The short answer
For customers, use a broadcast list, not a group. A broadcast reaches each person as a private message from you, and their reply comes back only to you. A group is one shared conversation, so every customer sees every message and every reply from everyone else.
Groups and communities have their place: a team, a club, a class, a set of customers who've asked to talk to each other. For sending offers, reminders and updates to customers, the private one-to-one route is almost always right.
Everything below comes from WhatsApp's own help centre, read on 28 September 2026. WhatsApp changes its limits from time to time, so check the pages linked here before you plan around a number.
What each one is
Broadcast list
WhatsApp's broadcast list page describes broadcast lists as "saved lists of contacts that you can repeatedly message without having to select the contacts each time". Each person gets it "as an individual message from you in their Chats tab", and "Their reply will also appear as an individual message and won't be sent to other contacts in the broadcast list."
The catch that trips most businesses: "Only people who've added you to their phone's contacts will receive your broadcast message." If someone never saved your number, your broadcast doesn't reach them, and you won't be told.
Group
A group is a shared chat. Everyone in it can read and reply to every message. WhatsApp's group page says "You can create a WhatsApp group with up to 1024 members." It also warns that "Anyone with a group link can join your group and forward the link to other people."
Community
A community sits above groups. WhatsApp's communities page says communities "bring members together in topic-based groups", and admins "can reach members with important updates by sending announcements". Its announcements page says only community admins can send announcements, members can reply and react, and "You can add up to 2,000 members to a community and its announcement group."
Side by side
| Broadcast list | Group | Community | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who sees the message | Each person, in their own chat with you | Everyone in the group | Everyone in the announcement group, plus any groups they join |
| Where replies go | Only to you | To the whole group | Reactions and replies to the announcement; chat in the smaller groups |
| Do members see each other? | No | Yes, they're in one conversation | Admins see who the members are; everyone sees the total number |
| Size limit (WhatsApp help centre) | Up to 256 contacts per list | Up to 1024 members | Up to 2,000 members |
| Must they save your number? | Yes, or they don't receive it | No | No |
| Works from a computer? | Not on Windows, Mac or Web | Yes | Yes |
| Good for | Offers, reminders, updates to customers | Teams, clubs, customers who want to talk to each other | A school, a building, a members' club with several topics |
The size limits and the rule on saved numbers come from the pages linked above. The broadcast page also says "Broadcast lists aren't supported on Windows, Mac, or Web", so broadcasts go out from the phone.
Limits worth knowing
Two newer limits change the picture.
First, a monthly cap is appearing. WhatsApp's broadcast limits page says "People in some countries might see a monthly broadcast limit" and that it's "rolling out gradually". Where it applies, "You can send up to 35 free broadcast messages per month." You can check yours under Settings, then Broadcasts. The same page says businesses can get more advanced messaging tools on the WhatsApp Business app.
Second, the Business app has its own feature called Business Broadcasts. WhatsApp's Business app features page says it lets you "Send private 1:1 messages to multiple people at once" and "Message people even if they haven't saved your number", with scheduling and insights, and notes it's "Available to eligible users in select countries". If you see it in your app, it gets round the saved-number problem. If you don't, the classic broadcast list rules above apply.
For sending at a much larger scale through software, there's the paid WhatsApp Business Platform. WhatsApp messaging limits covers how its limits work.
Which to use for customers
Use a broadcast list (or Business Broadcasts) when:
- You're sending the same update to many customers: a new product, opening hours, a reminder, a festive greeting. The festive greetings for clients are written to send this way.
- Customers don't know each other and wouldn't want to.
- You want replies to come to you privately, so you can answer each one.
Use a group when:
- The people in it want to talk to each other, such as a running club, a class cohort or a customer community they chose to join.
- You have someone to moderate it and answer questions in public.
Use a community when:
- You run something with several topics under one roof, like a building's residents, a school's parents or a members' club, and you need one place for announcements.
Don't use a group to send offers to customers. They didn't agree to share their details with strangers, the replies turn into noise, and the moment one person complains, everyone reads it. Keep your team's group for team talk, as ActivityTracker vs WhatsApp group suggests, and send customer messages privately.
ActivityTracker sends a WhatsApp broadcast from your own number with each client's name in it, one message at a time in the hours you choose, and shows you who wrote back.
Get permission first
WhatsApp is personal. A message someone didn't ask for feels far more intrusive there than in an inbox, and people can block or report a business.
Meta's opt-in guide for the Business Platform sets out what permission should look like, and it's good manners for the app too. It says businesses may contact people if they "have given their mobile phone number" and the business has "received opt-in permission from the recipient". It also says businesses "must clearly state that a person is opting in to receive communication from the business" and must name the business.
In practice:
Can I add you to our WhatsApp updates? It's about [what you'll send], roughly [how often], from [business name]. Reply STOP any time and I'll take you off.
- Ask before you add anyone, and keep a note of who said yes and when.
- Send only what they agreed to.
- Ask them to save your number if you're using a classic broadcast list, or they won't get it.
- Take people off the same day they ask.
Made-up example: a florist with about 300 regular customers on her Business app.
Before: she keeps a group called "Blooms VIP" with 140 customers. When she posts the Mother's Day offer, 12 people reply in the group, three ask to leave, and one complains publicly about a late delivery. Everyone sees it.
Week 1: she messages each customer privately to ask if they'd like occasional offers by WhatsApp, and asks them to save her number. 190 say yes.
Week 2: she splits the 190 into broadcast lists of up to 256 contacts: "Weddings and events" and "Regular bunches". She closes the group with a thank-you message explaining the change.
Week 3: the next offer goes to each list. 23 people reply, each privately. She answers every one from her phone, and two ask about wedding flowers.
The complaint about the late delivery now arrives privately too, where she can sort it out without an audience.
What to do first
- Decide whether you're sending updates (broadcast) or hosting a conversation (group or community).
- If you use a group for customer offers today, plan to move to broadcasts.
- Ask each customer for permission and to save your number.
- Check Settings for a broadcast limit and for Business Broadcasts in your app.
- Write your first message with their name in it, and send it from your phone.
If typing names into each message gets old, ActivityTracker's broadcasts send from your own number with each client's name in, one message at a time in the hours you choose. For the rest of selling on WhatsApp, from the first reply to follow-ups, see WhatsApp for sales.
Keep reading
Questions people ask
Sources
- WhatsApp Help Center, How to use broadcast lists, read 28 September 2026
- WhatsApp Help Center, About broadcast limits, read 28 September 2026
- WhatsApp Help Center, How to create and invite into a group, read 28 September 2026
- WhatsApp Help Center, About communities, read 28 September 2026
- WhatsApp Help Center, About community announcements, read 28 September 2026
- WhatsApp Business app features, read 28 September 2026
- Meta for Developers, Get opt-in for WhatsApp, read 28 September 2026