What Is a Bid Strategy in Meta Ads?

 Meta Ads mainly offers three core bid strategies, plus one advanced option.

1. Lowest Cost (Most Common & Recommended)

What it does

Meta tries to get the maximum results at the lowest possible cost using your full budget.

Best for

• Beginners

• New ad accounts

• Lead generation

• Website traffic

• Conversions

• Scaling campaigns

Pros

✔ Easy to use
✔ No manual bidding
✔ Best performance for most advertisers

Cons

❌ Less control over cost per result

Example

You want as many leads as possible within ₹1,000/day.
Meta automatically finds users who convert at the lowest cost.

2. Cost Cap (Control Cost per Result)

What it does

You set an average cost per result (example: ₹200 per lead), and Meta tries to maintain that cost.

Best for

• Advertisers with past data

• Lead generation

• Purchase campaigns

• Stable scaling

Pros

✔ Better cost control
✔ More predictable CPA

Cons

❌ Delivery may slow if cost cap is too low

Example

You set:

• Cost Cap = ₹300 per lead

Meta tries to keep the average lead cost close to ₹300.

3. Bid Cap (Advanced & High Control)

What it does

You set the maximum bid Meta can use per auction.

Best for

• Experienced advertisers

• Competitive industries

• Large budgets

• Performance-focused campaigns

Pros

✔ Full bidding control
✔ Prevents overbidding

Cons

❌ Can limit delivery
❌ Requires strong data knowledge

Example

You set:

• Bid Cap = ₹100

Meta will never bid more than ₹100 in an auction.

4. Minimum ROAS (For eCommerce Only)

What it does

Meta optimizes ads to maintain a minimum Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).

Best for

• eCommerce businesses

• Purchase campaigns

• Revenue-focused advertisers

Pros

✔ Focus on profitability
✔ Revenue-based optimization

Cons

❌ Needs conversion data
❌ Not suitable for lead campaigns

Example

If you set:

• Minimum ROAS = 3

Meta aims to generate ₹3 revenue for every ₹1 spent.