WooCommerce Limit Quantity Per Product: Control Purchases Efficiently

Ecommerce Feb 10, 2025 13 Add to Reading List

Introduction

Managing product sales effectively is crucial for running a WooCommerce store. Sometimes, store owners need to limit the quantity of a product a customer can purchase to prevent stock depletion, control bulk purchases, or comply with specific business policies.

The WooCommerce Limit Quantity Per Product feature helps store owners set minimum and maximum purchase limits on individual products. This functionality ensures fair distribution, prevents abuse, and enhances inventory management.

In this article, we’ll explore how to limit quantity per product in WooCommerce, its benefits, and the best plugins to use.

Why Limit Product Quantity in WooCommerce?

1. Prevent Stock Shortages

If a product has limited stock, setting a maximum purchase limit ensures multiple customers can buy it instead of one person buying out the entire inventory.

2. Control Bulk Purchases

Certain stores may want to restrict wholesale buyers from purchasing large quantities of a specific product meant for retail customers.

3. Implement Business Policies

Some businesses, especially in subscription-based models, need to restrict how much a customer can buy within a given timeframe.

4. Improve Customer Satisfaction

When stock is limited, allowing only a few purchases per customer ensures fair access to all customers instead of a few grabbing all the stock.

5. Encourage Bulk Purchases

On the flip side, setting a minimum quantity limit can push customers to purchase in bulk, which is useful for wholesale and B2B stores.

How to Set Quantity Limits Per Product in WooCommerce

WooCommerce does not have built-in settings to limit product quantity per customer. However, you can achieve this using:

Custom code (for advanced users)
WooCommerce plugins (easier and recommended)

Let’s go through both methods.

Method 1: Limit Quantity Using Custom Code

For those comfortable with editing theme files, you can add the following snippet to your functions.php file:

php

function limit_product_purchase_quantity($cart_item_data, $product_id) {
    $max_quantity = 5; // Set maximum quantity limit

    if (isset(WC()->cart)) {
        $cart_items = WC()->cart->get_cart();

        foreach ($cart_items as $cart_item) {
            if ($cart_item['product_id'] == $product_id) {
                $current_quantity = $cart_item['quantity'];

                if ($current_quantity >= $max_quantity) {
                    wc_add_notice('You can only purchase a maximum of ' . $max_quantity . ' units of this product.', 'error');
                    return false;
                }
            }
        }
    }

    return $cart_item_data;
}
add_filter('woocommerce_add_cart_item_data', 'limit_product_purchase_quantity', 10, 2);

How This Code Works:

It sets a maximum quantity of 5 per product.
If a customer tries to add more than 5 units, an error message appears.

However, this method requires manual updates for different products. If you want an easier, more flexible solution, using a plugin is a better option.

Method 2: Using WooCommerce Plugins to Limit Quantity Per Product

Several plugins allow you to set minimum and maximum quantity restrictions without coding. Here are some of the best ones:

1. WooCommerce Min/Max Quantities Plugin (by WooCommerce)

Set minimum and maximum purchase limits per product.
Restrict quantity at the cart or checkout level.
Works with simple and variable products.
Price: $29 per year

2. WooCommerce Quantity Manager

Set global or per-product quantity limits.
Restrict quantity based on user roles.
Works with subscriptions and wholesale stores.
Price: $49 per year

3. WPC Product Quantity Restrictions for WooCommerce

Set different quantity rules for categories or user roles.
Apply step-based restrictions (e.g., buy in multiples of 3).
Supports custom messages when limits are exceeded.
Free & Premium versions available.

Step-by-Step Guide: Set Quantity Limits Using a Plugin

Here’s how to use the WooCommerce Min/Max Quantities plugin to set product quantity limits:

Step 1: Install & Activate the Plugin

Go to WooCommerce → Plugins → Add New
Search for WooCommerce Min/Max Quantities
Click Install Now → Activate

Step 2: Configure Global Quantity Limits

Navigate to WooCommerce → Settings → Products
Find the Min/Max Quantities tab
Set global rules, such as:
- Minimum quantity per order: 2
- Maximum quantity per order: 10

Step 3: Set Per-Product Quantity Limits

Edit a product in WooCommerce → Products
Scroll down to the Product Data section
Click the Inventory tab
Enter:
- Minimum quantity: 1
- Maximum quantity: 5
Click Save Changes

Step 4: Test Your Limits

Add a product to the cart and try exceeding the limit.
If the limit is reached, an error message appears.

Additional Features to Customize Quantity Limits

1. Set Different Limits for User Roles

Allow wholesale customers to buy in bulk but limit retail customers.
Example: Retail customers (max 5), Wholesale customers (max 50).

2. Enforce Step-Based Quantities

Require customers to buy in fixed multiples (e.g., 2, 4, 6, 8).
Useful for products sold in packs.

3. Restrict Quantity for Specific Categories

Apply limits only to specific product categories (e.g., electronics, perishable goods).

4. Set Limits on a Per-Day or Per-Month Basis

Useful for subscription-based products where customers can only purchase one product per month.

Common Issues & Solutions

1. Quantity Limit Not Applying

✅ Solution: Clear cache and check if another plugin is overriding the settings.

2. Customers Bypassing Limits via URL

✅ Solution: Use a server-side restriction plugin to prevent direct URL manipulations.

3. Quantity Restrictions Not Working with Variable Products

✅ Solution: Make sure to set limits for each variation under the product settings.

Conclusion

Setting quantity limits per product in WooCommerce helps you manage stock efficiently, prevent abuse, and optimize customer purchases.

Key Takeaways:

✅ Use custom code for simple limits or a plugin for advanced rules.
✅ Plugins like WooCommerce Min/Max Quantities provide flexible quantity controls.
✅ Restrict specific customers, categories, or purchase timeframes.

Implementing quantity limits improves inventory management and enhances the shopping experience. Ready to set up quantity restrictions in WooCommerce? Try it today! ????