Free Ad Spend Estimator for Facebook, TikTok & Google Ads

An advertising cost estimator forecasts what it will cost to hit a traffic or conversion target before you launch. This matters for planning, pricing decisions, and internal approvals—ad costs fluctuate because it's an auction, and surprises hurt.

A good estimator works with ranges: expected CPC, expected CTR, expected conversion rate. If you don't know your conversion rate yet, start conservative and run a small test to calibrate.

Cost estimation prevents a common failure: launching with too little budget, seeing weak results, and concluding "ads don't work." That's not an advertising failure—it's an estimation failure. Forecast first, test small, update assumptions, then scale.

It depends on platform, audience, and competition. Search ads price around intent—high-intent keywords cost more. Social and video price on impressions and engagement potential.

Don't ask for one average number. Break it into components: cost per click (or cost per thousand impressions) and conversion rate after the click. Cost per outcome is the product of those two.

Reduce uncertainty by estimating with a range, then validating with a test budget. Over time, your estimates improve as you plug in actual CTR, CPC, and conversion rate instead of guesses.

Forecasting is easiest when you work backward from a target. Want conversions? Estimate clicks needed (using conversion rate), multiply by expected CPC. Want reach? Forecast using CPM.

Two common mistakes: forgetting the learning period (volatile performance while algorithms optimize) and using best-case conversion rates. Use conservative assumptions. Revise upward only after stable performance.

Good forecasts include a buffer for seasonality and auction volatility. Holiday shopping, competitor promotions, major events—these spike costs. Build in slack so you maintain volume when the market gets expensive.

A useful forecast shows trade-offs, not just a total. What happens if you spend 20% more? 20% less? That sensitivity view makes it actionable.

Separate spend into testing and scaling. Testing buys information—which creative, audience, channel. Scaling exploits what you learned. Blend them and you'll either scale too early or test forever.

Define success criteria upfront: target CPA, target ROAS, minimum data threshold. Include a decision rule for reallocating when performance shifts. A forecast without decision rules is just a number on a spreadsheet.