Facebook will let you start with $5 a day. It will also let you burn $1,500 in a month and send you three calls from people who wanted something else. The price of an ad is not the price of a customer, and that gap is where most local budgets disappear.
Short version
You pay for three things: the ad budget (paid to Meta), management (an agency or your own time) and creative (photos and video). Many local businesses start with $300 to $1,500 a month in ads. Judge it by cost per booked customer, not cost per lead.
The three costs behind every Facebook ad
Most price guides quote one number and hide the rest. A local campaign has three separate costs, and you should know each before you spend a dollar.
- Ad budget. The money Meta charges to show your ads on Facebook and Instagram. You set it, you can pause it, and it is paid directly to Meta.
- Management. Someone has to build the audiences, write and test the ads, watch the numbers and fix problems. Third-party guides put agency management for local businesses anywhere from about $500 to $2,500 or more a month.
- Creative. Good photos, short video and clear offers. This is the cost people forget, and it is often what decides whether the ads work.
Transparent plans make this easy to compare. For example, our own Facebook and Instagram ads management plans start at $249 a month for ad budgets up to $1,000, with a one-time $125 setup fee, and the ad budget is paid straight to Meta.
What the benchmarks say (and what they miss)
Industry roundups in 2026 repeat figures from LocaliQ and WordStream data: an average cost per click of about $0.70 for traffic campaigns, about $1.92 for lead campaigns, and an average cost per lead near $28. Those are US averages across every industry, so treat them as a starting point, not a quote.
| Industry (US average) | Typical cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Restaurants and food | about $3 |
| Physicians and surgeons | about $47 |
| Dentists and dental services | about $77 |
| Local home services | often $10 to $50, depending on the trade |
Notice the spread. A restaurant lead and a dentist lead are different animals, and a lead in Los Angeles can cost more than one in a small town. Your own numbers after 30 days beat any benchmark.
Why cost per lead is the wrong number
A lead is only a name and a phone number. What pays your bills is a booked customer. Here is the math that matters, using round numbers for illustration:
- Ad budget: $1,000 for the month
- Leads from Facebook: 40 (cost per lead: $25)
- Leads who answer and fit your service: 10
- Leads who book: 4
- Cost per booked customer: $250
If that customer is worth $1,200 to you, the campaign pays for itself several times over. If a job is worth $150, it does not. Same ads, same cost per lead, opposite verdict. Before you start, write down what a booked customer is worth.
What makes your Facebook ads cost more or less
- Audience and area. A tight service area costs less than a huge one, but too small an audience gets expensive fast.
- The offer. A clear offer, such as a free estimate or a new-patient special, beats a generic logo ad.
- Creative freshness. When people see the same ad too many times, results drop. New versions keep costs steady.
- Form type. Easy forms bring cheap, low-intent leads. Forms with a qualifying question cost a little more per lead and bring better ones. We cover this in our guide to Facebook lead ads.
- Follow-up speed. A lead called in five minutes is worth far more than one called tomorrow.
- Season and competition. Costs rise when everyone in your category advertises at once.
A realistic budget for your first 90 days
- Month 1: $600 to $1,000 in ads. Two or three audiences, three to five creatives. Goal: learn, not scale.
- Month 2: keep what works, cut what does not, track cost per booked customer.
- Month 3: raise the budget in small steps only if the cost per booked customer holds.
If you can only spend $300 a month, run one simple campaign in one area and be patient. Spreading $300 across five campaigns teaches you nothing.
Red flags in agency pricing
- You do not own the ad account or cannot see the spend.
- The fee is a percentage with no cap and no reporting of booked jobs.
- The ad budget is hidden inside the management fee.
- No tracking: no Pixel, no Conversions API, no call tracking.
- They promise a fixed cost per lead before seeing your offer.
If you want a second opinion on a quote, send it to us and we will tell you what looks fair.
Frequently asked questions
Can I start with $5 a day?
You can, but one small campaign with a clear offer is the most you can test at that level. Many local businesses see more useful data at $20 to $50 a day.
How much should a local business spend on Facebook ads per month?
Many start between $300 and $1,500. The right number depends on what a booked customer is worth and how many you need.
Do I pay Meta or the agency for the ad budget?
The ad budget goes straight to Meta from your card. The agency fee is separate.
How long until I see leads?
Campaigns often start delivering data within days. Meta needs a short learning period, so results usually improve over the first few weeks.
Is a $28 cost per lead normal?
It is close to the US average across industries, but costs vary widely by industry and area. Compare your own cost per booked customer instead.
Want a plan with real numbers?
We will recommend a budget, a target cost per booked customer and the first campaign to test. See our Facebook and Instagram ads plans or request a free plan.
Further reading: Facebook ad cost benchmarks (AdWave) and Facebook ad cost by industry (Influee).
