Does Microsoft Advertising Still Support Max CPC for New Campaigns in October 2026?

As of October 1, 2026, Microsoft Advertising no longer lets you set a Max CPC limit when creating a new, non-portfolio campaign that uses Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Maximize Clicks bidding — the option has been removed from the campaign-creation screen for those five automated bid strategies going forward.

What Changed, Exactly

Microsoft Advertising dropped the Max CPC field from new, standalone (non-portfolio) campaigns built on five bid strategies: Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, and Maximize Clicks. Advertisers creating a new campaign on any of these strategies after October 1, 2026 simply won't see a Max CPC option to set.

What Still Keeps Max CPC

• Existing campaigns — any campaign created before October 1, 2026 that already has a Max CPC limit set keeps that setting; the change only affects new campaign creation going forward.
• Portfolio bid strategies — Max CPC remains available for both new and existing campaigns that use a portfolio (shared) bid strategy rather than a standalone one.
• Unaffected strategies — Target Impression Share and Enhanced CPC are not part of this change and keep Max CPC functionality as before.

Why Microsoft Is Removing It

Microsoft's stated reasoning is that a Max CPC cap can conflict with its automated bidding systems, particularly in cases where the cap sits above what the campaign's average CPC would otherwise be — effectively constraining the algorithm in a way that works against the goal-based strategy it's paired with. Removing the option for new campaigns pushes advertisers who want cost control toward Target CPA or Target ROAS targets instead of a hard per-click ceiling.

What's Not Yet Confirmed

Multiple outlets covering the change report that it's rolling out first in the campaign-creation user interface, with Microsoft Advertising Editor and the API expected to follow — but Microsoft has not published a confirmed timeline for when Editor or API campaign creation will drop the Max CPC field. Advertisers building campaigns through Editor, bulk upload, or the API should not assume Max CPC is unavailable there yet, and should verify current behavior before relying on it staying available.

What to Do Instead

If you were using Max CPC as a cost-control guardrail on new campaigns, the practical substitute is setting a Target CPA or Target ROAS value that reflects your real cost targets, rather than trying to cap an individual click price inside an automated-bidding strategy that's designed to optimize toward a goal rather than a ceiling. For existing campaigns that already rely on a Max CPC limit, no immediate action is required — the setting isn't being removed retroactively.

Bottom Line

Don't go looking for a Max CPC field when building a new Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, or Maximize Clicks campaign in Microsoft Advertising after October 1, 2026 — it's gone from the campaign-creation screen for those five strategies. If cost control matters, set your target value with that constraint in mind rather than assuming you can cap it separately.

Source: PPC Land, "Microsoft Advertising drops Max CPC from new campaigns on October 1" (ppc.land); Search Engine Journal, "Microsoft Ads Is Removing Max CPC From New Campaigns" (searchenginejournal.com).