80 mps
Cloud API Throughput
80 messages per second per registered business phone number by default. Eligible numbers can be automatically upgraded to 1,000 mps. Throughput includes inbound and outbound messages and all message types.
Understand Meta-backed WhatsApp limits and Whats91 guardrails before sending at scale.
Rate Limits
Summary
Review Whats91 and Meta throughput constraints, safe sending patterns, and the operational guardrails that protect WhatsApp send quality.
Prerequisites
- An active sender
- A send workflow that can retry or queue messages safely
Related documentation
Two independent layers apply to every request. Whats91 enforces its own fixed-window platform limits at the edge of the public API, and Meta enforces WhatsApp Business Platform throughput and messaging limits behind it. Whats91 may also fail a request because of account state, billing, blacklist, or sender reconnect state.
Whats91 Platform Limits
Platform limits are fixed windows applied to every /api/v3 request before it reaches a handler. Exceeding a window returns HTTP 429. Limits are counted independently, so a single send consumes both the global budget and the send budgets.
| Limit | Applies to | Default | Counted by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global | Every /api/v3 request | 600 requests / 60 seconds | Client IP |
| Send (IP) | Send routes listed below | 120 requests / 60 seconds | Client IP |
| Send (token) | Send routes listed below | 300 requests / 60 seconds | API token |
| Reports (IP) | /api/v3/reports/* | 240 requests / 60 seconds | Client IP |
Send-classified routes are POST /api/v3/send, POST /api/v3/chat, POST /api/v3/messages, POST /api/v3/{phoneNumberId}/messages, POST /api/v3/orders/send, and POST /api/v3/orders/{orderUid}/send. Report routes are never classified as sends; they are counted against the report limit instead. Every other route is counted against the global limit only.
Note
Platform limit windows are operator-configurable per deployment. Treat the values above as the shipped defaults and always branch on the response status rather than assuming a fixed budget.
Meta WhatsApp Limits
20 mps
Coexistence Numbers
Numbers used with both WhatsApp Business app and Cloud API have fixed throughput of 20 mps.
130429 / 131057
Throughput Errors
Meta can return error code 130429 when current throughput is exceeded. During a throughput upgrade, Meta can return 131057.
1 per 6 sec
Pair Rate Limit
A business phone number is limited to roughly one message every six seconds to the same WhatsApp user, equivalent to about 10/minute or 600/hour. Meta can return 131056.
45 in 6 sec
Pair Burst
Meta allows bursts up to 45 messages in six seconds, then blocks follow-up sends to that same user until the borrowed time passes.
250 -> unlimited
Messaging Limit Tiers
New business portfolios start at 250 unique users and can scale to 2,000, 10,000, 100,000, and unlimited. After reaching 2,000, Meta can scale the portfolio one level within six hours when quality and usage criteria are met.
3x + 1x
Webhook Capacity
Meta recommends webhook servers handle 3x outgoing message traffic as status webhooks plus 1x expected inbound traffic. Meta retries failed webhooks for up to seven days with exponential backoff.
Handling Limit Errors
- Treat HTTP 429 from Whats91 as a platform limit: back off, then resume. It is not a Meta error and carries no Meta error code.
- Queue and retry sends with backoff when Meta returns throughput or pair-rate errors.
- Spread high-volume sends across approved templates, healthy sender numbers, and time windows.
- Watch message quality and messaging limits in Meta/Whats91 dashboards before scheduling campaigns.
- Size webhook infrastructure before high-volume sends because status callbacks can outnumber outgoing requests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What rate limits apply to Whats91 APIs?
Whats91 enforces fixed-window platform limits on every public API request: 600 requests per minute per IP globally, 120 per minute per IP and 300 per minute per token on send routes, and 240 per minute per IP on report routes. Meta separately enforces WhatsApp throughput and quality limits for each sender.
What should I do when sends are throttled?
Treat HTTP 429 as a Whats91 platform limit and Meta codes 130429, 131056, or 131057 as WhatsApp throughput limits. In both cases queue requests, retry with exponential backoff, and monitor delivery reports instead of sending repeated immediate retries.
Do rate limits vary by sender?
Yes. WhatsApp sender quality, account status, and Meta throughput tiers can affect how quickly messages are accepted and delivered.