WhatsApp Character Limits: Messages, Templates, Captions and Buttons

On the WhatsApp Business Platform, a text message can be up to 4,096 characters, an image caption up to 1,024, and a template body up to 1,024, with 60 characters each for a template’s text header and footer and 25 for most button labels. Lists, reply buttons and profile fields have limits of their own, all in the table below.

Two things people search for aren’t published anywhere official: a character limit for messages typed in the regular WhatsApp app, and how many characters show before “Read more”. We explain what to do instead. Every number here comes from Meta’s developer documentation.

Every WhatsApp character limit in one table

These are the limits for messages sent through the WhatsApp Business Platform (Cloud API), which is what WhatsApp API providers, including Automate AI, use:

All of these are set in characters, so check the count after variables are filled in, not just the wording you typed.

Text messages and captions

A free-form text message sent through the API can be up to 4,096 characters. You can send these inside the 24-hour customer service window, after the customer messages you. WhatsApp turns URLs in the text into links automatically.

With an image, the text goes in the caption, which is limited to 1,024 characters. That’s the answer to “WhatsApp character limit with image”: if your text is longer, send the image with a short caption and follow it with a separate text message.

Meta’s docs give these limits for the API. The regular WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business apps don’t publish a per-message limit, so be wary of exact numbers you see elsewhere.

Template limits, part by part

Templates are the messages you send to start a conversation or to reach someone after the 24-hour window. Each part has its own limit, and the body is where most of your words go:

• Text header: up to 60 characters, one text header per template, and one variable. Meta says not to use Markdown special characters here.
• Body: up to 1,024 characters, and supports multiple variables. Check the length with real values filled in, and leave room for long names or order numbers.
• Footer: up to 60 characters. A good place for “Reply STOP to opt out” on marketing templates.
• Buttons: up to 10 in total, with labels of up to 25 characters, except 20 for a WhatsApp voice call button. A website button’s URL can be up to 2,000 characters and a phone button’s number up to 20.

Categories, approval and the rules on button combinations are in our guide to WhatsApp templates.

Interactive messages: reply buttons and lists

Interactive messages are free-form, so they work inside the 24-hour window, and they have tighter limits than templates:

The labels are the limit that bites. “Book an appointment” fits in 20 characters; “Book an appointment now” doesn’t. Short verbs work best: Book, Track order, Talk to us. More on when to use each in WhatsApp buttons and lists.

Profile and name limits

Your business profile is set through WhatsApp Manager or the API. Meta’s Business Profile API gives these limits:

Meta’s display name page doesn’t set a character limit for the name itself; it sets rules about the name matching your business. See WhatsApp display name rules and how to set up your WhatsApp Business profile.

“Read more” and the word limit

Long messages are folded behind Read more on the customer’s phone. WhatsApp doesn’t publish where that cut-off falls, and it can depend on the screen, so don’t write to a number you’ve seen quoted online. Write so the fold doesn’t matter:

1. Put the point in the first line: “Your order #4521 ships today” beats “Hi! We have some exciting news about your order.”
2. Keep the call to action high, or put it in a button, which always shows.
3. Use line breaks and short paragraphs so the first screen reads well. Formatting tips are in WhatsApp text formatting.
4. Send a test to your own phone and look at it before a campaign goes out.

As for a word limit: there isn’t one. Every limit Meta publishes is in characters, so a message full of long words reaches it sooner than one with short words. Paste your text into any character counter, or watch the counter in your template builder, rather than counting words.

Write to fit: a quick checklist

• Header: a few words that name the subject, within 60 characters.
• Body: 2 to 5 short lines for most messages, well under 1,024 once variables are filled in.
• Footer: one line, such as your business name or “Reply STOP to opt out”.
• Buttons: short verbs, within 20 characters so the same wording also fits reply buttons.
• Images: the key line in the caption, the detail in a follow-up message if needed.

Shorter isn’t just about the limit. Meta reviews templates, and it lists too many variables for the message length as a rejection reason.

Character limits in Automate AI

Automate AI’s template builder enforces these limits as you type, so you find out before Meta does:

• Body: a counter shows how many of the 1,024 characters you’ve used.
• Header and footer: capped at 60 characters each.
• Button text: capped at 20 characters, a little under Meta’s 25 for templates, which is also the limit for reply buttons.

You see a live preview of the message as the customer will see it, then submit it for review from Campaigns › Templates. Once it’s approved, send it to your audience in Automate AI campaigns.