Set up the Budget Optimizer
The Budget Optimizer automatically redistributes your ad budget toward the campaigns that are performing best — reducing spend on underperformers and increasing it on campaigns delivering results. It runs on a schedule you define and works across multiple campaigns simultaneously.
Who this is for
Advertisers running multiple campaigns at the same time who want to maximize overall return without manually adjusting budgets every day. Works best when you have at least two active campaigns to compare against each other.
How the Budget Optimizer works
The Budget Optimizer monitors your active campaigns and compares performance against your optimization goal (auto, cost per lead, CTR, CPM, etc.). Once running, it shifts budget from lower-performing campaigns to higher-performing ones — staying within the total budget you define. It does not create new campaigns or change your creatives, audiences, or targeting.
Budget Optimizer is separate from Optimize for Me. Optimize for Me adjusts audiences and creatives within a single campaign. Budget Optimizer moves budget between campaigns. Both can be active at the same time.
Where to find it
Open the Advertise tab and look for the Optimizations tab, within it you'll find the Budget Optimizer.
Steps
- Open the Advertise tab.
- Group campaigns together from the Groups tab.
- Head over to the Budget Optimizer and select the created group.
- Choose your optimization goal — the metric the optimizer should prioritize when deciding where to shift budget (e.g., lowest cost per lead, a target CPM, etc) or let the AI take it's automatic paced approach.
- Save and activate. The Budget Optimizer will begin monitoring and will apply its first rebalance at the next scheduled interval.
Once active, the Budget Optimizer runs automatically on your schedule. You can review its allocation decisions and rebalance history from the Budget Optimizer panel. You can pause or deactivate it at any time without affecting the underlying campaigns.
When to use the Budget Optimizer
- You're running 3 or more campaigns and manually adjusting budgets daily is taking too long.
- You have a fixed total monthly budget to spread across campaigns and want it weighted by results rather than split evenly.
- You want to test multiple campaign variations (audiences, creatives, platforms) and let performance data drive budget allocation automatically.
Common issues
Budget Optimizer isn't shifting budget as expected
Check that your campaigns have enough performance data for the optimizer to make comparisons — very new campaigns may not have sufficient signal. Also verify that the campaign budget you set per campaign are not too low, thus preventing meaningful shifts.
One campaign is consuming most of the budget
This is expected behavior if that campaign is significantly outperforming others on your chosen goal. Review whether the other campaigns need creative refreshes or targeting adjustments before re-entering them into the optimization pool.
Related articles
- Set up Optimize for Me
- Set up the Rules Engine
- Use Optimization Folders to maximize ROI
- How much budget for a Facebook campaign?