WhatsApp group, broadcast list, channel or API broadcast: who reaches whom, at what cost, and which one gets your number banned
The four compared item by item: who each reaches, the limit, replies, knowing who read, cost, ban risk and what each suits — and one rule that shortens the table for a business.
The ArabyBot teamOfficial Meta partner · written from our own platform dataThe short answer
No customers in a group: it exposes their numbers to each other and every member reaches everyone. An app broadcast list reaches only those who saved your number, up to 256, manually. A channel is one-way publishing to followers, with no replies and no knowledge of who read. An API broadcast reaches everyone who opted in, saved or not, by name, with a sent-delivered-read report, and with a reply that opens a conversation the agent continues — at the price of one marketing template per recipient. The rule: what you publish to everyone goes in a channel, what you sell to those who opted in goes in an API broadcast, what you discuss with a customer goes in a chat.
Also asked as: «قروب واتساب ولا قائمة بث للزباين» · «ايه الفرق بين البث والقناة في الواتساب» · «شو الفرق بين الجروب والبث» · «broadcast list limit in whatsapp»
The four side by side
| Item | Group | App broadcast list | Channel | API broadcast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reaches | Members — who see each other | Only those who saved you | Whoever follows | Everyone who opted in, saved or not |
| Limit | 1,024 members | 256 per list | No limit | The number's daily limit, rising |
| Replies | In the group, before everyone | A private chat | None | A private chat the agent continues |
| Knows who read | Yes | Yes | No | Yes — sent / delivered / read |
| Cost | Zero | Zero | Zero | A marketing template at Meta's rate per recipient |
| Ban risk | High if people are added without consent | High with repetition from a regular number | Low | Low if sent to those who opted in |
| Suits | A set of people who know each other | Dozens of customers from one phone | Content and public announcements | Offers and reminders to an opted-in list |
What you publish to everyone goes in a channel. What you sell to those who opted in goes in an API broadcast. What you discuss with a customer goes in a chat. And no customers in a group. Status for the daily and the quick.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just put my customers in a WhatsApp group?
Because a group exposes customers' numbers to each other, anyone who writes reaches everyone, and leaving is public. It suits a set of people who know each other (a class, a team, a club), not a store's customers. Whoever is added without consent reports — and reports lower the number's rating.
Who does an app broadcast list reach?
Only people who saved your number, up to 256 recipients per list, sent manually from the app. Whoever did not save you gets nothing and you never know. Repeating it from a regular number is the usual road to a ban.
And a channel?
One-way publishing to whoever chose to follow, with no replies inside the channel and no knowledge of who read. It suits public announcements and content, not a targeted offer and not customer service. Whoever wants to buy leaves it for a chat.
When is an API broadcast worth its price?
When you want to reach those who opted in but never saved you, by name, with a delivered-and-read report, and with a reply that opens a conversation the agent continues. Its price is one marketing template per recipient at Meta's rate for their country — for the season offer and the reminder, not the daily message. Broadcasting without a ban.
Can I combine them?
Yes, and it is the best setup: the channel for free daily content, Status for the quick things, an API broadcast for the month's offer to those who opted in, and the one-to-one chat — agent and team — for selling and service. And no customer group.
How we write these guides Figures come from our platform and Meta's actual invoices, dated with their sample; we describe what works today, not what we plan, and say what we do not do and when someone else is the better choice. Reviewed by the ArabyBot team on 23 September 2026.
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