Reporting in Meta Ads Manager: columns, breakdowns and exports

This guide is built from the Meta Business Help Center: Customize columns in Meta Ads Manager, Simplify metrics selection with customized columns, Use breakdowns in Meta Ads Manager, About breakdowns, metrics and filtering in Meta Ads Reporting, View performance results across date ranges, About Meta Ads Reporting, Create a report using templates, About custom metrics, Create custom metrics, Create custom breakdowns, Export and share reports, Run a recurring report, Download delivery reports, About estimated, in development and third-party metrics, Troubleshoot reasons why ad metrics may not add up and About data sampling. Checked on 10 November 2026. Which conversions get credited to an ad is set by the attribution setting, covered in our Meta attribution settings guide; this page is about how you view and share the numbers.

Ads Manager table vs Ads Reporting

Meta gives you two places to read results. The Ads Manager table is where you run campaigns: one row per campaign, ad set or ad, with columns you choose and a Breakdown menu. Ads Reporting is a separate reporting tool. Meta says it lets you create, customize, export, share and schedule reports on your ad performance, with breakdowns, filters and sorting arranged in a pivot table.

Use the table for day-to-day checks while you edit campaigns. Use Ads Reporting when you want a saved report that you return to, send to someone or have emailed on a schedule. Ads Reporting also has ready-made templates, including commonly used performance metrics, an ROI snapshot and reach and frequency, which you can edit and save.

Columns and column presets

The columns decide which metrics you see. To change them in Ads Manager:

1. Click Campaigns, Ad sets or Ads, depending on what you want to update.
2. Open the Columns menu and choose Customize columns.
3. Tick the metrics you want. To keep the set, tick Save as a column preset.
4. Click Apply. Next time, pick the preset from the Columns menu.

Meta groups metrics into four categories: Performance (results, reach, frequency, impressions), Engagement (page post, messaging, media, clicks, awareness), Conversions (website conversions and purchases, cost per website conversion, app installs and purchases) and Settings (start and end date, ad set name, ad ID, delivery, bid, objective).

Meta is also rolling out a standard events view in Customize columns. You choose a standard event, such as a purchase, and set its metrics as a grid by total, unique, value, cost and unique cost, with breakdowns by web, app and offline channel. Meta says this feature is being introduced gradually, so your account may not have it yet.

If you track an action that is not a standard event, a custom conversion gives it its own column in the same table.

Breakdowns

A breakdown splits each row by another dimension. In Ads Manager you select a campaign, ad set or ad, click the Breakdown icon and choose By time, By delivery or By action. Ads Reporting groups them like this:

Group	Examples Meta lists
Level	Campaign, ad set name, ad name
Time	Day, week, 2-week period, month
Demographics	Age, gender, age and gender, audience segments
Geography	Country, region, business locations, Comscore market
Delivery	Placement, platform, time of day, impression device, platform and device, media type
Actions	Conversion device, carousel card, video view type, video sound

You can combine two breakdowns, such as age with day, but Meta says You cannot combine breakdowns under the same category. Offsite conversions from websites and iOS apps have tighter limits: Meta only supports Age, Gender, Age and gender, Country, Impression device, Platform, Platform and device, Placement and Audience segments. Conversions that Meta cannot attribute to a breakdown value show up as Uncategorized, and Meta notes that statistical modeling may be used in breakdowns when conversion data is missing or partial.

Geography follows your targeting. Meta says the data reflects where people live or where they were when they saw the ad, depending on how you set location targeting.

Comparing two date ranges

To see how this week did against last week, open the date filter at the top of the table and turn on Compare. Pick the two ranges and click Update. The table then shows both values, the change and the percentage change, and the performance graphs show the two ranges side by side. Meta notes the campaign must have run across more than one date range for this to be useful.

Comparing date ranges is a different thing from comparing attribution settings, which shows the same period credited in different ways. That second comparison is explained in our attribution settings guide.

Custom metrics and custom breakdowns

A custom metric is your own formula built from existing metrics, saved under a name. Meta says it can be made in both Ads Manager and Ads Reporting. In Ads Reporting you open a report, go to Customize pivot table, select Metrics and click + Create below Custom metrics. The form asks for:

• The metrics and operators (add, subtract, multiply, divide). A formula needs at least 2 metrics and one symbol, and cannot divide by zero.
• A unique name, an optional description and a format: numeric, percentage or currency.
• Who can access it: only you, or everyone with access to the ad account. Meta warns: You cannot edit or delete the custom metric formula once shared.

Meta adds that custom metrics only do basic maths on your formula and do not change the underlying metrics. A typical use is a ratio Meta does not offer as a column, so you don't have to export to a spreadsheet to calculate it.

A custom breakdown groups accounts, campaigns, ad sets or ads with your own filters, for example one campaign objective plus a keyword in the name, and saves it as a row in the pivot table. You create it from the Columns button, Breakdowns tab, + Create, and can keep it to yourself or share it with your business.

Exporting, sharing and scheduled reports

From Ads Reporting you can export a saved report as an .xlsx or .csv file, or share it as a link. Link sharing works for people inside or outside your business; people outside cannot edit the report or see unsaved changes, and you can set an expiry date on their access. Meta gives the maximum reporting window as 37 months from the date of the request. Exporting, sharing and scheduling all expect administrator, advertiser or analyst access to the ad account.

To get a report by email on a schedule, open it in Ads Reporting and turn on the schedule email, either from the link under the report title or from the cog icon in report settings, add the subscriber and save. Two limits matter:

• Scheduling works for single-account reports only. Meta says Cross-account reports can't be scheduled for email.
• Only people with permissions on the ad account can open the report. To share without granting access, Meta suggests exporting the report and sending the file.

A separate download covers where ads appeared. Delivery reports list the URLs and apps on Facebook in-stream reels, Ads on Facebook Reels and Audience Network where your ads delivered, with impressions. You get them through View chart, Platform, Download reports. Meta says the data lags by 3-5 days and is available for up to 30 days, so weekly downloads are needed to keep a longer record. These pair with block lists if you find places you don't want ads to run.

If your client reporting lives in a dashboard, our Looker Studio dashboards guide covers the Google side of the same job.

Estimated, in development and third-party labels

Some metric definitions in Ads Manager carry a disclaimer. Meta explains three:

• Estimated: derived through statistical sampling or modeling, not a straight count. Reach, frequency, results and most unique metrics are on Meta's list. Meta says they can be used as directional guidance for planning, to gauge performance and to measure conversions where data is incomplete.
• In development: still being tested, and Meta may change how it calculates them. Meta says they should not be used for historical comparison of advertising performance, or for strategic planning or important business decisions. Its list includes ad recall lift, hook rate, hold rate and several messaging metrics.
• Reported by a third-party API: data that reaches Meta from another system, such as Apple's SKAdNetwork for iOS app campaigns. Meta asks for caution when comparing these with metrics it measures directly.

Meta's list shows that some metrics, ad recall lift for example, carry both the estimated and the in development label.

Why the numbers don't add up

A common question is why ad set rows don't sum to the campaign total. Meta gives three reasons:

• Unique metrics are de-duplicated. Reach counts accounts, not actions. If ad set 1 reached person A and B, and ad set 2 reached B and C, each ad set shows a reach of 2 and the campaign shows 3.
• Sampling. Reach and unique metrics may rely on sampled data, and totals are sampled separately from breakdowns, so a breakdown can even add up to more than the total. Impressions and clicks are not sampled.
• Deleted items. The default view hides deleted ad sets and ads that still count at higher levels. Use the Delivery filter to include them.

Ads Reporting also filters to Had delivery by default, which shows only ads with at least one impression.

How we set up client reporting

This part is our own practice, not Meta's guidance:

• We save one column preset per account with the result the campaign optimises for, its cost, spend, reach and frequency, so everyone reads the same columns.
• We keep breakdowns to one question at a time, such as placement or age, rather than stacking several into a table nobody reads.
• Weekly client reports are scheduled from Ads Reporting where the client has account access, and exported as a file where they don't.
• We don't put in development metrics in month-to-month comparisons, following Meta's own advice.

Frequently asked questions

How do I save my columns in Meta Ads Manager?

Open Columns, choose Customize columns, select the metrics and tick Save as a column preset before clicking Apply. The preset then appears in the Columns menu.

Can I schedule a Meta ads report by email?

Yes, from Ads Reporting: open the report, turn on the schedule email, add the subscriber and save. It works for single-account reports only, and recipients need permissions on the ad account to open it.

What file formats can I export from Meta Ads Reporting?

Meta's export page lists .xlsx and .csv files, plus sharing as a link with an optional expiry date for people outside your business.

Why doesn't campaign reach equal the sum of ad set reach?

Reach is de-duplicated: a person reached by two ad sets counts once at campaign level. Reach is also an estimated metric that may use sampled data.

What does "This metric is in development" mean?

Meta is still testing how it calculates the metric and may adjust it. Meta says to use it for directional guidance, not for historical comparison or important business decisions.

For more on Meta advertising, see our guides to Meta ads basics, attribution settings, frequency and A/B testing. We build the landing pages ads send people to as part of our website development work. See all our services, or browse more guides.