Messaging limits and quality rating
How many people you can message per day, how the tiers step up, and what pushes your quality rating down.
Meta caps how many people your number can start conversations with, and adjusts that cap based on how customers react to your messages. Understanding this before your first broadcast avoids an expensive surprise.
Messaging limits
The limit counts business-initiated conversations in a rolling 24 hours — that is, conversations you start with a template. Customers messaging you does not count, and replies inside an open conversation do not count.
| Tier | Unique customers per 24h |
|---|---|
| Unverified | 250 |
| Tier 1 | 1,000 |
| Tier 2 | 10,000 |
| Tier 3 | 100,000 |
| Tier 4 | Unlimited |
New numbers start at 250. Business verification is required to go beyond it.
How you move up a tier
Meta upgrades you automatically when, within a 7-day window, you:
- send to at least half your current limit in unique customers, and
- hold a medium or high quality rating.
So the way to grow your limit is steady, well-received sending — not one large blast. A campaign that spikes and then goes quiet does not step you up.
Limits can go down too
A low quality rating can drop you a tier or put your number in a restricted state, where you cannot start new conversations until the rating recovers.
Quality rating
Shown in WhatsApp Manager as green (high), amber (medium) or red (low), based on a rolling window of customer feedback.
What moves it down:
- Customers blocking your number
- Customers reporting your messages as spam
- Messages that go undelivered because people have blocked you
- Templates that are marketing-heavy sent to people who did not ask
What keeps it up:
- Messaging people who genuinely opted in
- Replying promptly when people write back
- Sending relevant, expected content
- Making it obvious who you are and easy to opt out
Restricted and flagged states
Flagged means your rating dropped to low; you have seven days to recover before your tier is cut. Restricted means you have hit your limit and cannot start new conversations until the window resets. Both are recoverable — reduce volume, improve targeting, and let the rating rebuild.
Practical guidance
- Only message people who asked to hear from you. Buying a list is the fastest way to a red rating.
- Start small. A few hundred well-targeted messages beats a blast to everyone you have ever met.
- Honour opt-outs immediately. The platform maintains a suppression list and excludes suppressed contacts from campaigns automatically, but the wording of your message should make opting out easy.
- Watch the first hour of a campaign. If blocks spike, stop it.
- Keep utility and marketing separate. Sending marketing under a utility template annoys people and risks template rejection.
Where to check yours
WhatsApp Manager → Overview shows your current tier, quality rating, and any warnings on your number. Check it before every large campaign.