orca.floHow to send WhatsApp broadcasts without risking your number
A broadcast sends one message to many customers: an offer, an Eid opening time, a new arrival. WhatsApp gives businesses a few ways to do it, each with its own limits and costs. Here they are side by side, plus who you may message, how to pace a send, messages people actually reply to, and how broadcasts work in OrcaFlo.
Updated
Three ways to broadcast on WhatsApp
| Broadcast lists (WhatsApp Business app) | Marketing templates (official API) | An assistant linked to the app, such as OrcaFlo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who receives it | Only contacts who saved your number in their phone | People who opted in to hear from you | Your customer list or a segment; people who never messaged you are left out unless you include them |
| How many | Up to 256 contacts per list, and as many lists as you like | Large opted-in lists, once Meta approves the template | Your whole list, sent one by one |
| Cost | Free | Meta charges each delivered marketing message (AED 0.2115 to a UAE number), plus your provider’s fees | No Meta fee: it links to your WhatsApp Business app |
| Pacing | Sent at once from your phone | Sent by your provider | One message at a time with a pause in between, 15 minutes by default |
| Replies | Come back to you as normal one-to-one chats | Open a 24-hour window for replies | Answered by the assistant, which knows what the broadcast said, or by a person |
| Results | What you see in each chat | Delivery reports from the API | Sent, delivered, read and replied for every person, and a resend for the ones that failed |
Broadcast lists in the free app
In the WhatsApp Business app, a broadcast list is a saved list of contacts you can message again and again. Each list holds up to 256 contacts, and you can make as many lists as you like. Each person receives your message as a normal one-to-one chat, and their reply comes back only to you, never to the rest of the list. That makes it different from a group, where everyone sees everyone.
The catch: only people who have saved your number in their phone’s contacts receive it. If someone isn’t getting your broadcasts, ask them to add you. WhatsApp also says people in some countries may see a monthly broadcast limit, which is rolling out gradually. In some countries the app also sells business broadcasts (marketing messages), paid per delivered message.
Marketing templates on the official API
On Meta’s official API, a broadcast outside the 24-hour window is a marketing template that Meta has approved. Meta charges for every delivered marketing message by the recipient’s country: AED 0.2115 for a UAE number on its rate card effective 1 October 2026. A broadcast to 2,000 people in the UAE therefore costs about AED 423 in Meta fees alone. The full breakdown is in WhatsApp Business API pricing in the UAE.
Who you may message
Only people who asked to hear from you: customers who bought, booked or asked you something and agreed to updates. Meta reminds businesses on the API that they may only message people who have opted in. Bought lists and scraped numbers lead to blocks and reports, which is exactly how numbers get restricted. Keep every broadcast easy to refuse, and stop messaging anyone who says no. More in how to avoid a WhatsApp Business ban.
Pacing and batches
- Send in small batches with gaps, not hundreds of messages in one go. Longer gaps are safer for bigger lists.
- Personalise with the person’s name and what they asked about; identical text to many people looks automated.
- Send to the people it fits (a segment), not to everyone you have.
- Avoid late at night unless that is when your customers usually write.
- Watch the replies: if people block you or ask you to stop after a send, change the message before the next one.
Broadcasts people reply to (English and Gulf Arabic)
How broadcasts work in OrcaFlo
In the OrcaFlo panel, open Broadcasts → New broadcast. Write the message and attach a photo or file if you like. Send it to all leads, to hot, warm or cold leads, to people you pick, or to a saved segment from your contacts. Send it now or schedule it, and choose who answers the replies: the assistant, knowing what the broadcast said, or a person.
Messages go out one at a time with a pause in between (15 minutes by default) to protect your number, and contacts who never messaged you are left out unless you tick the box to include them. Results shows sent, delivered, read and replied for every person, and Resend failed retries only the people it failed for. Step by step: schedule a broadcast and see who replied. If you don’t see these options in your panel, ask us and we’ll switch them on for your business.
OrcaFlo links to your WhatsApp Business app by QR code, so there is no Meta fee per message; OrcaFlo’s own price is on the pricing page.
Questions
In the WhatsApp Business app, up to 256 contacts per broadcast list, and you can make as many lists as you like. Only people who saved your number receive it, and WhatsApp is rolling out monthly broadcast limits in some countries. On the official API you send approved marketing templates to opted-in lists instead.
Broadcast lists in the WhatsApp Business app are free. Marketing templates on the official API are charged by Meta per delivered message (AED 0.2115 to a UAE number from 1 October 2026), plus your provider’s fees. Some countries also offer paid business broadcasts inside the app.
With an app broadcast list, only people who saved your number in their contacts receive it, so ask them to add you. In OrcaFlo, open Results: messages that failed, for example to a number that isn’t on WhatsApp, can be sent again with Resend failed.
Broadcasts to people who asked to hear from you, paced and personalised, are normal use. Identical messages blasted to strangers, bought lists and lots of blocks or reports are what get numbers restricted.
No. A broadcast arrives as a one-to-one message and replies come back only to you. In a group, everyone sees everyone’s messages.
Related
How to keep your WhatsApp Business number from getting banned
Read more GuideWhatsApp Business API pricing in the UAE, explained
Read more GuideWhatsApp follow-ups that bring customers back (without annoying them)
Read more For online stores & product sellersYour best salesperson, answering every WhatsApp order enquiry at 2am.
Read moreStop losing customers to slow replies.
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