# Template pacing

Template pacing is a WhatsApp mechanism that holds part of a template send until the first recipients have reacted. If the early feedback is good, the rest is delivered; if it is bad, the template is paused and the held messages are dropped.

Source: https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/template-pacing  
Last updated: 2026-10-08

Pacing applies to marketing and utility templates. According to Meta's documentation, newly created templates, templates that were paused and unpaused, and templates without a high quality rating can be paced. Messages go out normally until an unspecified threshold, then the following ones are held while Meta collects feedback.

If the feedback is positive, the held messages are released and the send reaches the full audience. If it is negative, the template status becomes paused and each held message is dropped, with error code 132015 in the API. Meta states that its goal is for paced campaigns to be delivered within an hour.

Pacing rewards the same habits as every other quality mechanism on the platform: a clean, opted-in list, a strong first line, and relevant targeting, so the first wave of recipients votes in the campaign's favor.

## Go deeper: articles

- [WhatsApp Business Templates: 25 Examples + Meta Rules (2026)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-business-templates): 25 WhatsApp Business template examples for online stores (order update, abandoned cart, back in stock), Meta's 3 categories, review time and costs.
- [WhatsApp Broadcast: Lists, Limits and 6 Message Samples](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-broadcast-guide): WhatsApp broadcast lists hold 256 contacts, and some countries now cap the app at 35 free broadcasts a month. 6 message samples and how stores go past it.
- [WhatsApp Quality Rating: How Meta Scores Your Number (2026)](https://getkanal.com/blog/whatsapp-business-quality-rating-explained): How Meta rates your WhatsApp Business number Green, Yellow or Red from 7 days of customer feedback, what a low rating changes, and how to recover it.

## Related terms

- [Frequency capping](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/frequency-capping)
- [Marketing template](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/marketing-template)
- [Quality rating](https://getkanal.com/whatsapp-marketing-glossary/quality-rating)