What are category-level limits?
Category-level limits let you set purchase restrictions for entire product categories. For example, you can limit the number of items a customer can purchase from a “Promo” category, regardless of the specific products chosen.
This feature is useful when you want to manage bulk offers, promotions, or grouped product rules in WooCommerce.
How to Configure
Step 1: Navigate to Category Settings
- Go to Products > Categories
- Hover over the category you want to configure
- Click Edit
Step 2: Configure Category Limits
Scroll down to find two distinct options:
1. Product Limits (Per-Product)
These limits apply to each individual product in the category.
Available options:
- Minimum Quantity – Each product must be purchased with at least this quantity
- Maximum Quantity – Each product cannot exceed this quantity
- Minimum Total – Minimum spend required per product
- Maximum Total – Maximum spend allowed per product
- Quantity Step – Each product’s quantity must be a multiple of this value (e.g., 2, 4, 6)
2. Category Limits (Whole Category)
These limits apply to the category as a whole (total across all products).
Available options:
- Minimum Category Quantity – Minimum total quantity from this category
- Maximum Category Quantity – Maximum total quantity from this category
- Minimum Category Total – Minimum combined purchase amount from this category
- Maximum Category Total – Maximum combined purchase amount from this category
- Minimum Products – Minimum number of different products required from this category
- Maximum Products – Maximum number of different products allowed from this category
Step 3: Save Changes
Click Update to save your category settings.
Example scenario:
Category: Flash Sale
Product Limits:
- Maximum Quantity: 5
Category Limits:
- Maximum Quantity: 15
- Maximum Products: 4
Result:
- Customer can buy maximum 5 of any single product from this category
- Customer can buy maximum 15 items total from this category
- Customer can buy maximum 4 different products from this category
Valid purchase:
5 Product A + 5 Product B + 5 Product C = 15 items, 3 products ✔
Invalid purchase:
5 Product A + 5 Product B + 5 Product C + 5 Product D = 20 items ✖ (exceeds 15 total)
Next Step
Now that you’ve set up a category rule, you can move on to Individual Product Variation-Level Limits to control individual variations, such as size or color, within a product.