How much do Facebook ads cost for a small business?
Short answerThere's no fixed price for Facebook ads. You set the budget, and Meta charges based on competition for your audience. Many local businesses start at $20 to $50 a day, then scale whatever produces leads at a cost they can afford.
How should you set your budget?
Start from what a customer is worth. Work out the average revenue from a new customer over a year, and how many enquiries it takes to win one. That tells you the most you can pay per lead and still profit. If a customer is worth $2,000 and one in five leads buys, you can afford up to $400 per lead before breaking even.
What affects cost per lead?
- Your offer: a specific offer beats a generic "contact us".
- Creative: native-looking video and real photos usually beat polished stock images.
- Audience size and competition in your area.
- Season: costs rise in November and December as big retailers bid for attention.
- Tracking: if the pixel and Conversions API aren't set up, Meta optimizes for the wrong thing and costs climb.
Want this done for you?
Levela's facebook & instagram ads starts at $700 /month. Book a free call and we'll tell you what we'd do first.
How long before you judge results?
Give a campaign two to four weeks and enough budget to generate a few dozen leads. Small daily edits reset Meta's learning and usually make results worse.
Ad spend vs management fees
Ad spend goes to Meta. Management fees go to whoever runs your ads. Market rates for management run from about $750 to $2,500 a month for local businesses. Levela's ads management starts at $700 a month, billed weekly, plus ad spend, which you pay directly to Meta. If your budget is small, ads training from $180 can be a better first step.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good cost per lead on Facebook?
It depends on your industry and what a customer is worth. A $30 lead is expensive for a café and cheap for a roofer.
Should I boost posts or use Ads Manager?
Use Ads Manager. Boosting is simple but limits targeting, objectives and tracking.
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