A campaign total budget in Google Ads is one sum for the whole run, from the start date to the end date. Use it when the money for a promotion, a season or a launch is already decided. Keep an average daily budget when the ads should keep running and you want a ceiling on a single day.
I have spent 19 years in advertising, and I teach business owners. A dentist with a short offer, an HVAC shop heading into summer, and a plumber launching a new service all face the same choice. How to keep a small budget under control in Search is covered in my piece on Google Ads on a small budget. A campaign total budget does a different job. The system looks at what you have already spent and adjusts each remaining day. There is no daily spending limit.
Average daily budget or a campaign total budget
An average daily budget is the average amount you are comfortable spending per day across a month. Some days come in lower and some run higher, because Google shifts spend toward days that are more likely to bring clicks and conversions. For most campaigns you will not be charged more than twice that amount on any day, or more than 30.4 times that amount in a month. 30.4 is the average number of days in a month, 365 divided by 12. The detail is in the help page on average daily budgets.
A campaign total budget is strict on the whole sum and loose on the day. The help page on campaign total budgets says there is no daily spending limit, and you are not charged more than the sum you set. That fits a short promotion. It is a poor fit for ads with no end date, because a busy day is not stopped at twice the daily amount.
| Question | Average daily budget | Campaign total budget |
|---|---|---|
| When to use it | Ads with no hard end date | A promotion, a season or a launch with a known sum |
| Ceiling for one day | Twice the average daily budget, for most campaigns | No separate daily ceiling |
| Ceiling for a month | The average daily budget times 30.4, for most campaigns | No separate monthly ceiling |
| Ceiling overall | A daily spending limit and a monthly spending limit | Not more than the sum set for the whole run |
| Where you set it | On a new or an existing campaign, and you can change the amount | Only while you create a new campaign |
| End date | Not required | At least 3 days. Event window from 3 to 90 days. Demand Gen and YouTube up to 1 year |
In the help example, an average daily budget of $10 means a daily spending limit of $20 and a monthly spending limit of $304. If the clicks on one day cost $23, you are billed $20 and Google covers the other $3. A Pay for Conversions campaign has no daily spending limit. Do not apply that exception to a campaign total budget.
How to turn on a campaign total budget
An existing campaign has no switch for this. You can change an average daily budget any time: open Campaigns in the Campaigns menu, use the pencil in the Budget column, enter the amount, and select Save. If the account is in Smart mode, the path for editing is different. If you know a monthly sum, divide it by 30.4. A campaign total budget is available only on a new campaign.
- Go to Campaigns within the Campaigns menu.
- Select the plus button and create a campaign.
- Set up bidding, campaign settings, and assets.
- Under Budget, select Campaign total budget.
- Enter the sum, then set the Start date and the End date.
You can move the End date later. You cannot change the budget type after the campaign is created. The minimum run is 3 days, and the event window is from 3 to 90 days. Demand Gen and YouTube can run up to 1 year for a time-bound event. A new learning period is not required if you already use account goal settings. Smart Bidding learns from every conversion action in the Conversions column, even when the goals or the strategy types differ.
Search campaigns support a campaign total budget too, and the table below lists the strategies by campaign type. On the Performance Max budget step, the help also offers a campaign total budget. It says Google Ads tries to spend that sum evenly across the run, while still reacting to busier and quieter days.
| Campaign type | Bid strategies that allow a campaign total budget |
|---|---|
| Performance Max | Target ROAS, Maximize conversion value, Target CPA, Maximize conversions |
| Search | Those four, plus Maximize clicks, Target impression share, and Manual CPC |
| Shopping | Target ROAS, Maximize conversion value, Maximize clicks, and Manual CPC |
| Demand Gen | Maximize conversions, Target CPA, Maximize conversion value, Target ROAS, Maximize clicks, and Manual CPC |
| YouTube | tCPM, tCPV (Auction), and Fixed CPM (Reserve) |
tCPM and Fixed CPM (Reserve) price a thousand impressions. tCPV (Auction) prices a view. Shopping does not list Target CPA or Maximize conversions for this budget.
Mistakes with the end date and the sum
Do not keep editing a new campaign. The help calls a moved end date or a raised budget a sudden change. Spend can turn uneven while the system adjusts. You may move the date. Doing it again and again on a fresh campaign is a poor idea.
Do not set a tight target on a short run. The feature tries to use the sum by the end date, but a tight target still holds spend back. The help suggests Maximize clicks, Maximize conversions, or Maximize conversion value, or a lower Target ROAS. That is not a promise that the whole sum will be spent.
Do not run a second campaign on the same searches or the same product feed. For a promotional Shopping campaign, add promotions to every product feed the campaign targets. And do not mix this up with a shared budget. A shared budget is one average daily budget across several campaigns. A campaign that uses a total budget is not compatible with it.
The step-by-step version of setting a campaign total budget with the rest of the account is in my book on Google Ads for business owners.
My e-book “19 Google Ads Secrets”: how to get the most out of Google Ads without draining your budget, drawn from real campaigns and tests.
See the book →When this does not apply
Do not use a campaign total budget when there is no end date and you care about a ceiling on a single day. Keep the average daily budget. The help marks a campaign “Limited by budget” when the budget is too low, or when Maximize clicks could bring more traffic if you change the amount. That is not a description of a total budget. The status is covered in the piece on a campaign limited by budget.
Do not use it on a campaign that is already running. There is no switch from an average daily budget. Do not use it for a type that is not in the table. The help does not name Display, App, or Hotel campaigns there. Do not confuse the campaign ceiling with the moment money leaves the card. The payment threshold is covered separately, in the piece on the Google Ads payment threshold.
Questions and answers
Can I change the budget type after launch?
No. A campaign total budget is only available on a new campaign. An existing campaign cannot switch from an average daily budget to a total budget. You can move the end date later.
Will I be charged more than the sum I set?
Not on a campaign total budget. There is no daily ceiling. The cap is the sum for the whole run. An average daily budget has different ceilings, for the day and for the month. They are in the table above.
Does a Search campaign have a campaign total budget?
Yes. The Search strategies are in the table, and the window is from 3 to 90 days. Shopping does not include Target CPA or Maximize conversions on this budget.