Instagram Ads: How to Run Them in 7 Steps and What They Cost

You want to advertise on Instagram but don't know where to start or how much you'll spend. All it takes is a professional account and a tap on Boost under a post. You set the spending limit yourself with a daily budget.

This guide shows the setup in 7 steps. In the pricing section we share six months of numbers from our own ad account. We paid an average of ₺11.93 per link click, but each visit that reached our site cost ₺25.23 on average.

An Instagram ad is a post that a business or creator pays to show in Feed, Stories, Reels or Explore. These posts are also called sponsored posts.

What you need to run Instagram ads

First switch to a professional account on Instagram and choose business or creator. According to Meta's help pages, you also need to be over 16. Have a published post or Reel ready to turn into an ad.

The first time you boost a post, you don't need a Facebook Page or an ad account. To run later ads through a Meta ad account, you need to connect Instagram to your personal Facebook profile.

How to run Instagram ads in 7 steps

The fastest route is the Boost button on your phone. You can run your first ad from there without opening an ad account. If you plan to advertise regularly, the real controls are in Meta Ads Manager, and we explain the difference below.

1. Open the post: Go to the post or Reel you want to turn into an ad.
2. Tap Boost: The button sits right below the image.
3. Choose the ad account: Pick whether to continue with a Facebook ad account or without one, then tap Continue.
4. Pick a goal: Under Goal, choose what you want from the ad, such as More messages or More leads.
5. Set the audience: Under Audience, choose who will see the ad.
6. Enter budget and duration: Type how much you want to spend per day and how many days the ad should run.
7. Review and create: Check the summary and submit the ad. It goes live once Meta approves it.

According to Meta, the estimated daily reach you see is based on the approximate size of the audience eligible to see your ad, along with other factors. The estimate updates as you change the audience. It is only an estimate, not a guarantee of how many people will see the ad.

Meta usually reviews ads within 24 hours, though it can take longer. If you add funds in the iPhone app, Apple may add a service fee of up to 30%. The fee is calculated before taxes and local fees.

Instagram ads cost: what we paid in six months

Instagram ads have no fixed price. You set the budget, and an auction decides who sees the ad and when. The winning bid can be lower than your maximum bid.

We looked at our own ad account. These are the results of Opus Growth's Instagram ads between May 9 and November 4, 2026. Amounts are in Turkish lira, excluding VAT, as reported by Meta.

Metric	Result
Impressions	323,044
Cost per 1,000 impressions	₺267
Cost per link click	₺11.93
Link click-through rate	2.24%
Cost per visit that reached the site	₺25.23

The last row matters most. Our ads got 7,237 link clicks, but Meta reported only 3,423 landing page views as visits that reached the site. So judge an ad by how many people reach your site or message you, not by the number of clicks.

In the same period, 1,000 impressions on Instagram cost us about 50% more than on Facebook (₺176). We are a software company, and most of our campaigns aim at sign-ups and sales. A hair salon or a café will see different results.

Audience size also changes the price. According to Meta's help pages, expanding the audience can bring more results and lower the cost per result. Our numbers come from our own audiences, so your costs can differ as your audience gets narrower or broader.

Meta sets the minimum budget by country, ad goal and charging method, and doesn't publish one fixed amount. If your budget is too low, Ads Manager warns you. Depending on the goal, you pay per impression, per link click or when a certain share of a video is watched. On a new ad account, Meta charges the first 10 US dollars by impressions, and after that you can change the charging method.

Boost or Ads Manager?

Boosting does the job for a single post, but its settings are limited. You can't choose whether the ad shows in Feed, Reels or Stories. You can't build a carousel ad, spread the budget by day and hour, or create a lookalike audience.

If you advertise regularly, you'll find all of these settings in Ads Manager. In return, you work through more screens.

	Boost	Ads Manager	AI (with Opus Growth)
Where	Instagram app	Meta's ad dashboard	ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and other AIs
Best for	Promoting a single post quickly	Regular advertisers	Using Ads Manager's settings without the screens
Placement choice	No	Yes	Yes
Carousel ads and lookalike audiences	No	Yes	Yes
Meta ad account	Not needed for the first ad	Required	Required

Set up Instagram ads by writing to your AI

In Ads Manager, you build every ad in three layers: campaign, ad set and ad. Instead of going through those layers one by one, you can write what you want. Opus Growth connects your Meta ad account to ChatGPT, Claude, Grok and other AIs, and your AI turns what you write into the campaign, ad set and ad.

"Turn my latest Reel into an ad. Show it to women aged 25-45 within 5 miles of my studio and have them message me on Instagram. Daily budget $10."

The Reel runs as it is, and likes and comments keep adding up on the original post. Your AI shows a preview first and creates the ad once you approve.

• "Turn this post into an ad for profile visits, and show it only in Reels and Stories." It limits the ad to the placements you pick.
• "Add an ad to the campaign that brings messages on WhatsApp." It sends people who tap the ad to your WhatsApp chat.
• "How many of yesterday's clicks reached my site?" It shows link clicks and landing page views side by side.

What to know before you run Instagram ads

A budget buys impressions and clicks, not guaranteed customers. If the ad asks people to message you, have someone ready to reply quickly.

Opus Growth creates ads paused. The ad goes through Meta's review, but nothing is spent until you say "turn it on". Opus Growth raises a budget by at most 50% at a time and 100% within 24 hours. You provide the images and videos, because Opus Growth doesn't create ad creatives.

Try it

Opus Growth starts with a free trial of 75 credits that never expire, and you don't need a card. See what you can do with Meta ads on the Opus Growth for Meta Ads page.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do Instagram ads cost?

There is no fixed price, because you set the budget. In our software campaigns from May to November 2026, 1,000 impressions cost ₺267 and a link click ₺11.93, excluding VAT.

What is the minimum budget for Instagram ads?

Meta doesn't publish one fixed amount. The minimum varies by country, goal and charging method, and Ads Manager warns you if your budget is too low.

Do Instagram ads cost more with a narrower audience?

They can. According to Meta, expanding the audience can bring more results and lower the cost per result.

How do I boost a post on Instagram?

Switch to a professional account, tap Boost under the post and choose the goal, audience, budget and duration. For more control, use Meta Ads Manager.

Do I need a Facebook Page to run Instagram ads?

Not for your first boost. To continue with an ad account, you need to connect your Instagram account to your personal Facebook profile.

Can I run Instagram ads from a personal account?

No. You first need to switch to a business or creator account.

Can ChatGPT create Instagram ads?

Not on its own, because it has no access to your ad account. Once you connect your Meta account through Opus Growth, ChatGPT, Claude, Grok or any other AI you use previews the ad and creates it paused with your approval.