A company messaging tens of thousands of customers needs the WhatsApp Business Platform, opt-in records and tracking. This guide is for the marketing and CRM leads who own that decision.
The short answer: use the app for a few hundred regulars; use the WhatsApp Business Platform once broadcasts become a revenue channel. This guide covers the difference, the PDPA duties that come with direct marketing, and how to prove a broadcast made money.
Two different tools share the word "broadcast"
In the WhatsApp Business app, a broadcast list sends one message to many contacts, and each person receives it as a normal one-to-one chat. It is free and quick, which is why most shops start there.
In the WhatsApp Business app a broadcast list can hold up to 256 contacts, and only contacts who have saved your number in their phone receive it.
On the WhatsApp Business Platform (the API), the equivalent is a marketing template message. The template is approved by Meta before use, it can go to any customer who has opted in, and every send reports delivery and reads. Sending runs through a Business Solution Provider or a direct Cloud API integration rather than a phone.
| Question | Business app broadcast list | Business Platform marketing template |
|---|---|---|
| Who receives it | Contacts on the list who saved your number | Customers who opted in to your messages |
| Scale | One phone, small lists | Many agents and numbers, large audiences |
| Approval | None | Template approved by Meta |
| Reporting | Read ticks per chat | Delivery, read and click reporting per send |
| Cost | Free | Charged by Meta per message (see below) |
When a broadcast list stops working for a company
The app breaks down in four places at once. Lists live on one phone, so a sales team cannot share them. Opt-ins are not recorded anywhere a compliance team can check. Nobody can tell which broadcast produced which order. And a customer who replies lands in one person's inbox instead of a queue.
If any of those matter, the broadcast is already a marketing channel and should be run like one.
What marketing messages on the Platform cost
Since July 2025 Meta charges for Business Platform marketing messages per delivered message, rather than per 24-hour conversation. Rates differ by the recipient's country and by message category (marketing, utility, authentication), so budget from Meta's current rate card rather than a vendor's bundle price.
Our WhatsApp API pricing calculator works out the Meta charge for a given volume; provider platform fees are separate and vary by vendor.
PDPA: consent, records and the right to stop
A promotional WhatsApp to a customer is direct marketing, and the Personal Data Protection Act 2010 applies to the personal data used to send it. The Act gives every individual the right to require you to stop processing their personal data for direct marketing (section 43), and you must comply.
In practice that means three things. Record how and when each number opted in. Put a clear way to stop in every marketing message and honour it quickly across every sending system. Keep marketing lists separate from service contacts so an opt-out from promotions does not cut off order updates. Our PDPA guide for Malaysian businesses covers the wider obligations.
How to measure sales from a broadcast
A broadcast is only worth scaling if you can see what it sold. Give each send its own tracked link or offer code, tag replies by campaign in the inbox, and match orders back to the send.
For campaigns that start from a click-to-WhatsApp ad, see tracking WhatsApp clicks from Meta Ads and offline conversion imports for WhatsApp leads, which send closed sales back to the ad platform.
How we set it up for sales and service teams
For companies with several agents, outlets or brands, the work is less about the message and more about what happens after it lands:
- Numbers and templates. One or more Platform numbers, with marketing, utility and service templates approved up front.
- Segments. Audiences built from CRM data (purchase history, location, last contact) instead of one master list.
- Routing. Replies go to the right team or outlet, with automated answers for common questions.
- CRM sync. Opt-ins, opt-outs, replies and orders written back to the customer record.
- Reporting. Revenue per send, opt-out rate and reply rate, reviewed each month.
See the WhatsApp automation service for how we scope and run it, and CRM with WhatsApp for the CRM side.
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Published by shakalakaa team · Editorial standards