Meta budget vs daily spend
Ailis asked what the daily or weekly budget is set at, after spend stopped on Thursday evening and jumped on Saturday. This page shows every day for the last three weeks: what the budget was, what Meta actually spent, and how the Sunday to Saturday weeks landed.
The short answer
- The daily budget is £5,297 across everything live (£37,079 a week). It has grown in steps: £2,092 at the start of the month, £3,772 from 14 Oct, £5,297 since the Christmas creative tests went live on 21 Oct.
- Meta does not spend the daily budget evenly. Its rule (the help page you sent): it may spend up to 75% over the daily budget on a single day, but never more than 7 times the daily budget across a Sunday to Saturday week.
- Delivery stopped at 18:00 UK on Thursday 22 Oct and did not restart until 14:00 on Friday. No one paused anything and no budget, status or billing change appears in the account's change log. About £3,400 went unspent.
- Saturday 24 Oct was Meta catching up: £8,384, 158% of the day's budget, inside its 75% allowance. The Sunday to Saturday week still landed at 99% of budget (£33,313 of £33,654). The Evergreen campaign hit its weekly ceiling to the pound.
- Across all three weeks, spend has tracked budget at 96%, 98%, 99%. Nothing has overspent the week.
Daily budget today
£5,297
all live campaigns and ad sets added up
Meta's weekly ceiling
£37,079
7 x daily, Sunday to Saturday
Last Meta week
99%
£33,313 of £33,654, 18 to 24 Oct
Sat 24 Oct
158%
£8,384 against £5,297
Budget vs spend, every day
Dashed line is the day's budget (everything live, added up). Solid line is what Meta spent. Hover or tap a day for the numbers.
Daily budgetSpentSat 24 Oct catch-up
Each day as a % of its budget
100% means Meta spent exactly the daily budget. Meta's own limit is 175% on a single day.
| Day | Daily budget | Spent | Over / under | % of budget | What changed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 4 Oct | £2,092 | £2,255 | +£163 | 108% | |
| Mon 5 Oct | £2,092 | £2,015 | −£77 | 96% | |
| Tue 6 Oct | £2,092 | £1,956 | −£136 | 94% | |
| Wed 7 Oct | £3,222 | £2,856 | −£366 | 89% | Gifting Christmas launched (£400/day); Evergreen raised £1,820 to £2,550 |
| Thu 8 Oct | £3,222 | £3,281 | +£59 | 102% | |
| Fri 9 Oct | £3,222 | £2,989 | −£233 | 93% | |
| Sat 10 Oct | £3,222 | £3,026 | −£196 | 94% | |
| Sun 11 Oct | £3,222 | £3,528 | +£306 | 109% | |
| Mon 12 Oct | £3,222 | £3,250 | +£28 | 101% | |
| Tue 13 Oct | £3,222 | £3,134 | −£88 | 97% | |
| Wed 14 Oct | £3,772 | £3,374 | −£398 | 89% | Evergreen raised to £3,060; Cook raised to £240 |
| Thu 15 Oct | £3,772 | £3,558 | −£214 | 94% | |
| Fri 16 Oct | £3,772 | £3,659 | −£113 | 97% | |
| Sat 17 Oct | £4,122 | £4,027 | −£95 | 98% | Fir A/B tests live (£200 + £150/day) |
| Sun 18 Oct | £4,122 | £4,416 | +£294 | 107% | |
| Mon 19 Oct | £4,172 | £4,078 | −£94 | 98% | Retention campaign live (£50/day) |
| Tue 20 Oct | £4,172 | £4,061 | −£111 | 97% | |
| Wed 21 Oct | £5,297 | £4,872 | −£425 | 92% | Christmas creative tests live (£1,125/day across 4 ad sets) |
| Thu 22 Oct | £5,297 | £3,353 | −£1,944 | 63% | Delivery stopped at 18:00 UK. Nothing paused by anyone; not in the change log |
| Fri 23 Oct | £5,297 | £4,150 | −£1,147 | 78% | Nothing delivered until 14:00 UK, then ran at about 1.6x the usual hourly rate |
| Sat 24 Oct | £5,297 | £8,384 | +£3,087 | 158% | Meta catch-up day: 58% over budget, inside its 75% single-day allowance |
| Sun 25 Oct | £5,297 | £4,406 so far | Today, to 18:00 UK only (partial) |
Week by week
Meta's weekly ceiling is 7 times the daily budget, counted Sunday to Saturday. Where the budget changed mid-week, the week's budget is the sum of each day's budget.
Budget for the weekSpent
| Meta week (Sun to Sat) | Budget for the week | Spent | Over / under | % of budget |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 4 Oct to Sat 10 Oct | £19,164 | £18,378 | −£786 | 96% |
| Sun 11 Oct to Sat 17 Oct | £25,104 | £24,531 | −£573 | 98% |
| Sun 18 Oct to Sat 24 Oct | £33,654 | £33,313 | −£341 | 99% |
| Sun 25 Oct onward (current week) | £37,079 if nothing changes | £4,406 to 18:00 today |
What happened Thursday to Saturday, hour by hour
Spend fell to £25 in the 17:00 hour on Thursday and to nothing from 18:00. It came back at 14:00 Friday at about 1.6 times the usual hourly rate, and Saturday morning ran at roughly double.
Where Saturday's catch-up went
Meta applies the weekly ceiling per campaign budget (or per ad set budget), not to the account as a whole. Every live budget caught up on Saturday; none went past 175% of its daily amount.
| Campaign / ad set | Daily budget | Sat 24 Oct spent | Sat % of daily | Week budget (18 to 24) | Week spent | Week % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Evergreen (CBO) | £3,060 | £4,948 | 162% | £21,420 | £21,419 | 100% |
| Gifting Christmas (CBO) | £400 | £657 | 164% | £2,800 | £2,796 | 100% |
| Cook Candles (CBO) | £240 | £394 | 164% | £1,680 | £1,679 | 100% |
| Subscription Opt-In (CBO) | £72 | £112 | 155% | £504 | £504 | 100% |
| Fir A/B Statics (ad set) | £200 | £195 | 97% | £1,400 | £1,398 | 100% |
| Fir A/B Videos (ad set) | £150 | £239 | 159% | £1,050 | £1,049 | 100% |
| Retention All Purchasers (ad set) | £50 | £77 | 155% | £300 (6 days) | £293 | 98% |
| Test 1 Fir Proof (ad set) | £300 | £496 | 165% | £1,200 (4 days) | £1,113 | 93% |
| Test 2 Fir Message (ad set) | £225 | £370 | 164% | £900 (4 days) | £836 | 93% |
| Test 3 Starter Pack Scent (ad set) | £300 | £434 | 145% | £1,200 (4 days) | £1,113 | 93% |
| Test 4 Icicle Proof (ad set) | £300 | £461 | 154% | £1,200 (4 days) | £1,114 | 93% |
| Account | £5,297 | £8,384 | 158% | £33,654 | £33,313 | 99% |
What is budgeted right now
| Campaign / ad set | Daily budget now | Live since / changes in this window |
|---|---|---|
| Evergreen (CBO) | £3,060 | Wed 7 Oct: £2,550 · Wed 14 Oct: £3,060 |
| Cook Candles (CBO) | £240 | Wed 14 Oct: £240 |
| Subscription Opt-In (CBO) | £72 | before Sun 4 Oct |
| Gifting Christmas (CBO) | £400 | Wed 7 Oct: £400 |
| Fir A/B Statics (ad set) | £200 | Sat 17 Oct: £200 |
| Fir A/B Videos (ad set) | £150 | Sat 17 Oct: £150 |
| Retention All Purchasers (ad set) | £50 | Mon 19 Oct: £50 |
| Christmas Creative Testing (4 ad sets) | £1,125 | Wed 21 Oct: £1,125 |
| Total | £5,297 | = £37,079 per Meta week · at most £9,270 on any single day |
How to read this
- Budgets per day are rebuilt from the account's change log (budget edits and campaign or ad set switch-ons). A budget raised during a day counts at its new level for that whole day.
- Spend is from Meta's reporting API in the account's time zone (UK). Today is partial, to 18:00.
- Meta weeks run Sunday to Saturday. Our own weekly reporting runs Monday to Sunday, which is why a Saturday catch-up can look like an overspend in one view and not the other.