Explainer

How to run Instagram ads, with or without Facebook

You run Instagram ads in one of five ways Meta lists: boosting in the Instagram app, boosting at instagram.com, advertising from a linked Facebook Page, Meta Business Suite or Meta Ads Manager. The one thing you need is an Instagram professional account (business or creator). A Facebook Page is optional, and Meta says a first-time booster can advertise with no Facebook connection at all. Paying inside the iPhone or iPad app can add a 30% Apple service fee, which boosting at instagram.com avoids.

Last updated 13 October 2026

What is Instagram ads, and what do you need?

Instagram ads are paid placements inside Instagram, bought through the same Meta advertising system as Facebook ads. Meta's page on ways to advertise on Instagram says that with a professional account you can run ads from Instagram itself and use Meta's tools to create ads that appear on both Instagram and Facebook. Everything below comes from Meta's help pages as they read on 13 October 2026. The pages are not dated.

A professional account. Meta says you need to create or switch to a business or creator account. Its setup steps note that a private personal account becomes public when you switch.
A Facebook Page: optional. The same setup steps call connecting a Page optional, with a Skip button. Instagram's page on professional accounts recommends connecting one to get the most from its business tools, but does not require it.
To be over 16. Meta's boost troubleshooting page lists this next to the professional account. It also says that for people in the EU, the EEA and Switzerland, advertising is limited if the account uses the no-ads subscription or the less-personalised ad experience.

How to run Instagram ads: the five ways Meta lists

Meta lists five routes, from quickest to most detailed. The first two are boosts, which turn something you have already posted into an ad.

The five ways to run ads on Instagram, according to Meta's help pages
Route	What Meta says about it	Facebook needed?
Instagram app	Boost feed posts, Reels, Stories and partner content. Audience and placement options are set automatically.	No, for a first-time booster.
instagram.com	Boost from a computer or a mobile browser, with the same features as the app.	Same as the app.
A linked Facebook Page	Ads created from the Page can appear on both Facebook and Instagram, with some placement and audience options.	Yes, a Page you manage.
Meta Business Suite	Schedule posts, create ads, manage permissions and view insights. Some Advantage+ features.	A Page in your business portfolio, for desktop ad creation.
Meta Ads Manager	Full campaigns across Instagram and Facebook, with every Advantage+ feature available to you.	A Facebook or managed Meta login. The ad itself can use a Page or a connected Instagram account.

The Business Suite row follows Meta's steps for creating an ad in Business Suite on desktop, which say you must add a Facebook Page to your portfolio first. Meta for Business also lists partnership ads with creators as an Instagram format. To boost in the app, Meta's instructions are: profile, Professional dashboard, Ad tools, choose a post, then set a goal, audience, daily budget and duration. If you have not linked a Page you are asked to connect one and can tap Skip. Our post on ads versus boosted posts covers what a boost leaves out.

Instagram ads without a Facebook account: what Meta allows

Yes, within limits. Instagram's Help Centre page on ad account options says: "You can create Instagram ads without having a presence on Facebook." It describes two ways to boost.

Without a Meta ad account. If you are boosting from your professional account for the first time, you do not have to connect a Meta ad account or a Facebook Page. Meta says this option is limited to first-time boosters. You enter payment details on Instagram, manage the ad and track it on Instagram, and do without Ads Manager features such as saved audiences.
With a Meta ad account. This is the route Meta recommends, and it requires logging in to Facebook. Your Facebook payment method and ad settings carry over, and anyone with access to the Instagram account can use that ad account.

In the app, Instagram's boosting steps show the choice after you tap Boost: With a Facebook ad account or Without a Facebook ad account. The switch is one-way. Instagram's page on connecting to a Meta ad account says that once you move to a Meta ad account you cannot move back, and you lose access to the ads made before, so pause them first.

Instagram Ads Manager without Facebook is a different question, and Meta's pages are less generous. Its instructions for creating a business portfolio say to log in at business.facebook.com with a Facebook profile or a managed Meta account. An Instagram login is named in one place we read: Meta's page on accepting a portfolio invitation lets you join with a Facebook account, an Instagram account or a managed Meta account. None of the pages says you can build campaigns in Ads Manager on an Instagram login alone, so we are not claiming it.

Does Meta Ads Manager work for Instagram? Yes, and how to use it

Yes. Instagram is a placement inside Ads Manager, not a separate tool. Meta's article on creating Instagram ads in Ads Manager says you select Instagram as a placement and can use your Facebook Page or a connected Instagram professional account.

01
Connect the Instagram account, if you have one
Add it to your business portfolio under Settings, Instagram accounts, or connect it through your Page. Meta's portfolio steps need full control of the portfolio, and an Instagram account can sit in only one.
02
Create a campaign
In Ads Manager click + Create and choose an objective that supports Instagram placements.
03
Set the placements
In the ad set's Placements section, choose Show more settings and select Instagram under Platforms to run on Instagram only. Meta recommends including all placements instead.
04
Build the ad and submit it
Add the ad's identity, destination and creative, preview it, then submit it for review. It appears on Instagram once approved.

Meta's page on choosing placements adds that you do not need an Instagram account at all to select the Instagram placement: your Facebook Page can act as the voice of the ad. Our guide to publishing ads on Meta covers the full campaign steps.

Which Instagram placements exist

Meta's list of placements across its technologies names six on Instagram:

Instagram Feed: the home feed, in the app and on desktop and mobile web.
Instagram profile feed: the feed view of public profiles of people aged 18 and over.
Instagram Explore home: a tile in the Explore grid.
Instagram Stories.
Instagram Reels: the Reels tab.
Instagram search results: shown when someone searches a keyword in the app.

Not every placement is available for every ad. Meta's Instagram objectives table also has columns for Explore and Shops, and says availability varies with the conversion location you pick. A boost is narrower: Instagram's page on boosting a post says boosted posts appear in Explore, home feed, Explore feed, profile feed and Stories. Image dimensions for each are in our Meta ad sizes guide.

Instagram ads without the Apple fee

The fee applies only to money added inside the iOS app, so pay anywhere else. Meta's pages say that in most regions an Apple service fee of 30% of your total ad payment, before taxes and local fees, may apply when you add funds to your ad account in the Instagram iOS app. Boosts made in that app must be paid from funds added in advance, the purchase goes through the App Store, and Apple keeps the fee.

Instagram's page on avoiding the Apple service fee lists four ways round it:

Boost at instagram.com on a computer or in a mobile browser. Meta says the features are the same as in the app.
Add funds to your ad account from a computer or the Meta Ads Manager app, then spend that balance on boosts in the iOS app.
Boost from Meta Business Suite, in its app or on a computer.
Create the ad in Meta Ads Manager, in its app or on a computer.

Meta says ads made these ways are delivered exactly as a boost from the app would be. On tax, its page on Apple taxes for boosted posts says Apple decides the tax and issues the invoice for in-app purchases, and Meta does not issue a separate one. That is general information, not tax advice; Meta points questions to Apple or your own tax adviser.

Where Instagram ad results appear

On Instagram. After you submit a boost, Meta says the Ad tools section shows its insights. Instagram's post insights page lists views, interactions and profile activity for organic and boosted posts, kept for up to two years. Meta says a boost made without a Meta ad account is managed and tracked on Instagram.
In Business Suite. Meta's Business Suite steps say you track an ad in the Ads summary of the Ads tab.
In Ads Manager. Meta's Ads Reporting page lists platform and placement among its delivery breakdowns, which is how you separate Instagram results from Facebook ones.

Meta's troubleshooting page adds that ads run from the Instagram app can also be managed, and their insights viewed, at instagram.com, in Ads Manager and in Business Suite.

Instagram ads for small business: which route to pick

Meta does not rank the routes. This is our reading of the pages above, not Meta's wording.

No Facebook account and one post to push: boost without a Meta ad account, at instagram.com if you are on an iPhone.
Regular boosts: connect a Meta ad account early. The switch is one-way and you lose access to earlier ads, so it costs less to make it before you have a history.
Sales or leads objectives, new creative, or results split by placement: use Ads Manager with the Instagram account connected.

Sources

All pages were read on 13 October 2026. Meta's help pages carry no publication date.

Questions people ask

How do I run Instagram ads?

Switch to an Instagram professional account, then use one of the five routes Meta lists: boost a post in the Instagram app, boost at instagram.com, advertise from a linked Facebook Page, create an ad in Meta Business Suite, or build a campaign in Meta Ads Manager. Boosting is the quickest; Ads Manager has the most options.

Can I run Instagram ads without a Facebook account?

Yes, within limits: Instagram's Help Centre says a business boosting from its professional account for the first time does not have to connect a Meta ad account or a Facebook Page. You pay and track the ad on Instagram and go without Ads Manager features such as saved audiences. Meta's pages describe logging in to Ads Manager and Business Suite with a Facebook profile or a managed Meta account.

Does Meta Ads Manager work for Instagram?

Yes. Instagram is a placement inside Meta Ads Manager. You create a campaign, choose an objective that supports Instagram, and in the Placements section either keep all placements or select Instagram only. The ad can run from a connected Instagram professional account or from your Facebook Page.

How do I run Instagram ads without the Apple fee?

Meta says a 30% Apple service fee may apply in most regions when you add funds in the Instagram iOS app. To avoid it, boost at instagram.com in a browser, use Meta Business Suite or Meta Ads Manager, or add funds to your ad account from a computer or the Ads Manager app before boosting on your iPhone.

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Mockingbird is an independent product from Onwards Analytics and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by Meta. Meta, Facebook, Instagram, Meta Ads Manager and the Meta Ad Library are trademarks of Meta Platforms, Inc. Meta changes its tools often; check Meta's own help pages for the current detail before you rely on it.