Facebook Ads Spend Benchmarks
How much do businesses spend on Meta ads? Monthly spend data from 1.5M active advertisers across Facebook, Instagram, and Audience Network.
The dataset includes SaaS and non-SaaS businesses. Spend figures are modeled estimates for the available subset, not audited advertising budgets. Each table shows how many businesses have estimates.
Last updated: September 20, 2026
Compare estimated Facebook ad spend for B2C and B2B SaaS ($1,299 vs $624 median). The biggest spenders are in Weight Loss categories—averaging $145,607/month. Only 1.2% of advertisers have spend estimates.
Ad Spend Distribution
Modeled estimatesAd spend distribution is heavily right-skewed. While median spend is $580/mo, the average of $6,500 is pulled up by large advertisers. The top 10% spend $8,288+ per month.
Ad Spend by Business Category
Modeled estimates| Category | Businesses | Median Spend | Avg Spend | 75th %ile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise Platform | 4319 with estimates | $15,276 | $137,572 | $106,910 |
| Null | 112 with estimates | $15,003 | $15,003 | $21,760 |
| Payment Fintech | 163 with estimates | $4,365 | $6,935 | $10,108 |
| Gaming | 714 with estimates | $1,868 | $4,697 | $5,625 |
| Health Fitness | 174 with estimates | $1,574 | $1,606 | $2,996 |
| B2C SaaS | 8,9052,658 with estimates | $1,299 | $15,591 | $6,157 |
| Travel Booking | 30520 with estimates | $1,063 | $2,701 | $2,449 |
| E-commerce | 143,8534,066 with estimates | $637 | $8,699 | $3,551 |
| B2B SaaS | 8,8792,473 with estimates | $624 | $4,842 | $2,109 |
| Other | 14,9911,218 with estimates | $485 | $3,725 | $1,944 |
| Content & Media | 17,7471,405 with estimates | $476 | $2,891 | $1,957 |
| Nonprofit & Gov | 10,641680 with estimates | $429 | $2,393 | $1,417 |
| Education Platform | 4610 with estimates | $390 | $2,644 | $3,989 |
| Courses & Info Products | 14,5181,099 with estimates | $385 | $1,624 | $1,191 |
| Agency & Services | 10,199621 with estimates | $316 | $2,029 | $974 |
| Real Estate Tech | 49031 with estimates | $273 | $450 | $487 |
| Finance Banking | 113 with estimates | $178 | $1,312 | $1,903 |
| Ride Sharing | 380 with estimates | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Hr Recruiting | 130 with estimates | N/A | N/A | N/A |
B2C SaaS has estimated median ad spend at $1,299/mo. E-commerce has the most advertisers (143,853) but lower median spend.
Ad Spend by Vertical (Top 20)
Modeled estimates| Vertical | Businesses | Median Spend | Avg Spend |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weight Loss | 7327 with estimates | $6,244 | $145,607 |
| Credit Score | 2216 with estimates | $35,733 | $61,478 |
| AI Chatbot & Assistant | 18539 with estimates | $1,113 | $53,865 |
| Ai Game | 8737 with estimates | $12,890 | $44,274 |
| Insurance | 7020 with estimates | $14,601 | $39,555 |
| Vpn Security | 3514 with estimates | $11,899 | $27,127 |
| Entertainment & Streaming | 22549 with estimates | $273 | $26,986 |
| Finance & Banking | 808201 with estimates | $3,057 | $26,886 |
| Food Delivery | 459 with estimates | $1,576 | $20,880 |
| Gaming | 23225 with estimates | $2,949 | $19,408 |
| Photo & Video Editing | 3113 with estimates | $3,126 | $17,062 |
| Language Learning | 14454 with estimates | $840 | $16,597 |
| Mental Wellness | 25952 with estimates | $1,684 | $16,084 |
| Ai Voice Speech | 10642 with estimates | $1,494 | $15,925 |
| Budgeting Expense | 5218 with estimates | $2,219 | $15,622 |
| Payment & Fintech | 34693 with estimates | $1,723 | $15,588 |
| Money Transfer | 2112 with estimates | $7,283 | $15,235 |
| Health & Fitness | 1,990506 with estimates | $836 | $14,832 |
| Marketing Automation | 875248 with estimates | $634 | $14,002 |
| AI Personal Tutor | 516182 with estimates | $1,747 | $13,661 |
Finance & Banking estimated average spend—$26,886/mo average. The gap between median and average indicates a few massive spenders skewing the data.
Ad Spend by Activity Level
Modeled estimates| Activity Tier | Businesses | % of Total | Median Spend | Avg Spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power (100+ ads) | 29,6217,306 with estimates | 1.9% | $1,117 | $12,714 |
| Growth (20-99 ads) | 100,8527,278 with estimates | 6.5% | $385 | $2,283 |
| Active (5-19 ads) | 276,3232,931 with estimates | 17.9% | $433 | $1,853 |
| Testing (1-4 ads) | 1,013,936435 with estimates | 65.7% | $1,299 | $4,039 |
| Inactive (0 ads) | 121,6633 with estimates | 7.9% | $4,469 | $3,826 |
Compare spend estimates by advertising activity. Active-ad counts and spend do not necessarily move together. Use the median and coverage in each tier when comparing advertisers.
Ad Spend by Reach/Size
Modeled estimates| Size Tier | Businesses | Median Spend | 75th %ile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise (100M+ reach) | 341230 with estimates | $72,731 | $155,015 |
| Large (10M-100M) | 4,7681,618 with estimates | $7,361 | $21,415 |
| Mid-Market (1M-10M) | 35,8085,459 with estimates | $1,113 | $3,507 |
| Growing (100K-1M) | 175,19410,646 with estimates | $316 | $1,009 |
| Small (10K-100K) | 449,8950 with estimates | N/A | N/A |
| Micro (<10K) | 876,3890 with estimates | N/A | N/A |
Ad spend scales dramatically with reach. Enterprise advertisers (100M+ reach) spend $72,731/mo median—vs N/A for small businesses.
Key Takeaways
Median ad spend is $580/mo. But the average is $6,500—pulled up by large advertisers spending $8,288+.
Compare B2C and B2B SaaS. $1,299 vs $624 median—reflecting higher volume, lower-touch sales models.
Most advertisers are testing. ~65% run only 1-4 active ads at any time.
Finance & Banking are big spenders. Averaging $26,886/mo—driven by high-value customer acquisition.
Methodology & Data Sources
Primary data source: Meta Ad Library API. Continuous monitoring across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network.
Sample: 1,542,395 businesses with active Meta advertising.
Spend data: 17,953 advertisers (1.2%) have spend estimates.
Update frequency: Weekly. Last refresh: September 20, 2026.
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