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How much do Facebook ads cost in 2026?

For most local service businesses, Facebook ads run about $0.50 to $3.00 per click and roughly $7 to $15 per 1,000 views. A realistic starting budget is $300 to $1,500 a month in ad spend. Where you land inside those ranges comes down to four things: your audience, your industry, the season, and how good your ad and landing page actually are.

We run paid ads for our own cleaning company in Tucson and HVAC company in Sacramento, so these aren't guessed numbers. They're what we pay, and what we watch closely — because the cost per click matters far less than the cost per booked job.

What sample budgets actually get you

Testing budget

$300–$500/mo

Enough to learn whether your offer and audience work in a small area. Expect a handful of leads while the system gathers data. Below $300 a month, Facebook can't find a reliable pattern and you're mostly buying noise.

Working budget

$800–$1,500/mo

Enough spend for the algorithm to optimize toward real conversions and for you to see a steady lead flow. This is where most local businesses see ads start to pay back, assuming the landing page converts.

Scaling budget

$2,000+/mo

For a proven offer you want to push across a wider area. Only worth it after the smaller budgets have shown a positive return — scaling a campaign that loses money just loses money faster.

If you hire someone to run the ads, management typically adds 10–20% of spend or a flat $300–$1,000/mo on top.

What moves the price

Facebook ads vs. Google: which fits your business

The honest version: Facebook is demand generation — it puts you in front of people who aren't searching yet, which suits visual, considered services like remodels, landscaping, and cleaning. Google search is demand capture — it catches people who already have the problem, which wins for urgent needs like a burst pipe or a dead AC. Most local businesses get better returns starting with the one that matches how their customers actually buy.

If your customers find you by searching, your money is usually better spent ranking in Google first. See local SEO cost for that math, whether local SEO is worth it, and SEO for home services for what ships monthly.

When you should not run Facebook ads

Facebook ads reward businesses that already have a page that converts and a way to catch the lead. Get those in place, then the ad math works.

We don't post stock testimonials. On a 15-minute call we screen-share the real dashboards behind our own businesses — live leads, rankings, and the exact page that produced each one. See the proof →

Common questions

What's a good cost per lead on Facebook?

For local services it ranges widely, often $10 to $50 per lead depending on the trade and how qualified the lead is. The number that matters is cost per booked job, which depends on how well you follow up.

Do I need an agency to run Facebook ads?

Not at small budgets. A focused owner can run a simple campaign. Hiring help makes sense once spend is high enough that a 10–20% management fee is cheaper than the money a beginner wastes learning.

What do you charge?

We don't sell ad management as a standalone. We build the site and tracking that make any ad spend work, from $249/mo, and add the SEO content engine at $597/mo. Every plan comes with a free 48-hour demo.

Fix the page before
you spend on ads.

Send your company name and metro — we'll confirm your market is open and build a working demo within 48 hours, tracking wired in. Free, no card, no commitment. You own the site, the domain, and every lead.

Prefer email? [email protected]

Plans $249 · $597 · from $1,750/mo — month-to-month, no contracts.

Get a Free Demo