About this tool
The Campaign Budget Calculator turns a conversion goal into a media budget by walking back up the funnel: the conversions you want, divided by the conversion rate, give the clicks you need; the clicks divided by the click-through rate give the impressions; and the impressions at your CPM give the spend. It runs in reverse too, turning a fixed budget into the impressions, clicks, and conversions it should deliver. It is for media planners and small-business advertisers sizing a campaign before launch, for anyone asked how much a hundred leads will cost, and for campaign managers who need a daily budget and a pacing schedule they can check against the platform mid-flight. The pacing check compares what you have spent so far with what the plan says you should have spent by that day, and a sensitivity table shows how the budget moves if the conversion rate turns out higher or lower than assumed.
How it works
Forward: clicks = target conversions ÷ CVR; impressions = clicks ÷ CTR; budget = impressions × CPM ÷ 1,000. With 100 conversions, a 3% conversion rate, 1.5% CTR, and an 8.00 CPM that is 3,333.3 clicks, 222,222 impressions, and a budget of 1,777.78. Reverse: impressions = budget ÷ CPM × 1,000; clicks = impressions × CTR; conversions = clicks × CVR. The implied prices follow from the same chain: CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR) and CPA = CPC ÷ CVR. Daily figures divide the plan by the campaign length in days, the pacing table accumulates them week by week, and the pacing check computes expected spend = budget × days elapsed ÷ campaign days and the projected total at the current daily rate. Currency symbols are display only.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I get the CPM, CTR, and conversion rate to plan with?
From your own history first: the last comparable campaign on the same platform and audience is the best predictor. Without history, use the platform's forecasting tool or planner for CPM and CTR, and a conservative conversion rate from your analytics for the landing page you will send traffic to. Plan with the pessimistic end of each range; budgets built on best-case rates run out early.
Why is the budget so sensitive to the conversion rate?
Because every stage of the plan is divided by it. Halving the conversion rate from 3% to 1.5% doubles the clicks needed, which doubles the impressions and the budget. CTR works the same way. Small percentage-point changes in either rate are large relative changes, which is why the sensitivity table on this page matters more than the headline number.
How should I set the daily budget?
Divide the campaign budget by the number of days it runs, then expect the platform to vary around that figure; most allow daily spend to exceed the daily budget by up to double on some days while holding the monthly total. Set the daily figure from this page, check cumulative spend against the pacing table every few days, and adjust the daily cap rather than the total when you are ahead or behind.
What if the campaign is overpacing or underpacing?
Overpacing (spent more than the schedule by this day) means the budget will run out before the end unless the daily cap comes down, or that the CPM is higher than planned. Underpacing usually means bids or audience are too tight to spend the budget, so the target will be missed even though money is left. In both cases compare actual CPM, CTR, and conversion rate with the plan to find which assumption broke.