How much can I send

Real sending limits per number, why inbound-first has no ramp, and how to size a campaign before you promise a client anything.

The short answer

One warmed number safely handles 50 to 100 new cold contacts per day. Before it is warmed, treat 40 per day as the ceiling. This is a channel limit, not a Beam limit, and no amount of budget removes it.

Inbound-first has no ramp limit

Everything above describes you messaging them first. When the contact texts you first, the ramp does not apply. There is no warm-up ceiling on answering someone who reached out, and a contact who started the conversation cannot report it the way they can report an unsolicited message.

This is why the strongest plays put the first message in the lead's hands: a form that opens their Messages app, a QR code, an ad call-to-action, or a missed-call text-back. See Getting leads to text first.

Reply rate is the health metric

Keep replies above roughly 70%. A list that does not reply is a list that is about to cost you a number. A couple of spam reports will undo weeks of ramp, so slow down the moment reply rate slips rather than pushing through it.

How many numbers a client needs

For text-message sending specifically, run two or three lines for any meaningful volume and keep one line in reserve. A new sender with an untested list often discovers the hard way that the list is worse than they thought, and a reserve line means that discovery does not take the campaign down with it.

Before you promise a client a timeline

1. Ask whether the play is inbound-first or cold outbound. Recommend inbound-first.
2. If cold, do the sizing math above and put it in writing before signing.
3. Screen the list so you know the blue-versus-text split.
4. Request lines with lead time. Provisioning timing and specific area-code availability are confirmed by the operator, not guaranteed.
5. Start at 40 per day per line and climb only while reply rate holds.