---
title: How to Limit Purchases by Product Category or Tag
description: Limit how much each customer buys from a WooCommerce category or tag, with one limit shared by all products in the term. Pro.
url: "https://wpfactory.com/docs/limits-by-taxonomy/"
updated: "2026-10-05"
category: Pro Features
tags:
  - Maximum Products per User for WooCommerce
---

# How to Limit Purchases by Product Category or Tag

To limit what each customer buys from a product category or tag, enable **Per product category** or **Per product tag** at **WPFactory > Max Products per User > Limits** in [Maximum Products per User for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/), then set **Limit per user** on the term's edit page. All products in the term share the limit. This is Pro.

![Limits tab in Maximum Products per User showing All Products and Per Product Taxonomy options](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/max-products-per-user-per-product-taxonomy.png)

## Before you start

- [Maximum Products per User](https://wpfactory.com/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/) Pro (these levels are Pro-only).
- The plugin enabled in **General**, where **Mode** decides what the limit counts (quantities by default; orders, prices, weights or volumes are also available) and **Date range** decides the period.

## Step by step

1. Go to **WPFactory > Max Products per User** (also reachable at **WooCommerce > Settings > Maximum Products per User**) and open **Limits**.
2. Under **Per Product Taxonomy**, tick **Per product category**, **Per product tag**, or both. Save changes.
3. Go to **Products > Categories** (or **Products > Tags**) and click **Edit** on an existing term. The fields are on the edit screen, not the Add new form.
4. Enter **Limit per user**, for example `3`.
5. Optional: tick **Block guests** to stop logged-out visitors buying anything in this term (needs **Guests > Block method** set to "According to limit options").
6. Click **Update**.

## Options

| Label | Where | Option ID or meta key | Default | Free/Pro |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Per product category | Limits section | `alg_wc_mppu_product_cat_enabled` | No | Pro |
| Per product tag | Limits section | `alg_wc_mppu_product_tag_enabled` | No | Pro |
| Per product | Limits section | `wpjup_wc_maximum_products_per_user_local_enabled` | No | Pro |
| Limit per user | Category or tag edit page | `_alg_wc_mppu_qty` | 0 (no term limit) | Pro |
| Limit per user: (role) | Term edit page, when General > User roles is on | `_alg_wc_mppu_user_roles_max_qty` | 0 (use Limit per user) | Pro |
| Block guests | Term edit page | `_wpjup_wc_mppu_block_guests` | Off | Pro |
| Customer message for each category and tag | Frontend section | `wpjup_wc_maximum_products_per_term_message` | You can only buy maximum %limit% of %term_name%... | Free |

### What the values mean

- **A positive number** caps the combined amount across all products in the term. With a limit of 3 on "Posters", a customer can buy 3 posters in total, in any mix, within the date range.
- **0** means this term has no limit. Other limits, such as All Products or a per-product limit, still apply.
- **-1** is treated as a limit of zero, so customers cannot buy products from this term. Use it on a role field to shut one role out of a category.

**Tip:** to cap several products together, put them in one category or tag and set the limit on that term instead of on each product.

## What the customer sees

When adding to cart, and again in the cart and checkout, would take the customer over the term limit, WooCommerce shows the **Customer message for each category and tag**, by default "You can only buy maximum 3 of Posters (you've already bought 1)." The cart counts every product in the term, including items already in the cart.

## How the levels combine

- Category and tag limits are checked together with any per-product limit: the customer must stay within both.
- If a product has any category with a limit, tag limits for that product are not checked.
- If a product sits in two limited categories, both limits apply.
- The All Products limit still applies alongside term limits, unless the product has its own per-product limit.

## Combining with formulas

Once Per product or Per taxonomy is enabled, you can also reference `product_id` or `term_id` in the [Formula section](https://wpfactory.com/docs/max-products-per-user-formula-limits/) for more advanced rules, including one shared limit across several terms with `limit_type="grouped"`.

## If it does not work

- **No Limit per user field on the category page:** the Per product category box is not ticked, the Pro version is not active, or you are on the Add new category form instead of Edit.
- **Earlier orders are not counted:** sales are recorded against the terms a product had when it was ordered. After moving products into a category, run **Tools > Recalculate sales data**. See [How to recalculate and reset sales data](https://wpfactory.com/docs/data-recalculation/).
- **Customers are blocked completely:** the term limit is `-1`, or a role field holds `-1`.
- **Guests are not limited:** by default guest sales are not tracked. See [How to handle guest purchase limits](https://wpfactory.com/docs/guest-user-product-limits/).

## FAQ

### Is the limit per product or for the whole category?

For the whole category. Every product in the term counts toward the same limit. Use a per-product limit when each item needs its own cap.

### Can I set different category limits for different user roles?

Yes. Turn on **User roles** in General, and a Limit per user field for each enabled role appears on the term edit page. A role value of 0 falls back to the term's Limit per user.

### Are category limits available in the free version?

No. The free version has the All Products limit. Per category, per tag and per product limits are Pro.

### Ready to set this up?

Per-category, per-tag and per-product limits are Pro features of [Maximum Products per User](https://wpfactory.com/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/). [Get Maximum Products per User Pro](https://wpfactory.com/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/).

Need a hand? Our team answers every ticket on the [Maximum Products per User support forum](https://wpfactory.com/support/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/).

Related articles

- [Product Purchase Limit Shortcodes](https://wpfactory.com/docs/product-purchase-limit-shortcodes/)
- [How to Set Product-Specific Purchase Limits](https://wpfactory.com/docs/setting-product-specific-limits/)
- [How to Set Up Product Purchase Limits in WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/docs/manage-product-limits/)
- [Customers Are Blocked Before Reaching the Purchase Limit](https://wpfactory.com/docs/max-products-blocked-before-limit/)
- [Customers Can Buy More Than the Purchase Limit](https://wpfactory.com/docs/max-products-customers-exceed-limit/)

 

[![Maximum Products per User for WooCommerce](https://wpfactory.com/wp-content/uploads/Maximum-Products-per-User-for-WooCommerce.webp)](https://wpfactory.com/item/maximum-products-per-user-for-woocommerce/)