How Much Should I Spend on Facebook Ads?
Tell us how many customers you want. Get a realistic daily and monthly budget range, not a single made-up number.
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Out of 100 visitors from your ad, how many buy or sign up?
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How to work out your Facebook ads budget
Most advice says “start with $5 a day” or “spend 10% of revenue”. Neither tells you whether you'll get the customers you need. A better way is to work backwards from your goal:
- Customers you want ÷ conversion rate = clicks you need. If 3 out of 100 visitors buy, 30 customers takes about 1,000 clicks.
- Clicks × cost per click = monthly budget. At $1.10 a click, 1,000 clicks is about $1,100 a month, or $36 a day.
The planner does this with typical cost-per-click and conversion-rate ranges for your industry, and shows a range because real results vary.
Why a range and not one number?
Cost per click depends on your country, your audience, the time of year and how good your ad is. Conversion rate depends on your landing page and offer. Small changes in either can move the budget a lot, so plan for the likely number and keep the high end in mind.
Plan for the learning phase
After you launch an ad set, Meta spends time working out who to show it to. Results swing during this learning phase, which usually ends after about 50 results in a week. Small budgets can stay “learning limited” for a long time. That doesn't mean the ads can't work, but it does mean:
- Use one ad set instead of several, so the budget isn't split.
- Give it 1–2 weeks before judging, and avoid big edits in the meantime.
- If sales are rare, optimise for a step that happens more often, like a lead or add-to-cart.
Check the budget pays off
A budget only makes sense if each customer is worth more than they cost. Compare the cost per customer above with your break-even cost per sale, and see whether your current numbers are normal for your industry.
Once your ads are running, AdChat can plan budgets from your real numbers instead of averages. Ask “how much should I spend to get 40 customers next month?” and it works it out from your account. Free for 7 days.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a small business spend on Facebook ads?
Work backwards from the customers you want. Customers ÷ conversion rate gives the clicks you need, and clicks × cost per click gives the budget. Many small businesses start somewhere between $10 and $50 a day. Spending less than about $10 a day makes it hard to learn anything quickly.
What is the minimum budget for Facebook ads?
Meta lets you start at a few dollars a day, but tiny budgets mean few results and slow learning. A more useful minimum is whatever lets one ad set get a handful of results a week. For a first test, plan for at least 1–2 weeks at a steady daily budget before judging it.
What is the learning phase?
When you launch or make a big change to an ad set, Meta spends a while testing who to show it to. During this learning phase results swing up and down. It usually ends after about 50 results in a week. Big edits restart it, so make changes in small steps.
Should I use a daily or lifetime budget?
Daily budgets are simpler for always-on campaigns: Meta spends about that amount each day (some days a bit more, some less). Lifetime budgets suit campaigns with a fixed end date, like a sale or event.
Why doesn't doubling my budget double my results?
Meta shows your ad to the most likely buyers first. Spending more means reaching people who are a bit less interested, so each extra customer usually costs more. Raise budgets about 20% at a time and watch cost per customer.
More free tools
Break-Even ROAS Calculator
Work out the lowest ROAS and highest cost per sale you can afford before ads start losing you money.
Is My CPM, CPC or CTR Good?
Compare your Facebook ad numbers with typical results for your industry and see which ones need fixing first.
First Campaign Planner
Never run Facebook ads before? Answer 5 questions and get a full first campaign: objective, audience, budget and 3 ready-to-use ads.
Set Your Budget From Real Numbers
AdChat connects to your ad account, looks at what your clicks and customers really cost, and helps you set and change budgets by just asking. Free for 7 days, no credit card.
No credit card needed. Then $19/month. Cancel anytime.