Running Facebook ads without a solid budget strategy is like pouring water into a leaky bucket. You might get lucky, but chances are, you're just wasting money.

In 2025, CPMs are up, competition is fierce, and every rupee (or dollar) needs to work harder.

So how do top brands actually split their Facebook ad budgets? And how can small businesses make the most of limited spends?

In this guide, we break down:

• How to budget for testing vs. scaling

• The ideal funnel-stage allocation

• Budget strategies for new vs. mature accounts

• Real-world examples to borrow from

Let’s dive in — because spending smarter beats spending more.

---

The 70/20/10 Rule for Budget Allocation

A simple — yet surprisingly effective — budget model looks like this:

% of Budget	Focus	Objective
70%	Scaling winners	Maximize proven ad sets and creatives
20%	Testing creatives/audiences	Find the next winning combo
10%	Experimental	Try bold new angles, placements, or offers

 

This model works because it balances:

• Consistency (from scaled campaigns)

• Optimization (from structured tests)

• Innovation (from experiments that could unlock 10x results)

---

Budgeting by Funnel Stage (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU)

Another layer is funnel-based budget split. Here's what a typical breakdown looks like for ecommerce:

Funnel Stage	Audience	% of Budget	Goal
TOFU	Cold audiences	60–70%	Brand awareness, traffic
MOFU	Engaged users	20–25%	Education, consideration
BOFU	ATC, Checkout visitors	10–15%	Purchase, conversion

 

Why this works:

• Cold traffic needs volume to optimize

• Warm traffic needs context to convert

• Hot traffic just needs the right nudge

If you're missing one of these layers, you're leaving money on the table.

Need help mapping your budget to each stage? QuickAds’ Facebook Ads Agency does this across hundreds of brands — from $50/day to $50K/month.

---

How to Budget for Creative Testing

Creative is the biggest lever in Meta Ads in 2025. But testing without a plan = chaos.

Here’s how to do it right:

Step 1: Dedicate 20% of your total ad budget to creative testing.

If you spend ₹10,000/day, that’s ₹2,000/day for testing new:

• Hooks

• Angles

• Formats (video, carousel, UGC, static)

Step 2: Use ABO (Ad Set Budget Optimization) for control

ABO lets you manually assign budgets to each test, so Facebook doesn’t kill promising ideas too early.

Step 3: Kill or scale in 3–4 days

Monitor:

• CTR (aim for 1.5%+)

• Cost per result (within 2x your average)

• Quality ranking (above average)

If it's underperforming, kill fast. If it's outperforming, move it to the scaling layer (CBO).

---

What If You Only Have ₹500–₹1,000/day?

You can still run smart ads — you just need ruthless focus.

Here’s a lean plan:

• ₹700/day on 1 cold audience (broad + lookalike) with your best performing creative

• ₹200/day on retargeting (site visitors + IG engagers past 7 days)

• ₹100/day testing 1 new hook or offer each week

Stretching your ad dollars? Focus on creative before scaling spend. And be patient — the algorithm needs 3–5 days to stabilize.

---

Real Example: Scaling a Skincare Brand from ₹3K to ₹15K/day

A D2C skincare brand came to us with scattered campaigns and zero structure. They were spending ₹3K/day but seeing inconsistent ROAS (1.2x to 2x).

Here’s what we did:

• Applied the 70/20/10 model

• Built a full-funnel structure: quiz ads at TOFU, reviews at MOFU, DPAs at BOFU

• Allocated ₹600/day to testing new hooks weekly

• Used CBO at scale for proven combos

Within 60 days:

• ROAS jumped to 4.1x

• CAC dropped by 33%

• Scaled to ₹15K/day spend profitably

It’s not about how much you spend. It’s how you structure it.

This model came straight from QuickAds’ Facebook Ads Agency, and we’ve seen it repeatably succeed across industries.

---

Bonus: When (and How) to Increase Budget

You’ve found a winner — great. Now what?

Here’s how to scale without breaking performance:

✅ Increase budget by 20–30% every 2–3 days

Meta prefers gradual scaling. Big jumps = volatility.

✅ Use rules-based automation

Set rules like:

“If cost per purchase < ₹500, increase budget by 25%”

✅ Scale horizontally AND vertically

• Horizontal: Duplicate ad set to new audiences

• Vertical: Increase budget on existing ad set

---

Mistakes to Avoid With Budget Allocation

???? Running all ad sets with the same budget
???? No dedicated testing budget
???? Scaling too fast
???? No funnel segmentation
???? Not pausing underperformers in time

---

Final Thoughts: Budget Strategy Isn’t Sexy — But It’s What Separates Amateurs from Pros

Facebook ads are not just about creative genius or clever hooks. They’re about smart resource management.

The best-performing brands we work with have one thing in common: they treat ad spend like investment capital — with clear portfolio strategy, allocation, and risk mitigation.

So whether you’re spending ₹500/day or ₹50,000/day:

• Use structured frameworks

• Dedicate space for testing

• Match spend to funnel stage

• React to performance with intention — not panic

And if you’re looking for expert hands to manage that structure for you? QuickAds’ Facebook Ads Agency is built for exactly that.