Most Australian small businesses spend roughly A$500 to A$3,000 a month on Facebook and Instagram ad spend, with cost per click commonly around A$0.50 to A$3. Add a management fee (Scalepoint starts at A$790/month + ad spend, ex GST). Meta clicks are cheaper than Google’s, but they reach people before they are searching.
Facebook and Instagram ads (both run through Meta) are usually cheaper per click than Google Ads, because you are reaching people while they scroll rather than when they are actively searching. That changes how you should think about the budget — and what counts as a result.
The three costs of Facebook ads
- Ad spend — what you pay Meta when people see or click your ads. This goes directly from your card to Meta; a good agency never marks it up.
- Management fee — building, running and optimising the campaigns plus the creative. Scalepoint’s Meta Ads management starts at A$790/month + ad spend (ex GST).
- Creative — the images and short videos themselves. Meta ads live or die on creative, so budget for a regular refresh rather than one set of ads.
What a click (and a lead) costs
As a rough guide (illustrative), cost per click on Meta in Australia often runs A$0.50–A$3 depending on your industry and audience, with cost per lead through a lead form commonly landing somewhere around A$10–A$50. Those numbers move a lot with your offer, creative quality and how tightly you target — which is exactly where management earns its keep.
Cheaper clicks are not automatically cheaper customers. Meta reaches people earlier in their decision, so judge it on cost per lead and cost per booked job over a few weeks — not on the low cost per click alone.
How much should you budget?
For a local business testing Meta, A$500–A$1,000/month in ad spend is a sensible starting point — enough for the platform to find your audience without overcommitting before you have data. Retargeting (showing ads to people who already visited your site) is the cheapest, highest-return place to start, then expand into cold audiences once it is working.
Where Meta fits against Google
Google Ads captures people already searching for you; Meta generates demand and keeps you front-of-mind. Most local businesses get the best results running both — Google for immediate intent, Meta for demand and cheap retargeting. If the budget is tight, start where the intent already exists, then layer Meta in.