Budget pacing calculator
Type each campaign's budget, start and end date, and the amount spent if it is already running. You get the daily budget to set, whether spend is on track today, and the new daily budget that lands exactly on budget by the end date. Works for any ad platform, in any currency.
Free, no signup. Everything runs in your browser: nothing you type, paste or open is sent to us, unless you press Send on the column names, which shows you exactly what goes first. Your rows are saved only in this browser, so you can come back tomorrow. We only count which buttons get used, with no cookies.
1 Your campaigns
One row per campaign or flight. Use any currency; the numbers are yours. Only the budget and the two dates are needed.
Usually today. Amount spent is everything spent before this date. Google Ads calls it Cost.
These three rows are an example. Change the numbers to your own, or .
In Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads, select the campaign table and copy it, header row included, then paste it here. Or choose the exported .csv file. It is read in your browser and never uploaded.
Columns can be in any order. You see how each one is matched, and can change it, before any rows are added.
What we assumed. Check these before adding:
This is everything that would be sent: the column names, where each went, and the format of a few cells with every digit turned into 9 and every word into "aaa". No campaign names, amounts or dates.
Sent. Thank you, this helps the tool read more exports.
Optional: a total budget across all campaigns
If the campaigns add up to more than this, step 2 says so.
2 What to set today
For each campaign: the daily budget to set, whether spend is on track, and the new daily budget that lands exactly on budget by the end date. The numbers update as you type.
This is everything that would be sent: the column names, where each went, and the format of a few cells with every digit turned into 9 and every word into "aaa". No campaign names, amounts or dates.
Sent. Thank you, this helps the tool read more exports.
How the numbers are worked out
- Planned daily budget is the budget divided evenly over every day of the flight, start and end dates included.
- Plan said by now is the planned daily budget times the full days finished before the check date. The check date itself still counts as a day to come.
- On track means spend is within 10% of that figure either way. Further out shows as ahead or behind.
- New daily budget is what is left of the budget divided by the days left, so the campaign ends exactly on budget. Change the budget or the end date mid-flight and it updates.
- Pacing is even across days. Ad platforms do not spend exactly the daily budget each day. Meta may spend up to 75% over the daily budget in a day, but no more than 7 times it in a week from Sunday to Saturday (Meta: About daily budgets). Google may spend up to twice the average daily budget in a day, but no more than 30.4 times it in a month (Google Ads: About overdelivery). So compare the week's spend, not one day's.
How to get the export
In step 1, press Paste from Ads Manager or Google Ads, then paste the table or choose the exported CSV file. You see how each column is read before any rows are added.
- Meta Ads Manager: open the Campaigns tab, then Reports, Export table data, and pick CSV. Or select the table and copy it.
- Google Ads: open Campaigns, click the download icon above the table, and pick CSV. Or select the table and copy it.
- Export the whole flight, from the start date to yesterday, so the amount spent covers every day so far.
- Google Ads has no start or end date columns, so type the dates in after adding. Meta exports include them.
Checking the rest of the launch?
The UTM link checker finds broken tracking links before they go live, and the campaign naming and UTM builder makes names and links that follow your convention.
Not sure what ROAS the budget needs to hit? The ROAS and break-even calculator works it out from your margin.
Coming next: the pre-flight checker for Meta and Google
Upload your Ads Manager or Google Ads export, tell it what you meant, and it flags what launched wrong: wrong geo, an extra zero on the budget, a missing end date, the wrong creative. Your file stays in your browser.
Get early accessFAQ
Questions, answered
How to pace an ad budget, what to do when a campaign is overspending or underspending, and how this calculator works.
Still stuck? Email hello@weekendproof.com
How do I work out a daily budget from a total budget?
Divide the total budget by the number of days in the flight, counting both the start and the end date. A 3,000 budget from 1 to 30 November is 30 days, so 100 a day. The calculator does this for every campaign and adds the daily budgets up, so you can see what all campaigns will spend in a day.
What is budget pacing in paid media?
Pacing is how fast a campaign spends its budget compared with the plan. On track means spend matches the days gone by; ahead means it will run out of money before the end date; behind means money will be left over. Checking pacing every day or two catches both before they cost a client the month.
My campaign is overspending. What daily budget should I set now?
Take what is left of the budget and divide it by the days left, including today. If 3,000 was the budget, 1,200 is spent and 21 days remain, set 1,800 divided by 21, about 85.71 a day. Type the budget, the dates and the spend so far and the calculator shows this number for each campaign.
My campaign is underspending. Should I raise the daily budget?
Only if you want to spend the full budget by the end date. The new daily budget is what is left divided by the days left. Underspend usually has a cause, like a small audience, low bids or ads waiting for review, so raising the budget alone may not fix it. The calculator shows how far behind you are so you can judge.
Why does Meta or Google spend more than my daily budget on some days?
Both platforms pace to a longer window, not to a single day. Meta's help page says it may spend up to 75% over your daily budget in a day, but no more than 7 times the daily budget in a week from Sunday to Saturday. Google's help page says a campaign might spend up to twice its average daily budget in a day, but no more than 30.4 times it in a month. Compare a week of spend with the plan rather than one day.
Does the calculator work for Meta, Google, TikTok and other platforms?
Yes. It is plain arithmetic on a budget, two dates and the spend so far, so it works for any platform, and for programmatic flights too. It does not read your ad account; you type or paste the numbers from Ads Manager, Google Ads or your media plan.
Can I paste my Ads Manager or Google Ads export?
Yes. Copy the campaign table from Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads, or choose the exported CSV file, and the calculator fills in the name, budget, dates and amount spent from the columns it finds. It knows the usual column names, like Campaign name, Budget, Starts, Ends and Amount spent in Meta, or Campaign, Budget and Cost in Google Ads. If a column is not matched, pick it from the list. Anything missing, like dates, you can type in after. Before any rows are added you see how each column was read and what was assumed, like daily budgets turned into flight totals. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.
Does my data leave my browser?
No. The numbers are worked out in your browser and saved only in this browser, so they are there when you come back. A file you open here is read in your browser too. We count which buttons get used, with no cookies and nothing you type, paste or open. If a column is read wrong, you can choose to send us the column names: you see exactly what goes first, which is the names and the format of a few cells with every digit turned into 9, like 9,999.99, and never a campaign name, amount or date.
Is it free?
Yes, with no signup and no limit on campaigns.