Instagram advertising: how much it costs, and what the price depends on

Instagram shows no price list. You search for the cost of an Instagram ad, you find contradictory ranges, and you still do not know what to plan. The reason is simple: there is no rate, there is an auction.

One tool for Facebook and Instagram

Instagram ads are created in Meta's ads manager, the same one as for Facebook. Instagram is one placement among others there: the feed, Stories, Reels. You choose where the ad appears, or you let Meta spread it.

That changes the question. You do not pay for "Instagram", you pay for access to an audience, at a given moment, against other advertisers who want the same one.

What makes the price vary

The audience. The narrower and more sought-after it is, the more the access costs. A small area where ten businesses in the same trade compete for the same households costs more than a broad audience.

The campaign objective. Looking for views, clicks or enquiries does not give the same price, because Meta does not show the ad to the same people.

The creative. A video that people watch to the end is delivered on better terms than one they scroll past. It is the lever you control most. Why an ad costs more and more as it wears out.

The period. When all advertisers push at the same time, as at year end, the auction rises for everyone.

The minimum budget, and why the question is badly put

Meta accepts small daily budgets, so you can start for little. That does not mean it is enough: with too little, the campaign does not receive enough results to learn, and you judge on noise.

The right question is which budget produces enough contacts for the figures to mean something. The reasoning is set out in this article on budget.

A way of calculating that depends on no rate card

Start from what a customer brings you, not from what a click costs.

1. Your margin on a sale: it is what you can spend before losing money.
2. The number of customers you want in a month.
3. The cost per customer you accept to pay, below your margin.

The monthly budget is the product of the second and third lines, before your management costs. On the kitchen case published on this site, advertising cost €667 per kitchen sold, for an average order of €11,000. The case is set out here.

Instagram or Facebook?

The useful question is where your customers are, not which app. You can let Meta spread between the two and then look at where real enquiries come from, not just clicks.

And the Boost button?

It exists on Instagram too, with the same limits as on Facebook: little control, and an objective often ill-suited when you are looking for customers. What it does and what it leaves out.

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Further reading: How much a video ad costs on Meta and the Facebook advertising glossary. To hand it over: choosing an Instagram Ads provider.

Want a budget that holds? Book a 30-minute call. We start from your margin and work out what advertising can cost you per customer.