How Much Should a Small Business Spend on Meta Ads?
A simple way to set your first Facebook and Instagram ads budget, test it, and scale only what works.
KMKunal Malik · 2 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
There's no magic number, but there is a sensible way to start. Your budget should be big enough for Meta to learn who responds, and small enough that a failed test doesn't hurt.
Work backwards from a customer
- Estimate what one new customer is worth to you over a year
- Decide how much you're happy to pay to win one — often 10–30% of that value
- Estimate how many enquiries it takes to win one customer
- That gives you a target cost per lead
Example: if a customer is worth ₹10,000 and you'll pay ₹2,000 to win one, and one in four enquiries becomes a customer, you can afford up to ₹500 per lead.
Start with a 2–3 week test
- Many local businesses test with ₹300–₹1,000 per day
- Run 2–3 different creatives at once
- Don't judge results in the first 3 days while Meta is learning
- Keep the winners, pause the rest, then increase budget slowly
Try our free Ad Budget Calculator on the Tools page to see rough lead estimates for your budget.