"How much should I spend on Meta ads?" is one of the most common questions I get. The honest answer isn't a number — it's a framework. Because the right budget for your business depends on your margins, your close rate, your lifetime client value, and your follow-up system. Here's how to work it out.
Start With the Maths, Not a Number
The question to answer first is: what is one new client worth to you? Not just the first transaction — the lifetime value. A client who comes back three times and refers two people is worth dramatically more than the initial invoice suggests.
Once you know your lifetime client value, you can work backwards. If a client is worth £3,000 over their lifetime with you, and you close 30% of qualified conversations, then a qualified conversation is worth £900 (£3,000 × 30%). If Meta ads generate qualified conversations at £80 each, your return is £900 ÷ £80 = over 11x. That's worth scaling.
What Are Realistic Cost-Per-Lead Benchmarks?
In the UK, for service businesses running properly structured campaigns, realistic cost-per-lead benchmarks:
- Trades and local services: £8–£30 per lead
- Professional services (accountants, consultants): £25–£80 per lead
- Coaching and online services: £15–£60 per lead
- High-ticket services (£5k+ projects): £50–£200 per qualified lead
These are ranges, not guarantees. Your actual cost-per-lead depends heavily on your creative quality, your audience, your landing page conversion rate, and your targeting approach.
The Minimum Viable Budget
Below £300/month, Meta's algorithm doesn't have enough data to optimise effectively. You'll spend time in the learning phase without ever exiting it — which means inconsistent delivery and inflated costs. For most small businesses, £500/month is the minimum budget that allows meaningful testing and learning.
At £500/month you can run one core campaign with two to three ad variations. That's enough to identify what works before scaling. Below that, you're not really advertising — you're donating to Meta's learning algorithm.
The Budget Escalation Framework
- Month 1–2 (£500–£800): Testing phase. One campaign, 2–3 creatives, one audience. Goal: establish baseline cost-per-lead.
- Month 3 (£800–£1,500): Scaling what works. Double the budget on the winning creative. Test one new hook.
- Month 4+ (£1,500+): Add retargeting campaign. Introduce lookalike audiences. Scale based on return, not hope.
The Number That Matters More Than Budget
Cost-per-acquired-client (not cost-per-lead). Leads are vanity. Clients are revenue. Your ads could deliver leads at £10 each — but if your follow-up system converts 5% of them, your cost-per-client is £200. Fix the follow-up before scaling the budget and the maths changes completely.
A business spending £1,000/month with a 30% lead-to-client conversion is getting far more value than one spending £3,000/month with an 8% conversion. Budget is only part of the equation.
The right Meta ads budget isn't a fixed number. It's the amount that generates a positive return when every part of the system — creative, landing page, follow-up — is working correctly. Fix the system before scaling the spend.