Facebook ads management costs two separate things: the money Meta charges for showing your ads, and the fee I charge for running them. The fee should reflect how much work the account needs each month, and the ad budget should come from what a customer is worth to you. This page explains how both are worked out; the figures for your account come in a written quote.
The two costs, kept apart
Ad spend is what you pay Meta for the ads to run on Facebook and Instagram. When it is billed to your own ad account, on your own payment method and in pounds, you can see every charge in Billing and pause spending whenever you like.
The management fee pays for my time: planning, building and adjusting campaigns, writing copy and briefing creative, keeping tracking accurate and reporting. In my written quotes it is shown as a separate figure from the ad budget.
Keeping them apart matters when you compare quotes. A single all-in monthly price can hide how much of it actually reaches Meta, so ask any provider to show the two figures separately.
How the monthly scope is set
The scope is set for each account. What changes from one account to the next is how many campaigns and offers there are, how much new creative is needed and how much reporting the business wants, not the size of the ad budget alone. Three broad shapes of account show the range:
- One main offer and one goal, such as booked appointments or enquiries from a single service area. The work usually centres on a prospecting campaign and a retargeting campaign, fresh ad copy and briefs, and checks of the Meta Pixel and events.
- Several services, seasons or audiences, or a lead-generation account where the quality of enquiries needs close watching. That means more campaigns, a planned creative testing schedule and closer review of results against your target cost.
- Online shops and larger accounts, with catalogue and dynamic product ads, campaigns at each stage from first view to repeat purchase, a heavier creative workload and closer work on tracking, including the Conversions API, which sends sales to Meta from your server as well as the browser.
Each quote is written after a free first call, in GBP, and the scope and fee are agreed in writing before work starts.
What decides the scope
When I quote, I look at the account and the business behind it. These are the things that change the amount of work most:
- Number of offers and campaigns. Each product line, location or audience with its own message needs its own plan, copy and checks.
- Creative volume. Ads tire as the same people see them repeatedly, so an account that needs new angles every fortnight takes more time than one refreshed monthly.
- The state of the tracking. If enquiries or sales are double counted or missing, that has to be repaired first, because every later decision depends on the numbers.
- Shop and catalogue work. Product feeds, catalogue errors and sales events add a layer that service businesses do not have.
- Regulated sectors. Ads for financial products and services, employment or housing fall into Meta’s special ad categories, which restrict targeting, and claims in health, beauty and finance must meet the CAP Code. Both mean more care over copy and approvals.
Fee models you will see when comparing quotes
UK providers charge for Meta ads in a handful of ways. None is wrong in itself, but each rewards the provider for something different, so it is worth knowing what you are buying. The glossary entry on the PPC management fee covers the general terms.
| Model | How it works | What to watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed monthly fee | A set price for an agreed scope of work | Check exactly what the scope includes, especially how much new creative |
| Percentage of ad spend | The fee rises and falls with your budget | The provider earns more when you spend more, whether or not results justify it |
| Minimum plus percentage | A floor fee, then a percentage above a spend threshold | Can make sense for large or seasonal budgets; ask where the threshold sits |
| Performance-based | Paid per lead or sale, or a share of revenue | Needs tracking both sides trust, and can push volume over lead quality |
| Hourly or day rate | Time billed as used | Suits advice and one-off fixes; hard to budget for ongoing management |
Whichever model a provider offers, ask what it rewards and what happens to the fee when your budget changes. The fee basis for your account is set out in my written quote, alongside the scope it covers.
How much to spend on the ads themselves
The ad budget should come from your own numbers rather than a round figure. Work it out in three steps:
- What a new customer is worth. Use gross profit from the first sale, or over a typical customer’s lifetime if people come back.
- The most you can pay to win one. That ceiling, multiplied by the share of enquiries that become customers, gives the highest cost per lead you can afford.
- How many results the budget buys. Meta’s own guidance is that an ad set needs roughly 50 optimisation events in a week to leave its learning phase. A budget that buys a handful of results a month will keep it unsettled, with higher and more erratic costs.
A worked example with made-up inputs, not a benchmark: if a new customer brings £600 of gross profit and you are willing to spend £150 to win one, and one enquiry in three becomes a customer, each enquiry can cost up to £50. Twenty enquiries a month at that ceiling would need up to £1,000 of ad spend, before my fee. If the sum does not work, it is better to know before launch.
For a sourced view of what clicks and leads typically cost before your account has data of its own, see my UK Google and Meta ad benchmarks. Once the fee is known, the ROAS and break-even calculator shows the return you need to cover both costs. If you are not VAT-registered, check whether Meta’s invoices for your account include VAT and, if they do, count it as part of the ad cost; the entry on VAT on digital advertising explains the general rules.
What monthly management includes
- Campaign planning, building and day-to-day adjustment inside your own ad account
- Ad copy and a written brief for every image and video
- Regular checks of the Pixel and events, so results are counted once
- Audience building, including exclusions so existing customers are not paid for twice
- A plain-English monthly report on spend, results and cost per result against target
- Full access for you throughout; nothing is held in my accounts
The day-to-day work is described in full on my Facebook ads management page.
Not included
- The ad spend itself, which is paid to Meta
- Photography, filming and design, which you, a photographer or a creator supply from my briefs
- Building new landing pages; where one is needed I quote it separately as a landing page built for the campaign
- Replying to customers in comments and messages, which should come from your business
Smaller and one-off options
A monthly package is not always the right purchase. If you want to run the ads yourself, a one-off account and tracking setup, a paid review of an existing account with a ranked list of fixes, or advice sessions for your team may suit better. Each is quoted separately after a free first call, in GBP.
And if most of your customers start by searching for what you sell, Meta may not be the place to begin at all. My Facebook and Instagram ads overview explains when the platform fits and when it does not.
Getting an exact quote
Send me what you sell, where your customers are, roughly what you spend on Meta now or plan to, and what a good month would look like. If you already advertise, partner access to the ad account lets me see how much work it needs before I quote. You will get a written quote with the scope, the fee and the ad budget I would suggest, and if the budget is too small for management to pay its way, I will say so. Ask for a quote for Facebook ads management.