Enter a budget and campaign length, pick CPM, CPC, or cost-per-engagement pricing, and adjust the benchmark CPM, CPC, CPE, click-through rate, and engagement rate to see what X Ads (formerly Twitter Ads) should deliver: impressions, clicks, engagements, the effective price in each model, and your daily budget against the practical $5 floor. Advanced options add conversions, cost per conversion, revenue, and ROAS.
X ad specs and benchmarks (2026)
The formats, sizes, and limits an X Ads campaign needs, in one place. Confirm the exact limits in X Ads Manager before uploading; X revises them. The Twitter Image Resizer has the ad sizes as presets.
| Format or setting | Spec | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Promoted post (text / link) | Post copy up to 280 characters (257 when a link is attached); optional headline of 70 characters and description of 50 on website cards | The core format: a post with a Promoted label in the timeline |
| Image ad | 1200 x 1200 (1:1) or 1200 x 628 (1.91:1); JPG or PNG; also 16:9, 9:16, 4:5 (1440 x 1800), and 2:3 (1080 x 1620) | Square takes the most timeline space; keep text inside the safe area |
| Website card | Image 800 x 418 (1.91:1) or 800 x 800 (1:1); headline 70 characters; one destination URL | The click-through format for traffic and conversion campaigns |
| Video ad | 16:9, 1:1, 9:16, or 4:5; MP4 or MOV; 15 seconds recommended, 2 minutes 20 seconds at most | Sound-off by default in the timeline; captions carry the message |
| Carousel ad | 2 to 6 slides at one shared ratio (1:1 or 1.91:1), each with its own headline and link | Good for product ranges and step-by-step stories |
| Poll ad | 2 to 4 options of 25 characters each; the poll runs 5 minutes to 7 days | An engagement format; every vote is an engagement |
| Conversation ad | A call-to-action button that pre-fills a post; hashtag up to 21 characters, headline up to 23 | Spreads the message through the audience's own posts |
| Targeting | Keywords, interests, follower look-alikes, conversation topics, events, custom and website audiences, location, device, carrier | Follower look-alikes and retargeting usually clear below the platform CPM |
| Budget and bids | No platform minimum; $5 to $10 a day is the practical floor; automatic, maximum, or target bids by objective | Most guides suggest $20 to $50 a day to learn anything from a test |
| 2026 benchmarks | CPM about $5 to $9 broad, $8 to $15 B2B; CPC about $0.80 to $2.50 (B2B SaaS up to $4); CPE about $0.15 to $0.50; feed CTR 0.5% to 1.5% | Published roundups, not X figures; your auction results will differ |
How it works
X Ads run on an auction, so there is no rate card; what a campaign costs depends on the audience, the objective, the placement, and the competition for it. This calculator uses the figures published in 2026 benchmark roundups as its defaults, and lets you replace every one of them with your own numbers. The defaults are a CPM of about $5 to $9 for broad audiences and $8 to $15 for B2B, and a CPC of $0.80 to $2.50, with B2B SaaS up to $4. They include a cost per engagement of $0.15 to $0.50, up to $2 in narrow niches, feed click-through rates of 0.5% to 1.5%, and engagement rates of 1% to 3% per impression. There is no platform minimum budget, and $5 to $10 a day is the practical floor.
Formulas. Under CPM pricing: Impressions = Budget / CPM x 1,000, Clicks = Impressions x CTR, Engagements = Impressions x Engagement rate. Under CPC pricing: Clicks = Budget / CPC, Impressions = Clicks / CTR, Engagements = Impressions x Engagement rate. Under cost-per-engagement pricing: Engagements = Budget / CPE, Impressions = Engagements / Engagement rate, Clicks = Impressions x CTR. The effective CPM, CPC, and CPE express the same campaign in the other models so bids are comparable; Daily budget = Budget / Days. With the advanced fields: Conversions = Clicks x Conversion rate, Cost per conversion = Budget / Conversions, Revenue = Conversions x Revenue per conversion, ROAS = Revenue / Budget.
Treat every output as a planning estimate. The numbers that decide a real campaign only show up in X Ads Manager once the campaign runs: CPM by audience, CTR by creative, and conversion rate by landing page. Retargeting and follower look-alike audiences usually clear below the platform average. B2B, finance, and crypto audiences clear well above it. Nothing here connects to an X Ads account.
Advanced options add your landing-page conversion rate and revenue per conversion, which unlock estimated conversions, cost per conversion, revenue, and ROAS.
Everything runs in your browser. Your numbers are never sent to a server, and there is no signup or limit. Your last entries are remembered locally so the calculator is ready next time.
What you will see
- Estimated impressions
- How many times the ad should be shown for the budget at the CPM (or worked back from the CPC / CPE and the rates you entered).
- Estimated clicks and engagements
- Impressions x click-through rate, and impressions x engagement rate (likes, reposts, replies, follows, and clicks all count as engagements on X).
- Effective cost per click / CPM / cost per engagement
- The same campaign expressed in the other pricing models, so you can compare a CPM bid with a CPC or CPE bid.
- Daily budget
- Budget spread over the campaign length. X has no minimum, but most guides put the practical floor at $5 to $10 a day for the auction to learn anything.
- Estimated conversions, cost per conversion, revenue, ROAS
- Advanced outputs from your landing-page conversion rate and revenue per conversion. ROAS above 1.0 means the campaign returns more than it costs, before margins.
- X ad specs
- The reference table under the calculator: formats, image and video sizes, ratios, and character limits for a promoted post.
Frequently asked questions
How much do X (Twitter) ads cost?
In 2026 benchmark roundups, X CPMs run from about $5 to $9 per 1,000 impressions for broad audiences and $8 to $15 for B2B targeting. CPCs run from about $0.80 to $2.50, with B2B SaaS up to $4. Cost per engagement runs from $0.15 to $0.50, rising to $2 in narrow niches. There is no platform minimum budget; $5 to $10 a day is the practical floor. Your real cost comes from the auction: audience, objective, creative, and the season all move it.
How does the calculator estimate impressions, clicks, and engagements?
Under CPM pricing it divides the budget by the CPM and multiplies by 1,000 for impressions, then applies the click-through and engagement rates. Under CPC pricing it divides the budget by the CPC for clicks and works back to impressions through the click-through rate. Under cost-per-engagement pricing it starts from engagements and works back through the engagement rate. Either way it shows the effective figure for the other models so bids are comparable.
Should I bid CPM, CPC, or per engagement on X?
CPM (impressions) suits awareness, reach, and video-view objectives, where X charges for showing the ad. CPC suits website-traffic and conversion campaigns, where you pay only for the click. Cost per engagement suits engagement objectives (likes, reposts, replies, follows) and is the default for many promoted posts. Run the same budget through all three here: whichever model gives the lowest effective price for the result you want is the better buy.
What click-through and engagement rates should I expect on X?
Feed ads on X commonly land between 0.5% and 1.5% click-through, and 1% to 3% engagement per impression. Plain, timeline-native creative, meaning a post that reads like a post, sits at the top of both bands. Start with the defaults, then replace them with the rates from your first campaign report, the only numbers that reflect your creative and targeting.
What are the X ad specs in 2026?
The reference table under the calculator lists them. Promoted post copy runs up to 280 characters, or 257 with a link. Image ads are 1200 x 1200 (1:1) or 1200 x 628 (1.91:1), and website-card images are 800 x 418 or 800 x 800. Supported ratios are 1:1, 1.91:1, 16:9, 9:16, 4:5, and 2:3. Video ads are 15 seconds recommended and 2 minutes 20 seconds at most. Headlines take 70 characters and descriptions 50. Carousels hold 2 to 6 slides, and poll options take 25 characters. Confirm the exact limits in X Ads Manager when you upload; X revises them.
What is a good ROAS for X ads?
Published 2026 figures put typical X campaigns between roughly 1.5x and 4x, with retargeting and product launches at the top. Enter your landing-page conversion rate and revenue per conversion in the advanced fields to see what your assumptions imply. Anything below 1.0 loses money before margins. The fair comparison is against your other channels at the same budget.
Does this tool connect to my X Ads account?
No. Nothing connects to X; you enter the budget and benchmark figures yourself and the maths runs in your browser. Use your own Ads Manager numbers as soon as you have them; they beat any benchmark.
Is the Twitter ads cost calculator free?
Yes, free with no signup, running entirely in your browser. Nothing you enter is uploaded; your last entries are remembered locally so the calculator is ready next time.