WhatsApp error 130429: Rate limit hit

Code 130429 means you are sending messages faster than your business phone number's throughput allows. Throughput is measured in messages per second and is inclusive of inbound and outbound messages of all types. Every Cloud API number starts at up to 80 messages per second and can be upgraded automatically to as much as 1,000 mps once the portfolio reaches an unlimited messaging limit, messages 100K or more unique users in a 24-hour window, and holds at least a Yellow quality score. Numbers connected through the WhatsApp Business app are fixed at 20 mps.

This is a speed limit, not a volume cap. It says nothing about how many unique customers you may message per day (that is your messaging limit tier), nothing about quality (that is 131048), and nothing about how many times you have hit the same recipient (131056). A burst at 200 mps will trigger 130429 even if your daily volume is tiny.

130429 is synchronous: the request is rejected with HTTP 400, no message ID is issued, and no statuses webhook follows, so the retry schedule is entirely yours. Keep it distinct from the two limits it is mistaken for: the pair rate limit throttles one recipient while 130429 throttles the number as a whole, and the daily messaging tier caps unique recipients per 24 hours while 130429 caps instantaneous speed. Current throughput levels and the automatic upgrade criteria are tabulated in the WhatsApp limits reference. If you send through a BSP, your effective ceiling can be lower than Meta's: providers typically queue and pace on their own side, so a Twilio or 360dialog integration may throttle upstream before Meta ever returns 130429 - check the provider's per-sender rate documentation as well as Meta's.

{
  "error": {
    "message": "(#130429) Rate limit hit",
    "type": "OAuthException",
    "code": 130429,
    "error_data": {
      "messaging_product": "whatsapp",
      "details": "Cloud API message throughput has been reached."
    },
    "fbtrace_id": "AQ9xYz0kLmNoP"
  }
}

Never send straight from a loop. Route every message through a per-number token bucket sized below the documented throughput, and make the limiter shared across processes. Separate inbound handling from outbound dispatch so a surge of customer replies does not starve your campaign, and monitor the 130429 rate as a leading indicator that your pacing needs adjustment.