WhatsApp limits on BSG

Two independent limits govern how much you can send: Meta's messaging limit (set and enforced by Meta, across your whole Business Portfolio) and your BSG platform limit (your plan's included volume, counted by BSG). They're calculated separately and rarely show the same number — this guide explains each, how to scale it, and how they interact.

The two limits at a glance

1. Meta's messaging limit

This is how many unique recipients you can start conversations with in a rolling 24-hour window. Meta sets it at the Business-Portfolio level, so it's shared across all the numbers in your portfolio, and Meta scales it automatically as you verify your business and send quality traffic.

• Unverified — your portfolio starts at 250 unique recipients / 24h. You can message up to this many recipients (any numbers) right after connecting your number.
• Verified + quality traffic — Meta raises the limit through its tiers up to unlimited (the ladder runs 250 → 1,000 → 2,000 → 10,000 → 100,000 → Unlimited).

To move up: verify your Business Portfolio with Meta and keep your quality rating healthy. Meta advances the tier on its own — there's nothing to request from BSG. For the exact rules and current tiers, see Meta's messaging limits.

Per-user marketing limit (a separate Meta cap)

On top of the portfolio limit, Meta caps how many marketing template messages a single person receives across all businesses in a period. When a marketing message isn't delivered for this reason, you'll see error 131049 — this is expected on any large marketing send, not a fault in your request. See per-user marketing limits.

US (+1) marketing carve-out

Meta currently does not deliver marketing templates to US (+1) numbers. Utility and authentication templates are unaffected. Use a non-US number when testing marketing sends. (Details on the per-user limits page.)

2. Your BSG platform limit

This is your plan's included volume — the number of messages your subscription covers per billing cycle. On the Free plan the default is up to 1,000 delivered messages; paid plans include higher volumes (and, where supported, overage). See the WhatsApp tab under Prices in your BSG cabinet for current plans and volumes.

What counts. BSG counts your usage from Meta's delivery events, so you're billed for messages that actually go out:

• A message counts (+1) when Meta reports it sent.
• It's removed (−1) if that message later fails, or is sent but not delivered within the template's validity window (TTL).
• A failure with no preceding send doesn't count at all.

In practice your plan volume reflects messages that were sent and delivered — undelivered and failed messages are backed out. Counts are tracked per WABA and for your account overall, and reset at the start of each billing cycle (and when you upgrade).

To raise it: upgrade your plan, or contact your account manager — the BSG platform limit is raised on request. If you reach a BSG plan limit or your balance is exhausted, sends surface BSG error 99.

How the two interact

Because they're measured on different sides, the counts won't match — and that's expected:

• Meta counts conversations started at the portfolio level; BSG counts delivered messages on your plan.
• If you run two providers on the same WABA in parallel, BSG only reflects the messages sent through BSG, not those sent via the other provider — so the BSG count will be lower than Meta's portfolio view.
• Hitting one limit doesn't change the other: you could have Meta headroom but reach your BSG plan volume, or vice versa. Watch both.

Related guides

• Getting started with 1-way WhatsApp on BSG — connecting your account and verifying your portfolio.
• Understanding WhatsApp messaging pricing on BSG — how the BSG subscription, included volume, and overage are billed.
• Common WhatsApp API errors — including the per-user limit error 131049 and BSG plan-limit error 99.
• BSG WhatsApp API Overview — sending and delivery tracking.
• Meta references: Messaging limits · Per-user marketing limits.