Is the WhatsApp Business broadcast list paid now? Only one of them

Is the WhatsApp Business broadcast list paid now?

Only one of them. The WhatsApp Business app has two ways to send the same message to many people, and only one of them charges. The regular broadcast list has no charge in the WhatsApp Help Center. The paid one is the commercial broadcast, which costs R$ 0.3217 (Brazilian reais) per message delivered in Brazil.

Why do so many people confuse the two?

Because they live in the same place. In the Help Center, the path to create the regular list goes through a button called Commercial broadcast. The same page says that, to reach people who did not save your number, you should turn the list into a marketing message. And another page explains that, in some countries, marketing messages are now the commercial broadcast lists. That is where the charge starts. Sources: faq.whatsapp.com/653415899610349 and faq.whatsapp.com/1800502557189664.

Why doesn't my regular list reach everyone?

Because only people who have your number saved in their phone's contacts receive it. If a customer says they did not receive it, the Help Center says to ask them to save your number. When someone replies, the reply arrives in a conversation just between the two of you, and the others on the list do not see it.

Does Meta's AI affect the broadcast list?

Yes. The WhatsApp Help Center says that, with Meta's AI agent on, broadcast lists are affected, and that deleting the AI gives you access to them again. The steps are in how to turn off the AI in WhatsApp Business.

How to make a broadcast list on WhatsApp, step by step

The regular broadcast list is created in the Chats tab, in a few taps, and costs nothing. The steps below come from the WhatsApp Help Center (faq.whatsapp.com/861663048350950), checked on October 11, 2026 on the Android version. The icons change a little between Android and iPhone.

1. Tap Chats.
2. Open the menu and tap Broadcast lists.
3. Tap the button to create a new list.
4. Search for or select the contacts who will join the list.
5. Confirm. The list appears in the Chats tab, ready for its first message.

What should I check before sending?

• Who receives it. It only reaches contacts who have your number saved. If a customer did not receive it, ask them to save your number.
• How many fit. Up to 256 contacts per list, and you can create as many lists as you like.
• How it arrives. Each person receives it as an individual message from you. The reply comes back only to you, in a separate conversation, and the others on the list do not see it.
• Where it works. Only on the phone. The Help Center says you cannot use a broadcast list on WhatsApp Web or on WhatsApp for Windows or Mac.
• Monthly limit. In some countries WhatsApp is testing a monthly message limit on broadcast lists. The feature is arriving gradually and may not be active for you.

How do I rename the list, add or remove contacts?

Open the list in the Chats tab, tap the menu and then Broadcast list info. There you change the name, tap Edit recipients to add or remove contacts and, if you want, delete the list.

Since when has the commercial broadcast been paid?

In Brazil, since October 2025. The report from Núcleo Jornalismo cites a Meta post from October 22, 2025 saying the fee would start that month. Here is the timeline:

• March 2025: WhatsApp announces it will test a paid version of broadcasts for businesses, with 250 free messages during the test. Source: TechCrunch.
• October 2025: charging starts in Brazil. At the time the figure was R$ 0.33 per message after the 250 free ones. Source: Núcleo Jornalismo.
• April 30, 2026: end of the test period for those who had never sent a commercial broadcast. The Help Center said this when we checked, on September 16, 2026. By September 24 the sentence was no longer on the page.
• July 1, 2026: the official table in reais takes effect, with R$ 0.3217 per marketing message delivered in Brazil.

That is why the R$ 0.33 figure that many sites repeat is out of date. The number in the official table today is R$ 0.3217.

Some sites say the 250 free messages were monthly and lasted six months. We did not find this rule written on any Meta page, so it cannot be confirmed.

Are there still free messages?

The sending page of the Help Center says that, after you use the free messages, you need to register a payment method. It does not say how many free messages exist or who gets them. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1711086883148106. The confirmed way to get credits is to subscribe to a paid Meta plan, explained further below.

How much does the WhatsApp Business broadcast list cost?

The regular list costs nothing. The commercial broadcast costs R$ 0.3217 (Brazilian reais) per message delivered to a customer with a Brazilian number, before taxes. It is the value in the Marketing column of the official table in reais that has applied since July 1, 2026. Checked on September 24, 2026 against the table that the "About commercial broadcast pricing" page tells you to open: faq.whatsapp.com/1356785542323967. In the October 1, 2026 price update, Brazil is not on the list of countries whose price changed, checked the same day on Meta's pricing page.

Who pays: the business or the customer?

The business that sends it pays, using the payment method it registers in WhatsApp Business (the step-by-step is further below). The Help Center does not mention any charge for the person who receives it.

These calculations assume all messages were delivered. The billing rules, all from the Help Center:

• You only pay for a message delivered within five days of sending.
• When you send, WhatsApp sets aside an amount for the whole size of the list. The amount for messages that did not arrive goes back to your account.
• The cost adds up over time. The charge happens when it passes a set amount or on your payment day.
• You can also pay in advance, with prepaid funds. The cost of delivered messages comes out of those funds every day.
• Before you pay, the app shows the total cost, the estimated taxes and the estimated total.

What are message packs?

It is a way to pay in advance for a fixed number of messages. Each person who receives the broadcast uses one credit, and credits do not expire. For now the packs only exist on iPhone and are arriving gradually. The price of each pack appears in the app, under Tools › Commercial broadcasts › Message credits. The Help Center warns that a purchased pack is not refundable. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1929088107774985.

How much does it cost to send to customers outside Brazil?

The price follows the country of the recipient's number, not yours. Same table, Marketing column, in reais:

In the October 1, 2026 update, Meta raised the marketing price in Mexico, and the page does not show the new value in reais outside the spreadsheet. The other countries in this table are not on the list of changes, read on October 1, 2026 on Meta's pricing page.

In which countries is the broadcast list paid?

WhatsApp does not publish the list of countries. It only says that the commercial broadcast exists in some countries and may not appear for you yet. Brazil is among them. What Meta publishes are price tables in 16 currencies, and the price of each message follows the country of the recipient's number. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1356785542323967.

If you opened the app and did not find Tools › Commercial broadcasts, the feature may not have reached your account yet, or your account may be suspended for too many blocks. The suspension is explained further below.

What are the alternatives to the paid broadcast?

• Regular broadcast list. No charge in the Help Center, but it only reaches people who saved your number. Ask the customer to save your number in the first conversation.
• Status and channels. The Help Center itself points to status and channels for those who want to talk to many people at once. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1176325363861991.
• Credits from a paid Meta plan. Some plans include broadcast credits. See the math below before subscribing.
• Official API. It does not make sending cheaper, but it helps you answer quickly the people who replied. Explained at the end of the text.

Is it worth subscribing to Meta One to get credits?

Meta One arrived in Brazil on September 15, 2026, and the Meta Verified page now says its features are in Meta One. Meta confirms that the Advanced plan includes broadcast credits on WhatsApp, but does not say how many. The credit numbers below were published by Folhapress. Sources: about.fb.com, Diário do Comércio / Folhapress and facebook.com/business/tools/meta-verified-for-business. On October 1, 2026, the Help Center page about the Meta One plans still listed commercial broadcast list credits in the Advanced plan, without saying how many.

Do the math: 500 messages delivered in Brazil cost R$ 160.85 paying one by one. The Advanced plan costs from R$ 199. For the credits alone, the subscription is not worth it. It pays off if you will also use the rest of the plan. The report does not say whether the credits are monthly, and Meta warns that plans and benefits change depending on the business.

Will the regular broadcast list have a limit too?

On regular WhatsApp, the personal one, there is already a monthly message limit in some countries, and it is arriving gradually. You can check yours in Settings › Broadcasts. WhatsApp warns you when you are close, but does not say what the number is. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1176325363861991.

On WhatsApp Business, it is not an official rule yet. In May 2026, MacMagazine reported, based on the WABetaInfo site, a test that would limit business lists to about 35 messages per month. The WhatsApp Business Help Center does not mention this limit. If it arrives, the regular list will no longer work for sending a lot.

How to send and pay for a commercial broadcast, step by step

The steps come from the Help Center (faq.whatsapp.com/1711086883148106 and faq.whatsapp.com/1800502557189664). The names may change a little between Android and iPhone. The feature only exists in the WhatsApp Business app.

How do I send it?

1. Tap Tools › Commercial broadcasts.
2. The first time, tap Continue.
3. Choose the audience: contacts from your address book or a list you imported through WhatsApp Business on a computer.
4. Write the message. You can add a photo, video or document, text and a button, if you want: Catalog, Custom reply, Call or Website.
5. Tap Next to see the preview. Meta may review your message before it is sent.
6. Check the price and the list of who will receive it.
7. Tap Send now or schedule the send. Sometimes the message takes a few seconds to go out, and it can take up to three hours.

How do I register the payment method?

1. Choose a country or region, currency and time zone and tap Next.
2. Add the payment method and tap Save.
3. Fill in the requested details, such as email or business address.
4. Check the estimated total before confirming.

Where do I control how much I spend?

In Commercial broadcasts, open the menu and go to Account settings › Payments. There you find Add funds, Account spending limit, Payment limit and Payment activity. Set the spending limit before the first send. When it is reached, messages stop going out, and a big list does not turn into a bill you did not expect.

What makes WhatsApp suspend your broadcasts?

Many people blocking or reporting your business. Source: faq.whatsapp.com/1655751878365653. Here is how it works:

• First comes a warning.
• If it continues, the feature is suspended for three days, and you cannot appeal.
• If it happens again, the suspension can be longer.
• A broadcast you had scheduled before the block does not go out, and is not charged.

To avoid getting there, the same page recommends:

• Send only to people who agreed to receive offers.
• Remove people who have not talked to your business in a long time.
• Send the type of content the person agreed to receive, and not another.
• After a suspension, do not go back to sending to the same contacts right away.

What about the official API, is it cheaper?

For blasts, no. Through the official API (Meta's connection used by businesses that answer with software), the marketing message follows the same table: R$ 0.3217 per message delivered in Brazil. And a number connected to the API has no commercial broadcast. Sources: the table in reais cited above and faq.whatsapp.com/1655751878365653.

And one thing changed on October 1, 2026. Since that day, Meta also charges, through the API, for the replies the business writes in the conversation after the customer sent a message, at the same price as each country's utility message. Each number gets a thousand of these replies free per month, and what is left over does not carry over to the next month. In the table in reais, the utility message in Brazil costs R$ 0.0350, and Brazil is not among the countries whose price changed on that date. Source: Meta's pricing page, read on October 1, 2026.

After the message goes out: who answers?

A broadcast only becomes a sale if someone quickly answers the people who replied. Paying to send to 1,000 people and taking hours to answer the ones who asked the price is paying for the message and losing the customer.

CertuAI builds an AI that answers on your WhatsApp number, by code or QR code, or through the official API on Pro and above. It answers every customer who writes, 24 hours a day, with your business's information, keeps each conversation in an organized list of your customers and contacts again, without you doing anything, those who stopped replying.

The focus is not blasting a list. It is not leaving any customer who wrote without an answer. To see how it looks in your business, create your WhatsApp AI. If you want to understand first, see how the AI agent for WhatsApp works.

Read also

• How much Meta charges per conversation on WhatsApp
• WhatsApp Business, official API or automation: the difference
• Automatic follow-up with customers using AI on WhatsApp