How to Send Bulk WhatsApp Messages: Broadcasts, Limits and Pace

When you need to send bulk WhatsApp messages to customers, you quickly meet two limits: the size of a broadcast list, and the pace one number can keep without upsetting people. This guide explains how broadcast lists really work, why some broadcasts never arrive, what to use when 256 contacts is not enough, and the sending habits that keep your numbers healthy. It works the same for a shop in Sharjah, a clinic in Riyadh or a dealer in Birmingham.

The short answer

1. One WhatsApp broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts, and only people who saved your number receive it.
2. For more people, use several lists, a Channel for one-way news, or campaign software that sends one-to-one chats from your own numbers.
3. Send only to people who know you and expect to hear from you.
4. Give every new number a gentle start, then keep a natural pace: random gaps, regular breaks, daily limits.
5. Spread big lists over several numbers and several days, and make every message personal.
6. Put an opt-out line in every campaign message and answer replies the same day.

How WhatsApp broadcast lists work

A broadcast list sends one message to many people, but each person receives it as a normal one-to-one chat from you. They do not see who else got it, and when they reply, the reply comes to you privately.

At the time of writing (October 2026), three rules shape everything:

1. The 256 limit. Each list holds up to 256 contacts.
2. Only your saved contacts can be added. You pick people from the contacts on your own phone.
3. Only people who saved your number receive it. If a customer never saved your number, your broadcast does not reach them, and WhatsApp does not tell you.

To make one, open the Chats menu and look for New broadcast. Menu names move between phones and app versions, so check WhatsApp's help pages if you cannot find it.

Why a broadcast does not reach everyone

The first cause is the easiest to miss, because WhatsApp does not tell you who was skipped. It is also a quiet filter: people who never saved your number often do not know you well.

Options when 256 is not enough

For most businesses, a group is the wrong tool for customers. Every member sees every other member's number, which can upset people and may break data protection rules in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and the UK. Use a group when members are meant to talk to each other, a Channel when you only post news, and one-to-one messages when you want private conversations.

How to send bulk WhatsApp messages, step by step

WhatsApp is built for conversations people welcome, and it can limit accounts that many people block or report, so message people who know your business and expect to hear from you. With that settled, the rest is method.

1. Gather your contacts in one spreadsheet, with where each person came from and whether they agreed to offers. Our guide to moving contacts from Excel to WhatsApp shows how to clean the file.
2. Clean the numbers: add country codes, remove duplicates and landlines.
3. Group and tag the contacts: new customers, regulars, people who asked for a price, by area or by language.
4. Write two or three versions of the message, with the person's name, one idea and an opt-out line.
5. Give new numbers a gentle start, then keep a natural pace (see below).
6. Spread the sending over several numbers and days.
7. Answer every reply from the number the contact knows.

A natural sending pace

Nobody types 200 messages in ten minutes, and gaps of exactly the same length look automated too. A careful starting point for one number:

A worked example: 600 customers and three warmed-up numbers. At 200 a day each, they reach everyone in one working day, and at 40 an hour each number needs at least five hours. One number alone would need three days. Both plans are sensible.

Keep messages personal as well as paced. Use a name field with a fallback, such as {{first_name|there}}, and spin text such as {Hi|Hello|Good morning}, so hundreds of people do not get the same words.

Signs a number needs a rest

Good practice and local rules

Marketing messages need consent and a free way to opt out in the UAE (the TDRA rules and the PDPL) and Saudi Arabia (the PDPL), and for consumers and sole traders in the UK (PECR). In the USA, get written consent before automated marketing messages. This is general information, not legal advice; check the current rules for the country you send to.

Where Nitro fits

Nitro is WhatsApp campaign software for Windows that sends through your own WhatsApp numbers, linked with Linked devices the same way WhatsApp Web works. Each message goes out as an ordinary one-to-one chat, so there is no list of 256 to manage. That also means consent matters even more: to someone who has not saved your number, you appear as an unknown sender.

You can run one campaign across several numbers; each contact keeps the number that first wrote to them, with one backup number in case it drops. Nitro's default pace matches the first five rows of the table above, sending hours can follow each contact's own time zone, and a warning badge appears when a setting goes past the recommended level. Nitro checks that each contact uses WhatsApp, skips landlines, and pauses a number by itself if several messages fail. People can reply STOP (or UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT) and Nitro adds them to the opt-out list with a short confirmation.

Frequently asked questions

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

Not with one list. At the time of writing, each broadcast list holds up to 256 contacts, so you can split people across several lists, or use a Channel or campaign software for bigger audiences.

Why did my broadcast only reach some people?

Most often, the people who did not get it have not saved your number in their phone. Others may have blocked you or stopped using WhatsApp. Ask customers to save your number, for example with a QR code or a contact card.

How many WhatsApp messages can I send in a day?

WhatsApp does not publish a number, because it looks at how people react as much as at volume. A careful level for a warmed-up number is up to about 200 a day at a natural pace, with a new number starting near 20.

Does using several numbers help?

It spreads the load, so no single number has to rush. It does not make unwanted messages welcome: each number can still be limited if the people it writes to block and report it.

Next step

Count how many of your contacts really receive your broadcasts, then pick the option that fits. For the bigger plan, read our WhatsApp marketing strategy. To send one-to-one campaigns from your PC, see how Nitro works and get started and check the Nitro plans for how many numbers you can link.