Messaging limits are shared across the portfolio
Meta calculates messaging limits at the business portfolio level. Its phone numbers share the available capacity. The limit concerns unique recipients of messages delivered outside a customer service window in a moving 24-hour period. It is not a calendar-day counter that always resets at midnight. For example, if two teams use different numbers in the same portfolio, one team’s campaign can consume capacity needed by the other. Adding another number does not create a separate portfolio allowance.Current tiers and scaling
Meta documents these tiers:- 250 for a newly created business portfolio.
- 2,000 after an eligible scaling path and Meta’s quality assessment.
- 10,000, 100,000, and unlimited through further automatic scaling.
Reach the 2,000-recipient tier
Meta documents three entry paths: verify the business, complete the applicable partner-led verification route, or establish qualifying message usage. The usage path requires 2,000 delivered messages to unique WhatsApp users outside service windows over a moving 30-day period, using high-quality templates. Completing a path triggers a quality assessment; it does not guarantee approval. If Meta declines or defers the increase, review the specific eligibility notice. It can request further identity information or qualifying usage. Do not send unwanted messages solely to accumulate volume.Scale beyond 2,000
Meta evaluates message quality across the portfolio’s numbers and templates, together with whether the business has used at least half of its current limit during the preceding seven days. Its documented automatic-scaling process increases an eligible portfolio by one tier within six hours. That is a conditional platform process, not a YCloud promise to raise the limit on demand. Check the resulting tier before scheduling a workload that depends on it. Check your current limit in WhatsApp Manager → Account tools → Messaging limits. Use Meta’s messaging limits documentation for the live scaling rules.Older documentation and integrations may show phone-number-level tiers such as 1,000 or an older messaging-limit field. Do not use them as the source for current portfolio capacity.
Throughput is a separate constraint
Throughput measures sending speed, usually in messages per second. Effective speed can depend on the number’s connection mode, Meta capacity, the YCloud sending path, queuing, and recipient-specific controls. Do not assume that Meta’s maximum published Cloud API throughput is the speed available to every YCloud number. In particular, review coexistence separately before planning a burst. For time-sensitive sends, confirm the rate supported by your actual setup and test representative traffic. A request accepted into a queue is not proof of delivery by a deadline.Count recipients and processing time separately
A shared-capacity example
Suppose a portfolio’s current tier is 2,000 and 1,700 distinct recipients already count in its rolling 24-hour period. Its remaining capacity for additional distinct recipients is approximately 300, before other activity or older activity leaving the window. If another team sends to 400 new recipients from a second number in the same portfolio, it cannot assume a fresh 2,000-recipient allowance. Coordinate both teams’ schedules. Within the relevant accounting period, repeat messages to the same counted recipient are different from adding another unique recipient. Deduplicate the recipient set across numbers when estimating capacity. The actual Meta counter remains authoritative, especially when service-window state and delivery timing differ.A throughput example
A coexistence number documented at 5 messages per second needs at least:Respond to the right constraint
Do not treat “unlimited” as unlimited speed, unrestricted contact permission, or guaranteed marketing delivery.
Plan a safe rollout
- Check the portfolio tier before scheduling.
- Coordinate sends across all numbers that share the portfolio.
- Remove duplicate recipients and apply opt-outs.
- Start with a relevant audience and observe quality.
- Allow for retries, queues, and delivery delays.
- Stop or reduce sending when feedback or errors indicate a problem.
If your available capacity is unexpected
Record the portfolio, WABA, number, current tier, affected period, and example message errors. Compare this with other activity in the same portfolio. If the account is restricted, follow Account restrictions and appeals, rather than treating every failure as a request for a higher tier.Frequently asked questions
Will adding another number double my messaging limit?
Will adding another number double my messaging limit?
Not when the numbers share the same business portfolio. Coordinate their proactive sends against the portfolio’s shared recipient allowance. Adding numbers is a separate registration-cap question; it does not create an independent allowance for each sender.
The tier says unlimited. Why do I still see sending errors?
The tier says unlimited. Why do I still see sending errors?
Unlimited recipient capacity is not unlimited API speed or unrestricted delivery. Inspect whether the error is throughput, per-recipient sending pace, marketing delivery controls, a paused template, billing, or an account restriction. Raising the portfolio tier cannot resolve all of those conditions.
Does the allowance reset at midnight in my time zone?
Does the allowance reset at midnight in my time zone?
It is a rolling 24-hour measure, not a calendar-day counter. Inspect the relevant delivered proactive activity across the portfolio. Scheduling the same large audience just after midnight does not automatically give you a fresh allowance.