Advertiser method. Meta does not publish this as a rule. The mechanics below come from Meta’s documentation; the method itself is common advertiser practice, and results vary.
Is vertical or horizontal scaling better for Meta ads?
The Meta pages cited here use neither term and do not rank them. Vertical scaling raises the budget on ad sets you already run; horizontal scaling adds ad sets, audiences or campaigns. Meta says a budget change may be a significant edit, and a new ad set starts a learning phase. Choose by what limits your spend today.
Vertical scaling means raising the budget on what already runs. Horizontal scaling means adding more ad sets, audiences, creatives or campaigns. These are advertiser terms: the Meta pages cited here use neither and do not say which is better. Vertical fits when an ad set spends its full budget at a cost you accept. Horizontal fits when you have a new audience, product or creative to try. Meta documents what each move changes, covered below.
What does vertical scaling change on Meta?
You edit the budget amount on an ad set or campaign. Meta says a budget change may or may not be a significant edit depending on its size, and that frequent budget changes can cause an ad set to re-enter the learning phase. With Advantage+ campaign budget, Meta says adjusting the campaign budget might cause multiple ad sets to re-enter learning.
Meta also says cost per result may rise when a budget is significantly higher than usual, because the system takes the cheapest opportunities first. If you choose vertical, raise in steps and watch the Delivery column.
What does horizontal scaling change on Meta?
Meta says the learning phase starts when you create a new ad or ad set, or make a significant edit to an existing one. So each new ad set begins its own learning, and ad sets that do not get enough results show Learning limited.
Meta also warns about volume. When you create many ads and ad sets, the delivery system learns less about each one than when you create fewer, and combining similar ad sets combines their learnings. Add an ad set when you have a reason, such as a different audience or product, not to spread the same audience thinner.
How do you choose between them?
Match the move to what you see. The right column is what Meta’s pages say about each case.
| What you see | What it suggests | What Meta documents |
|---|---|---|
| Full budget spent at an acceptable cost, out of learning | Vertical, in steps | Avoid frequent budget changes; with a cost goal, increase the budget gradually |
| Spending less than the budget | Fix delivery before adding budget | With a cost goal, underspending and a high cost per result: consolidate ad sets toward 50 to 100 weekly conversions |
| A bigger budget did not bring more conversions | Look at the goal, creative or audience | With a cost goal, a bigger budget may not add conversions if the goal limits them: try raising the goal, updating creatives or expanding the audience |
| A new audience, product or creative to try | Horizontal, set up as a test | Use an A/B test, not manual on and off switching |
| Many ad sets stuck in Learning limited | Combine ad sets | Combining similar ad sets combines learnings |
Can you do both?
Yes, in sequence: a test finds something, then the budget moves. Meta recommends against informal testing by manually turning ad sets on and off, because it can mean inefficient delivery, unreliable results and overlapping audiences. Use the A/B test tool when you go horizontal to test, and keep testing apart from the campaigns you scale. The structure pages linked below cover how.
FAQ
Does vertical scaling always reset learning?
No. Meta says a budget change may or may not be significant, depending on its magnitude, and gives examples rather than a threshold. Add the last significant edit column in Ads Manager to see when you last made a change that could reset learning.
Does adding ad sets raise total results?
The Meta pages cited here do not say that. They say that creating many ads and ad sets means the delivery system learns less about each than with fewer. More ad sets can open new audiences; the trade-off Meta names is less learning per ad set.
Where does Advantage+ campaign budget fit?
Meta says it distributes one campaign budget across ad sets in real time, suits campaigns with at least 2 ad sets, and may not spend equally. You can add ad sets inside one campaign and let the budget move, then read results at campaign level.
Sources
- About the learning phase (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
- Significant edits and learning phase (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
- About Advantage+ campaign budget (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
- Best practices for cost per result goal (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
- About A/B testing (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
- Best practices to potentially reduce cost per result (Meta, checked 3 Oct 2026)
Drafted with AI and checked claim by claim against the pages linked under Sources. Found a mistake? Tell us via the corrections policy.