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At a glanceMeta Ads costs have three components: the media budget, the management fee and VAT. Unlike Google, on Meta you interrupt the feed of someone who was not looking for you, so creative makes a major difference β and the production budget matters as much as the media budget. A budget of RON 2,000β5,000/month can be a planning scenario, but does not guarantee campaign stability; we validate it against acquisition cost and the volume required.
As with Google, Meta Ads β ads running on Facebook and Instagram β has no single price. Cost depends on the budget allocated to the platform, who manages campaigns and the industry you compete in. Below we explain exactly what makes up the bill and how to distinguish a poorly spent budget from one that brings customers.
The three cost components
Money paid directly to Meta to show your ads. You set it at daily or campaign level and can stop it at any time.
Payment for strategy, creative, targeting, testing and optimisation.
Applied according to your tax status.
The difference from Google matters: on Google, people actively search for you, so intent is high. On Meta, you interrupt the feed of someone who was not looking for you, so the ad β image, copy and offer β makes a major difference. That is why creative production budget matters as much as media budget on Meta.
How much media budget do you need?
Meta's delivery system works best when an ad set gathers a useful volume of results each week. Insufficient volume can leave a campaign in the learning phase and limit cost efficiency.
Indicative planning examples, not performance thresholds for Romania:
| Monthly media budget | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Under RON 1,500 | A limited testing scenario; the number of results depends on CPA. Avoid splitting the budget across too many campaigns. |
| RON 2,000β5,000 | Testing scenario: at a hypothetical CPA of RON 100, this would fund 20β50 results per month. Actual volume depends on the offer and measured performance. |
| Over RON 5,000 | Useful when you want to scale, separate acquisition from remarketing campaigns and consistently test new creative. |
Again, these figures are indicative. The right budget starts with the value of a customer to your business and product margin, not a randomly chosen amount.
What CPM, CPC and CPA mean
To understand a proposal or report, you need three terms:
- CPM, cost per 1,000 impressions. It tells you how expensive it is to reach your audience.
- CPC, cost per click. It depends on how relevant and appealing the ad is.
- CPA, cost per acquisition (a sale or lead). It connects spend with the selected business outcome.
A campaign with low CPM but high CPA is not a good campaign. Look through to the end of the chain β cost per customer β rather than surface metrics.
How a Meta Ads agency charges
The models are similar to those used for Google:
- Percentage of media budget (typically 15β25%).
- Fixed monthly fee, predictable and increasing with account complexity and creative production volume.
- Performance-based model or hybrid.
On Meta, one detail makes a difference: who produces the creative. Some agencies charge separately for photography, video or editing; others include a number of assets in their fee. Ask at the outset to avoid surprises.
What results to expect
Meta is useful for creating demand and reaching people who are not yet searching for you, but it has its own pace. The first two to four weeks are generally spent learning and testing. Good results come from iteration: test messages and images, stop what fails and put budget behind what works.
Three factors determine success:
- Creative. On Meta, good targeting cannot rescue a weak ad. Creative that stops the scroll is a key factor.
- The offer and landing page. The ad brings people in; the page persuades them.
- Correct measurement setup (Pixel plus Conversions API). Without it, the algorithm optimises with incomplete data and you report figures you cannot rely on.
Common mistakes that waste budget
- A single visual reused until the audience tires of it.
- Audiences that are too narrow, restricting delivery, or too broad for the budget and objective.
- No remarketing, leaving behind people who nearly bought.
- Incomplete measurement: only a browser Pixel, without Conversions API.
- Frequent changes that make comparisons difficult to interpret; significant changes can affect learning.
A hidden cost: account suspension
Meta carries a risk many discover too late: the ad account can be restricted or suspended, sometimes for apparently arbitrary reasons. When that happens, campaigns stop abruptly and recovery can take time. We have written in detail about reducing the risk and responding to suspension. Read it before investing heavily: see our guide to Meta Ads account suspensions.
Not necessarily. Cost per impression may be lower, but user intent differs. Google captures existing demand; Meta creates it. Many businesses use them together, rather than choosing one over the other.
No. Facebook and Instagram are managed in the same place, Meta, and ads can run on both, plus Messenger and Audience Network, using the same budget.
It depends on how visual your product is, but treat asset production as an ongoing investment, not a one-off cost. Ad fatigue is real: what works today can tire within a few weeks.
Yes, at a small scale. As your budget grows, account structure, remarketing, creative testing and correct measurement become specialist work.
Actual cost depends on your industry, offer and objectives, so we start by analysing your situation rather than applying a standard rate. Tell us what you sell and we will prepare a proposal based on real numbers.
View our Facebook & Instagram Ads service βFor other channels, we have guides on Google Ads costs and TikTok Ads in Romania.