Set a max price for marketing messages (BETA)

Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Amidst the introduction of the max price feature on the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp, there is no change to how Meta charges on the WhatsApp Business Platform. Meta continues to charge on a per-message basis, as outlined in WhatsApp pricing.

The max price feature is available in Limited Beta as of May 15 and will be optional throughout 2026. Meta plans to make max price generally available — and required — in Q2 2027.

Action required: bid_spec is being replaced by optimization_spec. As of June 18, 2026, set the max price using the new optimization_spec object. The bid_amount and bid_strategy fields are unchanged — only the enclosing object name changes. Both bid_spec and optimization_spec are accepted until July 31, 2026, after which bid_spec is no longer supported. Update your create, retrieve, and update calls before July 31, 2026.

What is a max price?

In 2026, Meta is introducing new pricing features on the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp to enable businesses to control and optimize spend for their marketing messaging campaigns.

The first pricing feature allows you to set a maximum price (max price) per marketing message delivery; when a max price is set, Meta will charge that max price or lower for delivery. Businesses can choose to set a max price the same as, lower than, or higher than the published rate to achieve their objectives per campaign.

Lower costs while maintaining delivery rates similar to current WhatsApp campaigns, by setting max prices the same as published rates.
Reach more customer cohorts on WhatsApp at lower cost, by setting max prices lower than published rates.
Increase delivery rates during periods such as holidays and peak sales periods, by setting max prices higher than published rates.

The second pricing feature is the reach estimation tool, which helps businesses set the right max price by helping them understand estimated delivery rates and costs at different max prices.

Max price explainer

The max price feature allows you to set the maximum price you are willing to pay per message delivery. Meta charges your max price or lower. In the API, you express this as a bid_amount value per 1,000 deliveries within the optimization_spec object.

Max price explainer PDF⁠

Phased roll-out of the max price feature

The max price feature rolls out in three phases:

Limited Beta starting May 15, 2026 -- Any partner and any directly integrated business can integrate and use the max price feature and reach estimation tool. Each partner can enable these features for a limited number of clients.
Open Beta starting October 2026 -- Any partner can enable these features for all their clients.
General Availability (GA) as of Q2 2027 -- The max price feature will become required in eligible geographies and fixed, published rates for marketing messages will only apply on the Cloud API.

Before you begin

To use the max price feature, you must:

Have an active WhatsApp Business account that has been onboarded to the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp.
Be in a country eligible for MM API for WhatsApp.

Recommendations

Max price is an early-stage feature; performance may vary as Meta's systems learn and improve.

Set your max price at the template level. The bid_amount in optimization_spec is what Meta's delivery system optimizes against. Setting the right max price when you create the template gives the system the best signal for delivery optimization.
Use per_message_bid_multiplier for individual message adjustments only. The per_message_bid_multiplier scales the template's bid_amount up or down for individual messages, but the delivery system generally gives better performance optimizing based on the original template-level bid_amount for bulk changes.
For example, if you set a template's bid_amount to 50,000 and then apply a multiplier of 2.0 on every single message, delivery performance might differ from setting the template's bid_amount to 100,000 directly — even though the effective max price is the same. For best results, set the bid at the template level and update the template's optimization_spec as needed rather than changing the message level multiplier as a workaround for such cases.
Ramp up traffic gradually. When sending messages with a new max price template for the first time, increase volume slowly before sending at scale. This aligns with Template pacing best practices and helps the delivery system optimize effectively.
Start with A/B tests. This helps you assess the impact of different bidding rates on your delivery rates and cost per delivery. Run a four-arm test (10,000 send requests per arm) with a similar audience and time window, with the following conditions:
- Arm A: No max price set
- Arm B: Max price set at rate card
- Arm C: Max price set at 1.5x rate card (1.2x for India and Saudi Arabia)
- Arm D: Max price set at 0.9x rate card

Create templates with max price

Use the Message Templates API to set a maximum price and include the optimization_spec object in the request body.

optimization_spec replaces bid_spec as of June 18, 2026. bid_spec continues to be accepted until July 31, 2026, after which it is no longer supported. The bid_amount and bid_strategy fields are identical in both objects.

Request syntax

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>/message_templates' \  
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>' \  
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \  
  -d '  
  {  
    "name": "seasonal_sale_promo",  
    "category": "MARKETING",  
    "language": "en",  
    "components": [  
      {  
        "type": "BODY",  
        "text": "Shop our seasonal sale! Up to 50% off selected items."  
      }  
    ],  
    "optimization_spec": {  
      "bid_amount": <BID_AMOUNT>,  
      "bid_strategy": "LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP"  
    }  
}'

If optimization_spec is not included, the template uses standard rate card pricing.

Request parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
`<ACCESS_TOKEN>` String	Required. System token or business token.	`EAAA...`
`<API_VERSION>` String	Optional. Graph API version.	v25.0
`<WABA_ID>`String	Required. WhatsApp Business Account ID.	`102290129340398`
`<BID_AMOUNT>` int32	Required. Maximum price per 1,000 message deliveries, expressed in your WABA currency's smallest unit (cents for USD, paise for INR, peso for MXN). See supported currencies for a list of currencies.	`87000`
`<BID_STRATEGY>` Enum	Required. The bid strategy to use. Currently supports only `LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP`.	`LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP`

Calculating max price amounts

The bid_amount represents your max price per 1,000 deliveries in your WABA currency's smallest unit. To convert from your desired per-delivery price:

Convert your desired per-delivery price to your WABA currency's smallest unit
Multiply by 1,000 to express the value per 1,000 deliveries

Example: To set a max price of ₹0.87 per delivery:

Convert to paise: 0.87 Rupees = 87 paise
Multiply by 1,000: 87 x 1,000 = 87,000

Set bid_amount to 87000.

Example: To set a max price of $0.05 USD per delivery:

Convert to cents: $0.05 = 5 cents
Multiply by 1,000: 5 x 1,000 = 5,000

Set bid_amount to 5000.

Retrieve max price information

Use the Template API to get the max price setting on an existing template by querying the optimization_spec field.

Query optimization_spec as of June 18, 2026. Querying bid_spec continues to return the max price configuration until July 31, 2026, after which only optimization_spec is supported.

Request syntax

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<TEMPLATE_ID>/?fields=optimization_spec' \  
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>'

Request parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
`<ACCESS_TOKEN>` String	Required. System token or business token.	`EAAA...`
`<API_VERSION>` String	Optional. Graph API version.	v25.0
`<TEMPLATE_ID>` String	Required. ID of the WhatsApp message template.	`1733678867511493`

Example response

{  
  "optimization_spec": {  
    "bid_strategy": "LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP",  
    "bid_amount": 87000  
  },  
  "id": "1733678867511493"  
}

Update max price for templates

Use the Template API to update the max price setting on an existing template.

You can update the optimization_spec on templates that were originally created with a max price. The same parameters apply.

You cannot add optimization_spec to an existing template that was created without it. You must create a new template with optimization_spec included.

Send updates using optimization_spec as of June 18, 2026. Updates sent with bid_spec continue to be accepted until July 31, 2026, after which only optimization_spec is supported.

Other constraints follow the standard template editing limits:

Approved templates: Up to 100 edits per hour, 2,400 per day. Content edits still follow the existing limit of 1 per day and 10 per 30 days.
Rejected or paused templates: Unlimited edits

Request syntax

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<TEMPLATE_ID>/' \  
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>' \  
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \  
  -d '{  
  "optimization_spec": {  
    "bid_strategy": "LOWEST_COST_WITH_BID_CAP",  
    "bid_amount": <BID_AMOUNT>  
  }  
}'

Request parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
`<ACCESS_TOKEN>` String	Required. System token or business token.	`EAAA...`
`<API_VERSION>` String	Optional. Graph API version.	v25.0
`<TEMPLATE_ID>` String	Required. ID of the WhatsApp message template. The template must have been originally created with `optimization_spec`.	`1733678867511493`
`<BID_AMOUNT>` int32	Required. Updated maximum price per 1,000 message deliveries, expressed in your WABA currency's smallest unit.	`4000`

Adjust max price when sending messages

The message-level max price multiplier is subject to change during the beta period.

Use the Marketing Messages API to apply a multiplier at sending time to adjust the template-level max price for individual messages. This allows you to adjust the max price for individual messages without editing the template.

Request syntax

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID>/marketing_messages' \  
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>' \  
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \  
  -d '{  
  "recipient_type": "individual",  
  "messaging_product": "whatsapp",  
  "to": "<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER>",  
  "type": "template",  
  "template": {  
    "name": "seasonal_sale_promo",  
    "language": {  
      "code": "en"  
    }  
  },  
  "bid_spec": {  
    "per_message_bid_multiplier": "<PER_MESSAGE_BID_MULTIPLIER>"  
  }  
}'

In this example, the multiplier of 1.5 increases the template's bid_amount by 50%. If the template's bid_amount is 2000, the effective max price for this message becomes 3000.

Request parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
`<ACCESS_TOKEN>` String	Required. System token or business token.	`EAAA...`
`<API_VERSION>` String	Optional. Graph API version.	v25.0
`<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_PHONE_NUMBER_ID>` String	Required. WhatsApp business phone number ID.	`106540352242922`
`<WHATSAPP_USER_PHONE_NUMBER>` String	Required. WhatsApp user phone number.	`+16505551234`
`<PER_MESSAGE_BID_MULTIPLIER>` Float	Optional. Default: `1` A positive multiplier applied to the template's `bid_amount`. For example, `1.5` increases the max price by 50%, `0.5` decreases it by 50%, and `1` (default) uses the template's max price amount unchanged.	`1.5`

Estimate reach and costs

The Reach estimation helps you understand your expected deliveries and costs at different max price levels.

Request syntax

Use the WhatsApp Business Account API to get the estimated delivery ranges and cost ranges at various max price amounts.

Meta generates estimates from historical data, and they are for informational and planning purposes only. They do not guarantee future delivery outcomes, costs, or performance. Actual results may differ due to changes in platform conditions or other variables.

The targeting_spec value must be serialized JSON. For example:

curl 'https://graph.facebook.com/<API_VERSION>/<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>/reachestimate?targeting_spec={"geo_locations":{"countries":["IN"]}}&date_interval=<DATE_INTERVAL>' \  
  -H 'Authorization: Bearer <ACCESS_TOKEN>'

Request parameters

Placeholder	Description	Example Value
`<ACCESS_TOKEN>` String	Required. System token or business token.	`EAAA...`
`<API_VERSION>` String	Optional. Graph API version.	v25.0
`<WABA_ID>`String	Required. WhatsApp Business Account ID.	`102290129340398`
`<DATE_INTERVAL>` Enum	Required. Lookback period for the historical data used to generate estimates. One of: `L1D` (last 1 day), `L7D` (last 7 days), `L14D` (last 14 days), `L28D` (last 28 days).	`L7D`
`<TARGETING_SPEC>` JSON	Required. Serialized JSON specifying geographic targeting. Must include `geo_locations` with a `countries` array.	`{"geo_locations":{"countries":["IN"]}}`

Example response

{  
  "waba_currency": "USD",  
  "estimates": [  
    {  
      "bid_amount": 400,  
      "users": 1000,  
      "deliveries_lower_bound": 500,  
      "deliveries_upper_bound": 570,  
      "cost_lower_bound": 389.74,  
      "cost_upper_bound": 390.74  
    },  
    {  
      "bid_amount": 520,  
      "users": 1000,  
      "deliveries_lower_bound": 600,  
      "deliveries_upper_bound": 650,  
      "cost_lower_bound": 400.74,  
      "cost_upper_bound": 510.74  
    }  
  ]  
}

The response contains multiple estimates entries at different max price amounts, allowing you to compare expected delivery volumes and costs across price points.

Response fields

Field	Description
`waba_currency`	The currency of your WhatsApp Business account.
`bid_amount`	Max price per 1,000 message deliveries, in the WABA currency's smallest unit.
`users`	Targeted user count. Fixed at 1,000 during beta.
`deliveries_lower_bound`	Lower bound of the estimated delivery range for this max price amount.
`deliveries_upper_bound`	Upper bound of the estimated delivery range for this max price amount.
`cost_lower_bound`	Lower bound of the estimated average cost per 1,000 deliveries, in the WABA currency's smallest unit.
`cost_upper_bound`	Upper bound of the estimated average cost per 1,000 deliveries, in the WABA currency's smallest unit.

Metrics and billing

Messages sent with or without the max price feature use the same Marketing Lite product type (SKU) for billing purposes.

Marketing messages sent with max price appear in analytics with the following identifiers:

Pricing Analytics/<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>?fields=pricing_analytics: pricing_category = MARKETING_LITE
Template Analytics/<WHATSAPP_BUSINESS_ACCOUNT_ID>?fields=template_analytics: product_type = MARKETING_MESSAGES_LITE_API

Webhooks use lowercase marketing_lite for pricing.category, while analytics APIs use uppercase MARKETING_LITE for pricing_category. When max price is enabled, the delivered and read status webhooks also include a cost object with the estimated charge for the message.

Delivered/read webhook example (with max price)

"pricing": {  
  "billable": true,  
  "pricing_model": "PMP",  
  "category": "marketing_lite",  
  "type": "regular",  
  "cost": {  
    "amount": 0.035,  
    "currency": "USD"  
  }  
}

Webhook cost fields

Field	Type	Description
`amount`	Float	Cost of the delivered or read message. Appears on `delivered` and `read` events. The unit is the currency base unit (dollar for USD, rupee for INR), consistent with the analytics API `cost` field.
`currency`	String	WABA-supported currency in ISO format.

The price reported in the delivered/read webhook may differ from the final charge on your invoice due to small variations in data processing (same as Analytics API). Your billing invoice is the source of truth for final pricing.

Pricing analytics response example

{  
  "pricing_analytics": {  
    "data": [  
      {  
        "data_points": [  
          {  
            "start": 1748761200,  
            "end": 1748847600,  
            "country": "IN",  
            "pricing_type": "REGULAR",  
            "pricing_category": "MARKETING_LITE",  
            "volume": 1,  
            "cost": 10  
          }  
        ]  
      }  
    ]  
  }  
}

Template analytics response example

{  
  "data": [  
    {  
      "granularity": "DAILY",  
      "product_type": "MARKETING_MESSAGES_LITE_API",  
      "data_points": [  
        {  
          "template_id": "1421988012088524",  
          "start": 1718064000,  
          "end": 1718150400,  
          "sent": 1,  
          "delivered": 1,  
          "read": 1,  
          "cost": [  
            {  
              "type": "amount_spent",  
              "value": 0.01  
            },  
            {  
              "type": "cost_per_delivered",  
              "value": 0.01  
            }  
          ]  
        }  
      ]  
    }  
  ]  
}

For more details on metrics, see Viewing metrics.

Error codes

Code	Message	Possible reasons and solutions
131061	Marketing templates containing bid_spec are not supported by the Cloud API. To use templates with bid_spec, please use the Marketing Messages API for WhatsApp.	You are sending a template that has a max price set (`optimization_spec`, or `bid_spec` before its July 31, 2026 deprecation) to the Cloud API `/messages` endpoint. Send to the `/marketing_messages` endpoint instead.
100	You need to sign the testing legal agreement before sending out messages.	You have not signed the testing legal agreement. Please sign the agreement to gain access to this feature.

For a full list of error codes, see Error codes.

Upi Intent

message_template_status_update webhook reference

Set a max price for marketing messages (BETA) ​

What is a max price? ​

Max price explainer ​

Phased roll-out of the max price feature ​

Before you begin ​

Recommendations ​

Create templates with max price ​

Request syntax ​

Request parameters ​

Calculating max price amounts ​

Retrieve max price information ​

Request syntax ​

Request parameters ​

Example response ​

Update max price for templates ​

Request syntax ​

Request parameters ​

Adjust max price when sending messages ​

Request syntax ​

Request parameters ​

Estimate reach and costs ​

Request syntax ​

Request parameters ​

Example response ​

Response fields ​

Metrics and billing ​

Delivered/read webhook example (with max price) ​

Webhook cost fields ​

Pricing analytics response example ​

Template analytics response example ​

Error codes ​

Set a max price for marketing messages (BETA)

What is a max price?

Max price explainer

Phased roll-out of the max price feature

Before you begin

Recommendations

Create templates with max price

Request syntax

Request parameters

Calculating max price amounts

Retrieve max price information

Request syntax

Request parameters

Example response

Update max price for templates

Request syntax

Request parameters

Adjust max price when sending messages

Request syntax

Request parameters

Estimate reach and costs

Request syntax

Request parameters

Example response

Response fields

Metrics and billing

Delivered/read webhook example (with max price)

Webhook cost fields

Pricing analytics response example

Template analytics response example

Error codes