WhatsApp Broadcast List vs Group vs Campaign Software

A WhatsApp broadcast list sends one message to many contacts as separate private chats, a group puts everyone in one shared chat, and campaign software sends a personal message to each contact from your own number with pacing, replies and reports. Broadcast lists reach only people who saved your number, groups are for conversation, and campaign software is for lists in the hundreds or thousands. This guide defines each one, compares them in a table, explains the broadcast list limit, and shows how to move from broadcast lists to campaigns when your list outgrows them.

The short answer

1. A broadcast list is the right tool for a small set of regulars who have your number saved and need the same short notice.
2. A group is for people who should talk to each other, such as a class or a project team, and is a poor fit for offers.
3. Campaign software is for marketing to hundreds or thousands of contacts, with each message personal, paced and tracked.
4. The broadcast list limit (a few hundred contacts per list) and the saved-number rule are the two reasons businesses outgrow broadcasts.
5. Moving from broadcast lists to campaigns takes an afternoon: export, clean, import, write one message with personal fields, and send at a human pace.

What is a WhatsApp broadcast list?

A WhatsApp broadcast list is a saved set of contacts in the WhatsApp or WhatsApp Business app that lets you send one message to all of them at once, with each person receiving it as a normal one-to-one chat. Recipients cannot see each other, and when they reply, the reply comes to you alone, not to the list.

Two rules shape how useful they are. First, a contact only receives a broadcast if they have saved your number in their phone's address book; if they have not, the message is simply not delivered and the app does not tell you. Second, at the time of writing WhatsApp's help pages put the maximum at 256 contacts per list, so a list of 900 customers means four lists and four sends, and someone has to remember who is in which. There is no name field, so every person gets the identical text, and there is no report beyond the ticks in each chat.

What is a WhatsApp group?

A WhatsApp group is a single shared chat in which every member sees every message and can see the names and numbers of the other members. Groups suit people who have a reason to talk to each other: the parents of one class, a sports team, a building's residents, the staff of a shop. WhatsApp states that a group can hold just over a thousand members, and admins can set it so that only they can post.

For marketing, groups have three problems. Members see each other's phone numbers, which customers do not expect. Anyone can leave, and many do the moment a group fills with offers. And a group message cannot be personal: it is one text for everyone, with no name.

What is WhatsApp campaign software?

WhatsApp campaign software is a programme that takes a list of contacts, a message with personal fields, and one or more of your WhatsApp numbers, then sends a separate personal chat message to each contact at a human pace, collecting replies and results in one place. Each contact gets a message addressed to them, from a number that stays in their chat list, whether or not they have saved it. The software adds what the app lacks: import from Excel, personal fields, a schedule, a daily pace per number, several numbers sharing one list, one inbox and reports.

Our overview of WhatsApp marketing software explains the kinds of software available and what to look for in each.

WhatsApp broadcast vs group vs campaign software: the comparison

When does each one fit?

Use a broadcast list when:

• Your list is under a couple of hundred people and nearly all of them have you saved, such as a tutor's current students or a small salon's regulars.
• The message is the same for everyone and needs no name: "We are closed on Monday for the public holiday."

Use a group when:

• The members need to hear from each other, not only from you: a parents' class group, a volunteer team, a project with a client.
• Members know each other's numbers will be visible and have agreed, and you can set admin-only posting for notices.

Use campaign software when:

• The list runs into the hundreds or thousands, or is growing, and many contacts have not saved your number, which is true of most leads and most past customers.
• You want each message to carry the person's name, their branch or their last purchase.
• You need to spread sending across days and numbers, honour opt-outs automatically, and report results to someone.

A worked example: say you run a gym in Manchester with 1,100 current and past members who agreed to hear about offers. Broadcast lists would mean five lists, each sent by hand, reaching only the members who saved the gym's number, perhaps half of them. With campaign software, you import the 1,100 members, tag past members separately, write one message with the first name and the month they last visited, and let two numbers send 200 a day each, so the whole list hears from you within three working days and every reply lands in one inbox.

How do you move from broadcast lists to campaigns?

1. Get the contacts out of the phone. Export your phone contacts to a CSV through Google Contacts or your phone's contacts app, and add names from any spreadsheet or booking system you keep.
2. Mark consent. Keep only people who gave you their number for marketing or current customers you have told about your messages.
3. Clean the numbers. Every number needs its country code, with no spaces or leading zeros, and landlines go.
4. Import and tag. Load the file, match the columns, and put people in groups: regulars, past customers, enquiries.
5. Write one message with fields. A name field with a fallback, one offer, one question and an opt-out line.
6. Start gently. Treat a number that has only ever sent broadcasts as new to volume, and start with a few dozen messages a day.
7. Answer replies in one place and keep the opt-out list current before the next campaign.

Our guide to sending bulk WhatsApp messages covers steps 3 to 6 in more depth, and if you plan to spread sending across more than one number, read managing multiple WhatsApp numbers first.

Where Nitro fits

Nitro is WhatsApp campaign software for Windows. It links your existing WhatsApp numbers by QR code or pairing code the way WhatsApp Web does, so the phone keeps working as usual. You import contacts from Excel or CSV, match the columns, set a default country and skip landlines, and the software checks which numbers are on WhatsApp before the first message goes out.

Each campaign can run across several numbers, with every contact kept on the number that first wrote to them, and nothing is sent twice. The default pace adds random waits between messages, a break every 25 and a daily cap per number. Replies from all numbers arrive in one inbox with opt-outs and poll votes marked, and reports show sent, delivered, read and replied counts by campaign, number and day. WhatsApp can limit accounts that many people block or report, so message people who expect you.

One honest limit: buttons and list menus are not available on this kind of connection, so a poll of 2 to 12 answers does the job where you would otherwise want a button.

Frequently asked questions

What is the WhatsApp broadcast list limit?

At the time of writing WhatsApp's help pages give 256 contacts as the maximum for one broadcast list. You can create several lists, but each has to be sent separately and each message is identical for everyone in it. Campaign software has no list limit of that kind; the pace per number sets how long a campaign takes.

Why did my broadcast message not reach some contacts?

A broadcast is only delivered to contacts who have saved your number in their phone. People who have not saved it do not receive the message, and you are not told. Campaign software sends each message as a normal chat, so it arrives whether or not the person has your number saved.

Is a WhatsApp broadcast or a group better for marketing?

A broadcast list, because each person receives a private message and cannot see the other recipients. A group shows everyone's number and quickly empties when it is used for offers.

Do I need WhatsApp marketing software for a small business?

Not while your list is under a couple of hundred people who all have your number saved and the messages are simple notices. Once the list grows, contacts have not saved you, or you want names, several numbers and reports, software saves hours and keeps the sending at a safe pace.

Next step

Open your WhatsApp broadcast lists today and count the contacts, then check how many have replied to a broadcast in the last three months; that tells you how many actually receive them. If the list is growing past what broadcasts can handle, see Nitro.