Meta Ads Calculator
My own free calculator for mapping out budgets, targets and the numbers your campaign needs before you spend a cent. Built from how I run accounts.
Open the calculator →
Meta Ads Toolkit
After 12+ years running Meta Ads and building businesses, this is the short list I actually open every week.
Think of it as a working Meta Ads toolkit for Facebook and Instagram campaigns: the paid tools I pay for myself, and the free tools that cost nothing and earn me nothing, sorted together by job. Useful whether you run ads for your own small business or for clients. Built from running Meta Ads here in Australia and for clients across the world.
~ Kirsty Saint
A note on the links. Some links below are affiliate links. If you sign up through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only list tools I use in my own business and would point you to regardless.
01
Campaign Planning
The tools I use before and during a campaign to map the numbers, research the competition, and think through angles before a cent gets spent.
Claude Cowork
My AI teammate for first-draft ad angles and audience research. It carries the heavy lifting so I can stay on strategy.
Try Claude Cowork →Meta Ad Library
Every active ad on Meta, searchable by advertiser and free to use. My first stop for competitor research and seeing what's live in any niche.
Open Ad Library →
02
Automation
The tool that quietly wires everything together behind the scenes, so nothing slips through between your ads and your back end.
Make
Quietly wires lead ad forms, CRMs and email together so nothing slips through. Visual to build, and better value than the big-name alternatives.
Try Make →
03
Funnels, Email & Checkout
Where the click goes after the ad. These handle the funnel, the follow-up email and the checkout, so ad spend turns into sales. Systeme.io is my favourite of the group, since it brings most of that under one login.
Systeme.io
Funnels, email and course hosting under one login. Where I point clients who want to launch without stitching five tools together.
Try Systeme.io →Kit
Email marketing built for creators. The lighter, simpler choice, with clean automations and tagging that stay tidy as a list grows.
Try Kit →ActiveCampaign
The heavier option for funnels that need deep automation, CRM and conditional logic. Where I move clients who have outgrown a simpler setup.
Try ActiveCampaign →
04
Video & Design
The tools I use to build ad creative, from static designs and carousels through to edited video for social placements.
Canva Pro
Where every ad creative, carousel and lead magnet begins. The brand kit and instant resizing save me hours each week.
Try Canva Pro →CapCut
Free editing for short-form video and ad creative, with captions and effects suited to social placements.
Open CapCut →Descript
Editing video by editing the transcript. It turns rough recordings into polished assets and takes the pressure out of being on camera.
Try Descript →
05
Screen Recording
For walkthroughs, feedback and client communication without a calendar invite.
Loom
Screen-and-camera recordings for stakeholder reviews and feedback, with no calendar invite required.
Try Loom →
06
Music & Sound
Licence-cleared audio made specifically for Meta placements, so you can add music without risking takedowns.
Meta Sound Collection
Free, licence-cleared music and sound effects made for Meta placements.
Browse sounds →
07
Stock Image Libraries
Free photography and video for ad creative and landing pages, all licence-cleared for commercial use.
Unsplash
High-quality free photography for ad creative and landing pages.
Browse Unsplash →Pexels
Free photos and video clips, strong for lifestyle and product shots.
Browse Pexels →Pixabay
A deep free library of images, illustrations and video.
Browse Pixabay →
08
Analytics & SEO
Free tools for checking the numbers once ads are live, tracking what happens after the click, and keeping an eye on organic search.
Google Analytics (GA4)
The free home for your traffic data, and where your UTM-tagged clicks land so you can see what happens after someone leaves the ad.
Open GA4 →Google Search Console
Free insight into how your site shows up in Google, which searches bring people in, and any indexing issues holding you back.
Open Search Console →Meta Pixel Helper
A free Chrome extension that shows whether your pixel and events fire correctly. Worth a quick check before any launch.
Get the extension →
09
Site Performance
Free tools for keeping landing pages fast, since load speed feeds straight into ad performance and cost per result.
GTmetrix
A detailed, free read on page load speed. Set up an account so you can choose a test server near you and get accurate local results.
Test a page →TinyPNG
Free image compression so landing pages load fast, which feeds straight into ad performance.
Open TinyPNG →Squoosh
Google's free in-browser image compressor, with fine control over quality and format.
Open Squoosh →
10
Payments
For paying tools and getting paid across borders without losing money to bank markups.
Wise
A multi-currency account for paying tools and invoicing overseas clients without losing money to bank markups.
Try Wise →
11
Web Hosting
Australian-owned hosting and domains with support in your timezone.
VentraIP
Australian-owned hosting and domains with support that picks up. Where I keep my own sites.
Visit VentraIP →
12
Events & Bookings
Tools that make it easy for your audience to book a call or save a launch date without the back-and-forth.
Calendly
Free booking pages that end the email back-and-forth of finding a time. What I use to schedule discovery and coaching calls.
Open Calendly →AddCal
Creates add-to-calendar links and branded event pages, so your audience can save your webinars and launches in a single click.
Open AddCal →
13
Meta Ads Tools, Common Questions
What tools do you actually need to run Meta ads?
At a minimum you need Meta Ads Manager, which is free, plus something to build creative and a way to check your pixel is firing. Everything else on this page exists to make that core loop faster as you grow. If you want to map the numbers first, start with my Meta Ads Calculator.
Can you run Meta ads with only free tools?
Yes. Plenty of the tools here are free, covering research, measurement, creative and image compression, which is enough to launch and learn. Paid tools earn their place once you want to save time or scale beyond the basics.
What goes into a simple Meta ads tech stack?
A practical starting stack is Meta Ads Manager for the campaigns, Canva for creative, the Meta Pixel Helper for tracking, GA4 for what happens after the click, and an email tool to follow up leads. You can add automation and a checkout once the basics are working.
Systeme.io, Kit or ActiveCampaign, which should I choose?
Systeme.io is my favourite, since it is a true all-in-one that brings funnels, email, checkout and course hosting under one login, so it is where I send most people who want a single tool. Kit is the lighter pick if email is really the main job. ActiveCampaign is the heavier option once a setup needs deep automation and CRM logic.
What is the best all-in-one funnel and email tool?
For most small businesses I point to Systeme.io. It is a true all-in-one, with funnels, email, checkout and course hosting under one login, and it costs far less than piecing separate tools together. There is also an active Facebook community for ideas and support that genuinely helps, which makes it easy to get started.
How much do Meta ads tools cost to get started?
You can start for nothing. Meta Ads Manager and the many free tools here cover research, creative, tracking and measurement. The paid tools come in when you want to save time or scale, and an all-in-one like Systeme.io keeps that first paid step affordable.
Do these Meta ads tools work for Australian businesses?
Yes. I run Meta Ads from Australia and most of this toolkit is global, so it works wherever you are based. For anything local, VentraIP gives you Australian-owned hosting and domains with support in your timezone.
Is the Meta Ads Calculator really free?
Yes. The Meta Ads Calculator is my own free tool for mapping budgets, targets and the numbers a campaign needs before you spend. It is completely free, with no commercial strings attached.
Want help putting the stack to work?
If you would rather have someone in your corner, my Empower Program is 1:1 Meta Ads coaching and training where we set this up together.
Last reviewed: June 2026