Budget pacing calculator.
Check whether your campaign is on track: your ideal spend to date, and where your current run-rate will land by the end of the period.
Ideal to date = budget × (days elapsed ÷ days in period). Projected = spend ÷ days elapsed × days in period. Setting a budget from scratch? Try the ad budget calculator.
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How budget pacing works.
Budget pacing checks whether your spend is on track to use the budget by the end of the period: without a big underspend left on the table or an overspend before the month is out.
- Ideal spend to date = budget × (days elapsed ÷ days in period). With £10,000 over 30 days, you'd expect about £3,333 spent after 10 days.
- Projected spend = spend so far ÷ days elapsed × days in period. £4,000 spent in 10 days projects to £12,000: a £2,000 overspend if nothing changes.
How to correct pacing
- Overspending: trim daily budgets across the remaining days rather than pausing campaigns, which can disrupt automated bidding.
- Underspending: check for budget-limited campaigns, low bids, narrow targeting or disapproved ads before simply raising budgets.
- Plan a spend curve: weekends, paydays and sales events rarely spend evenly, so a flat daily line isn't always the right target.
Pacing matters most in peak periods: see our Black Friday paid media plan and Christmas and January sales plan, and it's part of every account we run through media management.
Keep calculating.
Ad budget calculator
Work back from the sales or leads you want to the monthly and daily ad budget you need, using your conversion rate and cost per click.
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Open tool →Budget pacing questions.
01What is budget pacing?
Budget pacing is spending your media budget evenly (or intentionally) across a period so you don’t overspend early or leave budget unspent at the end.
02How do I know if I’m pacing correctly?
Compare spend-to-date against the ideal (budget × days elapsed ÷ days in period). This tool also projects your end-of-period spend from your current run-rate.
03Why does pacing matter?
Front-loading can exhaust budget before key days; under-pacing leaves reach and revenue on the table. Steady pacing also helps automated bidding learn.
Disciplined pacing is part of good media management. See how we run paid media.