Managing ad spend across multiple campaigns can quickly get complicated — especially when scaling aggressively or working with multiple clients under one ad account. Facebook’s Account Spending Limit (ASL) feature helps advertisers maintain financial control by capping total spend at the account level.

While it may seem like a simple budgeting tool, the ASL also interacts with Facebook’s billing system, payment thresholds, and compliance safeguards. Understanding how this limit works — and how to manage or increase it — can make a big difference in your campaign stability and scaling flexibility.

In this guide, we’ll break down what the Facebook ad account spending limit is, how it differs from campaign and daily limits, how to manage it effectively, and what to do when you hit restrictions.

What Is the Facebook Account Spending Limit?

Before you begin setting budgets or scaling campaigns, it’s crucial to understand how Meta (Facebook) defines spending controls at different levels.

According to Meta Business Help Center: “An account spending limit is an optional setting that lets you set a maximum amount that your ad account can spend across all campaigns.”

Once your ad account reaches that amount, all active campaigns automatically stop delivering — even if their individual budgets aren’t exhausted. To continue running ads, you’ll need to increase, remove, or reset this limit.

The Account Spending Limit is particularly useful for:

• Agencies managing multiple clients and budgets

• Businesses testing new campaigns under strict cost caps

• Advertisers seeking a safeguard against unexpected overspending or billing errors, or in a worst-case scenario, unauthorized charges if your Facebook Ads Account gets hacked.

Different Types of Spending Limits on Facebook Ads

Before you start adjusting your budgets, it’s important to understand that Facebook provides several levels of spending limits to help advertisers maintain financial control. Each type of limit serves a unique purpose — from managing your entire account to setting caps for individual campaigns.

Below are the three main types of spending limits you should know:

1. Account Spending Limit (ASL)

The Account Spending Limit applies to your entire ad account.
It’s the total amount you’re willing to spend across all campaigns within that account.

Key points:

• Managed manually by the account admin.

• Once your total spend reaches this limit, all ads stop running automatically until the limit is increased, removed, or reset.

• Can be adjusted anytime in the Billing & Payments section of Ads Manager.

• Ideal for advertisers who want a hard cap on total ad spending — for example, when managing multiple campaigns with shared budgets.

2. Campaign Spending Limit

The Campaign Spending Limit controls how much can be spent on a specific campaign.
Unlike the account-level cap, this limit helps you allocate budget precisely between different objectives or products.

Key points:

• Set directly within each campaign’s settings.

• Useful for testing campaigns or managing multiple clients in one Meta ad account.

• Once the campaign reaches the limit, it stops delivering — even if the overall account limit hasn’t been met.

• Does not affect other campaigns.
  

Example: If your account has a total limit of $10,000 and one campaign has a limit of $2,000, only that campaign will pause after reaching its $2,000 cap — others will continue running normally.

3. Daily Spending Limit

The Daily Spending Limit determines how much your ad account can spend per day.
Unlike the other two, this limit is often automatically enforced by Facebook, especially for new or unverified ad accounts.

Key points:

• Used by Facebook as a risk control measure to ensure compliance and prevent fraud.
  

• May start with a small daily cap (e.g., $50–$250) for new advertisers.
  

• Increases gradually as your account builds a positive payment and performance history.
  

• It can sometimes be lifted by verifying your business or contacting Meta Support.

Here’s a breakdown of how they differ:

How to Manage Your Account Spending Limit

Before making adjustments, ensure you have admin-level access to the ad account and your payment method is verified.

How to Set an Account Spending Limit

If you're onboarding a new client or launching a major budget cycle, setting an ASL from the outset is a best practice.

1. Navigate to your Ads Manager.

2. Open the All Tools menu (hamburger icon) and select Billing.

3. In the Billing section, click on Payment Settings.

4. You will see the Account Spending Limit module. Click the three-dot menu on the right and select Set limit.

5. Enter your desired total budget cap and click Set Limit to confirm.

How to Change or Remove the Spending Limit

As campaigns evolve or budgets are extended, you’ll need to adjust the limit.

1. Follow the same steps above to navigate to Payment Settings.

2. In the Account Spending Limit module, click the three-dot menu.

3. Choose either Change limit to enter a new, higher amount or Remove limit to eliminate the cap entirely.

4. Confirm your choice.

Crucial Note: Any change to the ASL is not instantaneous. According to Meta's documentation, it can take approximately 15 minutes for the change to propagate through their system. Keep this delay in mind if your ads have stopped and you need to get them running again quickly.

How to Reset Your Spending Limit

Resetting is different from changing. A reset keeps the same spending cap but brings your progress towards that cap back to $0. This is an incredibly useful function for monthly or quarterly budget cycles.

Use Case: Imagine your client has a fixed $20,000 monthly budget. You can set the ASL to $20,000. At the start of the next month, instead of removing and setting a new limit, you simply 'Reset' it. The $20,000 cap remains, but the account can now spend that full amount again for the new period.

1. Navigate to Payment Settings as previously described.

2. In the ASL module, click the three-dot menu and select Reset.

3. This will reset the amount spent towards your limit, starting the count over.

Common Spending Limit Issues and Their Solutions

Even the most experienced advertisers encounter roadblocks. Here are the most common ASL-related problems and how to troubleshoot them effectively.

Issue: Ads Stopped Unexpectedly Despite Having a Budget

This is the classic symptom of hitting your ASL. Your campaign and ad set budgets may look fine, but if the account's total spend has reached its limit, everything stops.

• Solution: Immediately navigate to Billing & Payment Settings. The progress bar in the Account Spending Limit module will show you if you've hit 100%. To resolve, either increase the limit, reset it (for a new budget cycle), or remove it entirely.

Issue: Inability to Change the Spending Limit

You try to increase the limit, but the system won't let you. This is often due to one of two reasons.

• Reason 1: Prepaid Funds. If you're using a prepaid funding source, you cannot set a spending limit higher than your available prepaid balance.

• Reason 2: System Glitches. Occasionally, it's simply a platform bug.

• Solution: For prepaid accounts, add more funds before attempting to raise the limit. If it appears to be a glitch, the most reliable solution is to contact Facebook Business Support directly for manual intervention.

Issue: New Accounts Hamstrung by Low Daily Spending Limits

This is a major frustration when trying to scale a new client account. You have the budget, but Meta's imposed DSL is throttling your campaigns.

• Solution: You cannot directly request a DSL increase on a new account. You must earn it by building trust. The process involves:

1. Spending consistently at or near the current DSL for several consecutive days.

2. Ensuring every payment to Meta is processed successfully and on time.

3. Maintaining a low Facebook ad rejection rate by strictly adhering to ad policies. Failing to adhere to these policies doesn't just throttle your daily limit; it can lead to a Facebook ads account restriction.

• After a period of this good behavior, Meta's system will typically automatically increase your daily limit.

Advanced Tactics for Increasing Your Account Spending Limit

For advertisers aiming for massive scale, proactively managing and increasing spending capacity is key. Here are the most effective methods.

Cultivate a Flawless Payment History

This is the most critical factor. Pay every invoice on time, without fail. A single failed payment can damage your account's reputation and delay limit increases. Set up a reliable primary payment method and a backup to ensure continuity.

Scale Your Budgets Gradually

Avoid shocking the system. Instead of jumping from a $500/day spend to $5,000/day overnight, increase your budgets incrementally. A gradual ramp-up of 20-30% every few days is less likely to trigger Meta's risk-detection algorithms.

Verify Your Business in Business Manager

Verifying your business is one of the strongest trust signals you can send to Meta. It proves you are a legitimate entity. According to Meta, this process can help with "building trust with customers and Meta." While it doesn't guarantee a limit increase, it significantly strengthens your account's standing.

The Business Verification process can be tricky. Follow our step-by-step tutorial on [How to Successfully Verify Your Business with Meta] to navigate it smoothly.

Proactively Contact Facebook Support

Don't wait for your ads to be paused. If you're planning a major product launch or a seasonal push that requires a significant budget increase, contact your Facebook advertising support representative in advance. Explain your plans, provide forecasts, and request a review of your account's spending limit. This proactive approach demonstrates professional account management.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Here are direct answers to the most common questions advertisers have about managing spending limits on Facebook.

1. What happens when I reach my Facebook account spending limit?

Once your total ad spend hits the account spending limit you've set, all of your ads across the entire account will immediately stop running. Facebook will pause all active campaigns to prevent any further charges. To resume advertising, you must either increase, reset, or remove the account spending limit in your Billing & Payment Settings.

2. How long does it take for a spending limit change to take effect?

After you set, change, or remove an account spending limit, it typically takes about 15 minutes for the update to be fully processed and applied to your ad account. You should factor in this brief delay when making urgent adjustments to a paused account.

3. Does the Facebook account spending limit reset automatically?

No, the account spending limit does not reset automatically on a monthly or daily basis. It is a lifetime limit that tracks your cumulative spend. If you want to restart the spending cycle for a new period (e.g., a new month), you must manually go into your Payment Settings and choose the "Reset" option.

4. Why can't I change my ad account spending limit?

There are two primary reasons you might be unable to change the limit:

• Prepaid Funds: If your account is funded with a prepaid balance, you cannot set a spending limit that is higher than the available funds in your account. You must add more money first.

• Platform Glitch: Occasionally, a temporary system error can prevent changes. If you have sufficient funds (for post-paid accounts), try refreshing the page or contacting Meta Support for Advertisers directly.

5. How do I increase my daily spending limit (DSL) on Facebook?

You cannot directly request an increase for the Daily Spending Limit (DSL), as it is automatically imposed by Meta for security. To get it increased, you must build a history of trust with the platform by:

• Consistently spending near your current daily limit for several days.

• Ensuring all payments are made successfully and on time.

• Maintaining a good compliance record with Meta's Advertising Policies.

6. Is an account spending limit the same as a campaign budget?

No, they are very different. A campaign budget (either daily or lifetime) controls the spend for a single, specific campaign. An account spending limit is a master cap that controls the total, combined spend of all campaigns running within your entire ad account. Your ads will stop if you hit either limit.

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