Conversions API (CAPI)
The Conversions API (CAPI) is Meta’s server-side interface: a business sends events from its website or CRM — a lead, a qualified lead, a sale — straight from a server to Meta, with no browser involved. Meta uses these signals to measure and optimise Facebook and Instagram ads.
Also written: CAPI, Conversions API, Conversion API, Meta Conversions API, Facebook Conversions API, Meta CAPI, Facebook CAPI, FB CAPI, server-side tracking, server events, API конверсий
How does the Conversions API work?
When something happens, a server sends Meta an event: its name, its time and the keys Meta uses to recognise the person. The Meta Pixel does the same job from the browser and sees only what happens on the website. The Conversions API does not depend on a browser, so it also carries results that never happen on a site: a manager qualified the lead, a deal was closed as a sale.
In an event sent from a CRM, the keys are the Meta lead ID and SHA-256 hashes of the phone and e-mail. No name is sent. More on the keys: Event Match Quality.
The three events: Lead, QualifiedLead, Purchase
In CAPI Platform each event is tied to a CRM stage. When a lead enters that stage, the event goes to Meta — once per lead.
| Event | When it is sent | What Meta learns |
|---|---|---|
Lead | The lead lands in the first CRM stage | A request came in |
QualifiedLead | A manager moves the lead to the qualified stage | This person is a qualified lead |
Purchase | The deal is closed as a sale | A sale happened; the amount and currency, if the deal has an amount |
QualifiedLead is not one of Meta’s standard events but a custom event under that name: in Ads Manager you build a custom conversion from it. History loaded when the CRM is connected is not sent to Meta. An event that fails to arrive is retried from 1 minute up to 24 hours later.
Example: one week, three numbers
A driving school, 2–8 October 2026: ads brought 863 leads, 335 of them turned out qualified and 36 became sales. In Ads Manager all 863 are the same “lead”. Which 335 were qualified and which 36 bought is known only to the CRM — and those are the two numbers the Conversions API carries to Meta.
FAQ
Do I need the Conversions API if I already have the Pixel?
Yes. The Pixel sees only what happens on the website, while qualified leads and sales appear in the CRM. Neither replaces the other. The side-by-side table is in Pixel vs Conversions API.
What data goes to Meta through the Conversions API?
The event name and time, the Meta lead ID, SHA-256 hashes of the phone and e-mail, and a hashed internal ID; for a website request, the values of Meta’s _fbc and _fbp cookies; for a sale, the amount and currency. Phones and e-mails go only as hashes, and a name is never sent.
How long does it take to connect the Conversions API?
With CAPI Platform, 3 days: on day 1 the CRM is connected, on day 2 the stages are tied to signals together with the client, on day 3 a test signal is sent and signals start flowing. The price is $159 once, then $40 a month — see pricing.
Related terms and pages
- Meta Pixel (Facebook Pixel)The Meta Pixel (formerly the Facebook Pixel) is a piece of JavaScript placed on a website’s pages: it runs in the visitor’s browser and sends what happens on the site — a page view, a button click, a form submission — to Meta as events. What happens off the site, the Pixel does not see.
- Event Match Quality (EMQ)Event Match Quality (EMQ) is Meta’s score, out of 10, of how effective the customer information sent with a server event may be at matching that event to a Meta account. It is shown in Meta Events Manager and measures matching, not the quality of a lead.
- Qualified leadA qualified lead is a lead the sales team has contacted and confirmed as a possible buyer. The ad account does not decide this, the CRM does: a lead becomes qualified the moment it reaches the stage marked as “qualified”.
- Lead form (Meta instant form)A lead form (Meta instant form) is a request form that opens inside a Facebook or Instagram ad: a person leaves a name, a phone number and answers to questions without visiting a website. Meta stores every submission under its own lead ID.
- Conversions APIWhat the Meta Conversions API (CAPI) is, how it differs from the Pixel, and how qualified leads and sales from a CRM reach Facebook and Instagram. With numbers.
- Meta Pixel vs Conversions API: what’s the difference, and do you need both?The Pixel sees actions on a website; the Conversions API sends the sale from the CRM. A comparison table, one driving school’s week in numbers, and the steps to add CAPI when you have a CRM.
- Conversions API without a website: CAPI for lead forms and a CRMNo website, only lead forms and a CRM? The Conversions API still works: the Meta lead ID is the key, the CRM stage is the signal. Meta’s requirements, the steps and the timing.
Updated:
We set CAPI up in 3 days
$159 once, then $40 a month. Lead integration is included.