specification: API Commons Plans
specificationVersion: '0.1'
schema: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/interface-research/main/schema/api-commons.yml#/$defs/Plans
provider: Facebook Business Manager
providerId: facebook-business-manager
created: '2026-05-04'
# 2026-08-13: upgraded generated -> searched. Re-read Meta's Marketing API get-started, the Graph API
# rate-limiting guide and the Permissions Reference on 2026-08-13. Finding confirmed: Meta charges NOTHING
# for API access itself. There is no per-call price, no API plan and no metered API tier anywhere on the
# developer surface. What gates you is App Review tier, not money. All revenue is downstream — ad spend and
# WhatsApp per-conversation pricing.
method: searched
source: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/get-started
modified: '2026-08-13'
verified: '2026-08-13'
plan_count: 3
reconciled: true
tags:
  - Advertising
  - Analytics
  - Business Management
  - Marketing
  - Social Media
description: Facebook Business Manager (now part of Meta Business Suite) is free to use. The Marketing,
  Pages, Conversions, Catalog, and related Graph APIs that Business Manager exposes are not directly billed;
  monetization is downstream via Meta Ads spend and per-conversation WhatsApp Business pricing. API access
  is gated by App Review tiers (Development / Standard / Advanced) which determine rate-limit ceilings.
sources:
  - https://www.facebook.com/business/tools/meta-business-suite
  - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/marketing-api/overview/authorization
  - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/graph-api/overview/rate-limiting
plans:
  - id: facebook-business-manager-free
    name: Free (Business Manager / Meta Business Suite)
    type: freemium
    description: Free use of Meta Business Suite and the Business Manager API surface. No per-call API
      fees. Rate limits enforced by App Review tier.
    entries:
      - label: API Requests
        description: Free API access; throttled by app-level and BUC formulas tied to engaged users /
          active ads.
        name: api_requests
        type: quota
        metric: requests
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        domains:
          - https://graph.facebook.com/v18.0
          - https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0
          - https://graph.threads.net/v25.0
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Meta Business Suite Console
      - name: Pages, Ad Accounts, Catalogs, Pixels Management
      - name: Roles & Permissions
      - name: Public Documentation
      - name: Facebook Marketing API
      - name: Facebook Pages API
      - name: Facebook Conversions API
      - name: Facebook Business Asset API
      - name: Facebook Catalog API
      - name: Facebook Insights API
  - id: facebook-business-manager-advanced-access
    name: Advanced Access (App Review)
    type: freemium
    description: After Business Verification + App Review, apps unlock significantly higher BUC rate limits.
      No additional API fee.
    entries:
      - label: Ads Management Calls
        description: 'Advanced Access ceiling: 100000 + 40 * Number of Active ads, per hour.'
        name: ads_management_calls
        type: rate
        metric: calls_per_hour
        limit: 100000
        timeFrame: hour
        geo: global
        domains:
          - https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: Ads Insights Calls
        description: 'Advanced Access ceiling: 190000 + 400 * Number of Active ads, per hour.'
        name: ads_insights_calls
        type: rate
        metric: calls_per_hour
        limit: 190000
        timeFrame: hour
        geo: global
        domains:
          - https://graph.facebook.com/v25.0
        unit: 1
        price: '0.00'
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Business Verification
      - name: Higher BUC Rate Ceilings
      - name: Full Permission Scopes
  - id: facebook-business-manager-downstream-spend
    name: Downstream Spend (Ads + WhatsApp Business)
    type: usage-based
    description: API access is free, but the campaigns and conversations driven through Business Manager
      are billed by Meta. Ads spend is set via campaign budgets; WhatsApp Business charges per 24-hour
      conversation by category and country.
    entries:
      - label: Ad Spend
        description: Variable per campaign, country, and placement; billed against the ad account on the
          Business Manager.
        name: ad_spend
        type: metered
        metric: USD
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: see https://www.facebook.com/business/ads/pricing
        userMultiplied: false
      - label: WhatsApp Conversation
        description: Per 24-hour conversation, by category (Marketing, Utility, Authentication, Service)
          and destination country.
        name: whatsapp_conversation
        type: metered
        metric: conversation
        limit: -1
        timeFrame: usage
        geo: global
        unit: 1
        price: see https://developers.facebook.com/docs/whatsapp/pricing
        userMultiplied: false
    elements:
      - name: Meta Ads Manager
      - name: WhatsApp Business Platform
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com