Is your campaign on pace, and what daily budget lands the month?
Enter a campaign’s monthly budget, spend to date, active days in the month, the days already completed and the hour you pulled spend. The calculator shows expected spend at that hour, pace, whether the campaign is on pace against your tolerance band, the daily budget that spends exactly what is left, and the month-end forecast at the current run rate. The full report adds the setting to enter in Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and LinkedIn Ads, which each count the rest of the month differently.
Calendar days for campaigns that run every day; business days (for example 21 or 22) for weekday-only campaigns; flight days for a shorter flight.
Counts today’s hours so a morning pull is not compared with a full day. Use 0 if today is not an active day.
How it works: expected spend = budget x time elapsed / active days, where time elapsed is the days completed plus today’s hours up to the pull. Pace = spend / expected spend. Daily budget to hit = budget left / active time left. The full report gives the setting to enter in Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and LinkedIn Ads, which count the rest of the month differently. For every campaign at once, use the free Google Ads budget pacing sheet template.
Overpacing: pace 114%, month-end forecast $51,429
Spend of $21,000 against $18,375 expected by now. To land $45,000, spend about $1,352 per active day from here.
Figures stay in your browser unless you ask us to send the full plan.
How it works
Expected spend, cut to date
Budget x time elapsed / active days. Time elapsed is the days completed plus today’s hours up to the pull, so a 6 am check is compared with a quarter of today, not a full day.
Pace and status
Spend to date divided by expected spend. Inside your tolerance band (10% by default) the campaign is on pace; above it overpacing, below it underpacing.
Daily budget to hit
Budget left divided by the active time left: the daily spend that lands the month exactly.
Platform settings
Google Ads counts the rest of the month in calendar days after a budget change (spent + new daily budget x remaining calendar days); Microsoft Ads uses month-to-date spend + daily budget x days remaining; LinkedIn has a US$10 daily minimum.
Questions about this tool
How do you calculate budget pacing?
Expected spend to date = monthly budget x time elapsed / time in the period. Pace = spend to date / expected spend. Above 100% is ahead of plan, below 100% is behind. The daily budget to hit is the budget left divided by the time left.
Why does the calculator ask for the hour of the pull?
Because a morning check compared with a full day of budget makes every campaign look behind. Counting today’s hours up to the pull is called cut-to-date pacing and removes false underpacing in the morning and false overpacing at night.
How do I pace a weekday-only campaign?
Enter business days as the active days in the month and business days completed. In Google Ads, since June 1, 2026, set the full-month daily budget to plan / 30.4 when the campaign runs 16 or more days, not plan / business days.
What is a good pacing tolerance?
We start with 10% either side of expected spend for large, stable campaigns and 20% for new, small or weekday-only campaigns.
Can I pace every campaign at once?
Yes. Download the free Google Ads budget pacing sheet template for Excel and Google Sheets, or use Pacing Console, which runs the same checks for every Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and LinkedIn Ads campaign and emails only the ones off pace.
Is my data stored?
No. The figures stay in your browser unless you ask for the full report by email.
Turn your numbers into a plan
Two free guides that pick up where this tool stops. Each opens on the page, and we email you the PDF. See all guides and checklists
