Pace connects to Meta Ads (formerly Facebook Ads) in two ways, and you can use either one or both in the same workspace. Once connected, Pace reads your campaigns and paces your budgets across every Meta ad account you link, just as it does for your other connected platforms.
Meta's own delivery algorithm optimises for whichever goal you set at the ad set level, not a steady daily pace, so spend can swing from day to day even when nothing about your campaign has changed. Pacing Meta Ads well means working with that instead of against it — protecting the learning phase and letting an outside tool hold the monthly guardrail around whatever it decides to spend day to day.
The two methods differ in the thing that worries most people: how much Pace can see.
- Connect with personal Facebook account is the quick option. You sign in with Facebook, and Pace can reach every ad account that Facebook user has access to. Meta doesn't let a personal sign-in be limited to selected accounts, so this grants the broadest access.
- Connect via Business Portfolio is the scoped option. Choose it whenever you want to limit Pace to specific ad accounts. On Meta's grant screen, you tick the exact accounts Pace may manage. That makes it the right call for agencies, and for anyone connecting a company account they don't want to hand over in full. Pace then appears in your Meta Business Integrations panel, where you can revoke its access at any time.
What you'll need
- A Pace workspace, plus a Facebook account with access to the Meta ad accounts you want to manage.
- A few minutes.
Permissions required: Only a workspace owner or admin can connect accounts. With a member (read-only) role you'll see an Access Restricted message instead, so ask your workspace owner to connect for you.
Connect with a personal Facebook account
- Open Linked Accounts in Pace and select the Meta Ads tab.
- On the Connect Meta Ads card, select Connect with Facebook. If it reads Initialising... and is greyed out, wait a moment for Facebook's sign-in to load.
- Sign in and approve access in the Facebook popup. This method stays on the Pace page.
- Below the card, open the Unlinked tab, tick the accounts you want, and select Link.
Connect via Business Portfolio
- Open Linked Accounts in Pace and select the Meta Ads tab.
- On the Connect Meta Ads card, select Connect via Business Portfolio. Pace sends you out to Meta's own screen.
- Choose your business portfolio and tick the exact ad accounts Pace may manage, then finish. Meta returns you to Pace.
- Below the card, open the Unlinked tab. Accounts shared through a portfolio are grouped under its name; the rest sit under Personal ad accounts. Tick the ones you want and select Link.
Connecting and linking are two separate steps. Signing in imports nothing on its own, so Pace starts pacing only once you link accounts on the Unlinked tab. For the general flow, see how to connect your first account.
Manage both connections
Once connected, the card is titled Meta Ads with a status badge. Select its three-dot menu (Manage Meta connections) to open a window that lists both methods side by side. Your personal Facebook sign-in appears as Meta Account, next to Business Portfolio. Each has its own Reconnect and Disconnect buttons. Add or replace either connection here without disturbing the other, then select Close.
How you'll know it worked
The card shows a green Connected badge, along with who connected it and the date. For a Business Portfolio connection, the subtitle names the portfolio you granted. Under the card, a note reads "Secured with OAuth 2.0. Your credentials are encrypted and tokens rotate automatically." In plain terms, you sign in on Meta's own screen and Pace never sees your password.
Reconnect a Meta connection
Meta connections can need reauthentication over time. When one needs attention, its badge turns to Needs attention. Select the Re-authenticate now button on the card to restore access.
A Business Portfolio connection with a time-limited grant also shows a countdown of the days you have left to reconnect. The countdown shifts from amber to red as the deadline nears. Some Business Portfolio connections use a permanent grant instead. These never expire, so they show no countdown. To end one, revoke Pace's access in your Meta Business Integrations panel.
When a connection expires, Pace's alert names which one it is: your personal Facebook account or your Business Portfolio. Reconnect that one. For the full detail, see managing permissions and re-authentication.
Common Meta connection problems
- Connect with Facebook is greyed out. It reads Initialising... until Facebook's sign-in finishes loading. Give it a moment.
- Pace sees too many accounts. A personal sign-in reaches every account that Facebook user can. To limit Pace to specific accounts, connect via Business Portfolio instead and tick only what you need.
- An account is missing from the list. Confirm your Facebook user, or the portfolio you granted, actually has access to it, then reconnect.
Still stuck? Email [email protected].
How Pace protects your credentials
You never type your Facebook password into Pace. You approve access on Meta's own sign-in screen, and Pace holds only the encrypted access key Meta returns. That key stays on Pace's server: never sent to your browser, never put in a web address, never written into Pace's activity records. Every request to Meta runs server-side, so your browser never talks to Meta directly. Each connection is stored separately and secured with OAuth 2.0.