In detail
Choosing a max price is a trade-off between delivery and cost. Meta says a higher ceiling can increase delivery rates and cost per delivery, and a lower ceiling lowers both. There is no single right number, so Meta's guidance is to start from evidence rather than a guess.
Start with the campaign's goal. Meta describes three strategies. A ceiling equal to its published rate aims to keep delivery similar to today while potentially lowering cost. A ceiling below that rate aims to reach more customer groups at lower cost. A ceiling above it aims to raise delivery during peak periods such as festive sales. Choose per campaign: an always-on newsletter and a Diwali launch need different ceilings. Bear in mind that a lower ceiling and lower customer engagement both reduce delivery.
Check reach estimates. Meta's reach estimation tool forecasts a range of deliveries and a range of costs at several ceilings, per 1,000 people targeted, for the countries you choose, using the last 1, 7, 14 or 28 days of data. Meta says these are planning estimates, not guarantees.
Set the ceiling on the template, ideally when you create it, because that is what Meta's delivery system optimises against. Meta recommends setting the template at the highest price you would accept and scaling individual sends down, which it says gives the system the widest range and generally improves performance.
Test before you scale. Meta suggests four groups of about 10,000 sends each, with a similar audience and time window: no max price, a max price at its published rate, a higher max price (1.5 times that rate, or 1.2 times for India and Saudi Arabia) and a lower one (0.9 times). Compare delivery rate and cost per delivery across the four. With a smaller list, scale the groups down evenly; results will be less reliable.
Ramp up gradually. When a new max-price template starts sending, raise volume slowly, in line with WhatsApp's template pacing, so the system can learn. Review results regularly: Meta calls max price an early-stage feature whose performance may vary.
A higher ceiling does not get around WhatsApp's per-user marketing limits, quality checks or spam protections, so message relevance still matters as much as price. Max price is available in beta through InfiQ, so you can run this test today; InfiQ billing for max-price messages is to be announced.
Key points
- Decide the goal first: match, go below or go above Meta's published rate.
- Compare ceilings with Meta's reach estimates before sending.
- Set the template high, then dial individual sends down.
- Run Meta's four-way test, about 10,000 sends per group.
- Ramp up slowly and review often; it's an early-stage feature.
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