The cost of paid social isn't just the media budget shown in Ads Manager. A functioning package is made up of media, expert work, ad content, measurement and landing page development.
The cheapest execution usually isn't the one with the smallest monthly invoice — it's the one where money isn't spent without sufficient data and the ability to make decisions from results.
Four costs your budget needs to account for
The media budget is the amount the platform spends on showing your ads. On top of that you need planning, campaign building, optimisation and reporting.
A third cost comes from ad creative: images, videos, UGC content, versioning and new test angles. A fourth part is measurement and the conversion path, such as analytics, cookie consent management, Meta Pixel, Conversions API, and website or e-commerce development.
You don't need to buy every cost element from the same partner. What matters is that someone owns the whole picture. If campaigns are optimised but no new content gets produced, results stall. If the content works but the purchase path leaks, increasing the media budget isn't a good idea.
Realistic starting levels
Platforms don't have one single correct minimum budget. Meta itself, for example, stresses having a budget sufficient for roughly seven days so its system has time to learn. In practice, the right starting level depends on the target cost of conversion, the size of the market, and how many campaigns or channels the budget needs to cover.
- For a small local business, €200–300 may be enough for a limited demand test.
- For ongoing e-commerce customer acquisition, €1,500–3,000 a month is often a more practical starting point for one main channel.
- In a multi-channel model, the media budget easily rises above €5,000 a month.
These are planning starting points, not platform-required minimums or promises of results.
Note
The budget examples are Komi Media's professional starting points, not results promised by the platforms or fixed minimum requirements. Platform features, ad formats and technical limits are always checked before a campaign launches.
Partner fees and content budget
A partner's fee is generally determined by the number of channels, markets, campaigns, reporting needs and the level of strategic responsibility. In Finland, ongoing expert services might run around €2,000–4,000 a month, more for demanding setups. A flat percentage of the media budget alone doesn't reflect the workload, so it's worth checking the responsibilities and scope in any proposal.
Set aside a separate budget for content. Light creator or UGC production can start from a few hundred euros, but ongoing testing requires repeated production. A good rule of thumb isn't a fixed percentage, but having enough genuinely different concepts relative to the media spend.
What the overall budget should deliver
A good budget buys more than visibility. It should produce reliable measurement, new customers or leads, insight into what audiences and messages work, and decisions for the next period.
If a company can't say what it learned last month, the cost of advertising is too high, regardless of the cost per click.
How to proceed in practice
It's worth building three budgeting scenarios:
- Minimum level. Test one channel, one market and one primary goal.
- Baseline level. Advertising runs continuously, new concepts are produced monthly, and a partner handles optimisation.
- Growth level. Multiple markets or channels are involved along with more active production.
These scenarios force you to see what gets left undone with a smaller budget.
Also work the media budget backwards from your target business outcome. If the goal is 100 new customers and an acceptable acquisition cost of €40, the acquisition media need alone is roughly €4,000. The calculation doesn't guarantee results, but it quickly reveals whether the goal and budget are realistically compatible.