Meta Ads Budget Calculator

What can I spend on ads?

Enter your revenue goal and see exactly how much to spend on Meta ads — broken down daily and monthly, based on your expected return on ad spend.

Your goal

$
Revenue Goal (Monthly). The monthly revenue target you want Meta ads to help you hit.
×
Expected ROAS. The return on ad spend you expect from Meta. On our planning bands, 4–6× is Good and 6×+ is Excellent.
What’s this? Expected ROAS in the glossary
$
Average Order Value (AOV). Your average order value — used to estimate expected order volume at the required spend.
What’s this? Average Order Value in the glossary
$
CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions). What you pay Meta for every 1,000 times your ad is shown. Optional — add it to see roughly how many impressions your budget buys. Pull it from Ads Manager; $8–$20 is a common range for direct-to-consumer.
How to use this calculator

Example numbers · Monthly Ad Budget

$16,667Acceptable

Edit inputs

Your recommended budget

Monthly Ad Budget

$16,667

Spend this much per month — $556/day — to hit your $50,000 revenue goal at 3.00× ROAS.

What we’d check next

We’d check whether the expected return covers product costs before committing this budget.

View chart and context
Budget % of revenue goal33.3%

Values update as you type.

YOUR BUDGET BREAKDOWN

Your budget breakdown

Daily Budget

$556

Monthly ÷ 30

Expected Orders

667

Revenue goal ÷ average order value

Estimated Impressions

1,388,889

Monthly budget ÷ CPM × 1,000

Spend at 1× ROAS

$50,000

Ad cost covered, product costs not

Budget as % of Revenue

33.3%

$1 of spend per $3.00 of revenue

Revenue Goal

$50,000

Target monthly from paid
RETURN BENCHMARKS

What your expected return means

Where the return on ad spend (ROAS) you entered lands against general ecommerce planning bands. Directional — your own trailing numbers beat any benchmark.

PoorUnder 2×
Below break-even for most brands once product costs and shipping are paid.
Acceptable2–4×
The common planning baseline. Workable if your product margin is healthy.
Good4–6×
Comfortable headroom — enough margin to absorb a soft month.
Excellent6×+
Rare at scale. Usually a sign there is demand you are not yet spending into.
BENCHMARK

How you stack up

Directional D2C planning bands for Meta-attributed ROAS, a chosen anchor and not measured. The comparison point is where the Good band starts, and the scale below shows every band. Set your own target from your product margin: a high-margin brand can be profitable below it, and a thin-margin one may need more. Benchmarks are directional, not a guarantee; use them as a comparison point alongside your own historical data.

You vs. the planning band

Your ROAS

3.0×

Planning band

Where the Good band starts

Unlock below to see how you compare.

PoorAcceptableGoodExcellent

SEE HOW YOU COMPARE

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How we size your ad budget from a revenue goal and expected ROAS.

Monthly Budget
Revenue Goal ÷ Expected ROAS

Example: $50,000 ÷ 3 = $16,667

Daily Budget
Monthly Budget ÷ 30

Example: $16,667 ÷ 30 = $556

Expected Orders
Revenue Goal ÷ Average Order Value

Example: $50,000 ÷ $75 = 667 orders

Spend at 1× ROAS
Revenue Goal

Example: $50,000 of spend returns $50,000 of revenue — ad cost covered, product costs not. Your real break-even spend is lower; the Break-Even calculator works it out from your margins.

More things we’d check

We’d use a return the account has actually achieved, then try a lower-return scenario.

We’d check product margin before treating the revenue goal as a profitable target.

Check product margin

We’d compare the proposed spend with available cash and inventory.

About Meta ads budgets

How do you set a Meta ads budget?

Work backwards from the revenue you want. Decide what your Facebook and Instagram ads need to bring in, pick a return you can realistically expect, and the budget falls out of the math. It beats picking a number that feels safe and hoping.

Formula

Monthly budget = revenue goal ÷ expected ROAS

ROAS (return on ad spend) is revenue ÷ ad spend. Daily budget is the monthly figure ÷ 30.

A worked example

  1. You want $50,000 a month from Meta and expect a 3.0× ROAS.
  2. $50,000 ÷ 3.0× = $16,667 a month, about $556 a day.
  3. At a $75 order value that goal is 667 orders, so each order can cost up to $25.00 in ads.
  4. At a $12 CPM (cost per thousand impressions) the budget buys about 1,389,000 impressions. A 3.0× plan lands in Acceptable on the ladder.

What’s a realistic ROAS to plan on?

Plan on the return your account has actually delivered over the last few months, not your best week. Then check it clears your break-even ROAS, which your margin sets. This is the ladder our calculators grade your expected ROAS against:

Under 2×
Poor. Below break-even for most brands once product costs and shipping are paid.
2–4×
Acceptable. The common planning baseline. Workable if your product margin is healthy.
4–6×
Good. Comfortable headroom — enough margin to absorb a soft month.
6×+
Excellent. Rare at scale. Usually a sign there is demand you are not yet spending into.

Plan too high and the budget comes out too small to hit the goal. The ROAS you plan on matters more than any other input here.

Budget, ROAS and cost per order

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Meta ads budgeting and ROAS planning

Start with return on ad spend (ROAS) from comparable campaigns and a consistent reporting window. We’d model a lower-return case too. This calculator estimates the ad spend needed for a revenue target; it cannot tell you whether that target is achievable or profitable.

The formula works for any single ad channel: revenue target divided by expected return on ad spend. Use a channel-specific assumption and keep creative production and agency costs separate.

We’d compare similar periods and model a range of returns. Check changes in offers, traffic, reporting windows, and creative before assigning a cause. A lower-return scenario shows how much more budget the same revenue target would require.

Yes, in your overall plan. This calculator estimates ad spend only. Add design, production, creator, and agency costs separately so the total budget reflects what you expect to pay.

Our calculators use industry-standard formulas and are designed for directional accuracy. Results depend on the quality of your input data. For precise financial planning, we recommend validating results with your accountant or financial team.

Yes, completely free with no hidden costs. We offer these tools to help ecommerce brands succeed. We may occasionally share relevant insights via email if you opt in, but the tools remain free forever.

Your calculations run in your browser, and we don't store the numbers you type unless you choose to send them — by unlocking a benchmark, emailing yourself a report, or contributing an anonymous data point. We do record anonymous usage events, which tool was used rather than what you entered. The AI tools work differently: your store URL and the report or concepts we generate are saved so we can support you and so your share link keeps working. We never access your Shopify admin, your customer data, or any private account information.
GLOSSARY

Learn these key metrics

Return On Ad SpendROAS

The revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising....

Cost Per AcquisitionCPA

The cost of acquiring a specific action through a particular campaign or channel...

Average Order ValueAOV

The average dollar amount customers spend per order/transaction....

Customer Acquisition CostCAC

The total cost of acquiring a new paying customer, including all marketing and s...

Marketing Efficiency RatioMER

Total revenue divided by total marketing spend, providing a holistic view of mar...

Browse all glossary terms

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4.1x return on ad spend in H1 2026, with monthly ad spend up 8x from May 2025 to Jun 2026 · Modified Tot · H1 2026 Read the Modified Tot case study