window)](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/fenetre-24h) - [WhatsApp Business account (WABA) and business portfolio](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/waba) - [Service message](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary#message-service) **Read more** - [Messaging limits explained](https://wyp.chat/en/guides/whatsapp-messaging-limits) - [All glossary terms](https://wyp.chat/en/glossary) ## Sources 1. Meta, messaging limits: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/messaging-limits) ( checked on 20 October 2026) 2. Meta, WhatsApp changelog (8 October 2025): [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/changelog) ( checked on 20 October 2026) 3. Meta, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/pricing) ( checked on 20 October 2026) 4. Meta, per-user marketing template message limits: [developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits](https://developers.facebook.com/documentation/business-messaging/whatsapp/templates/marketing-templates/per-user-limits) ( checked on 20 October 2026) --- Source: https://wyp.chat/en/glossary/limite-envoi · Updated on 20 October 2026