August 08, 2026
How the Adwave Wallet and Daily Budget Work
Table of Contents
Waverunner by Adwave bills with a prepaid wallet and a daily budget. You put money in first, you set a daily ceiling, and you can never spend more than you funded. No subscriptions, no contracts, no surprise invoice at month end.
This page explains creation credit, wallet funding, daily budgets, and what happens when you pause. If you're brand new to the product, start with the getting started guide.
The three pieces
Waverunner pricing has three parts that people often mix up:
Creation credit. New accounts get $60 starter credit so you can generate ads before you buy media (activates with a deposit within 14 days).
Prepaid wallet. The balance you fund for media. Campaign days draw down from this balance.
Daily budget. The amount Waverunner charges for each active campaign day, from $30/day up to $10,000/day.
Creation credit pays for generating and refining ads. The wallet pays for running them. Your daily budget is the throttle on how fast the wallet draws down.
Creation credit vs media spend
Ad creation is free to start. The $60 starter credit covers generating image ads, social video, and TV-ready spots from your website. You can review and refine creatives before you fund media.
Media spend is separate. When you launch a campaign, Waverunner charges your daily budget from the prepaid wallet for each day the campaign is active. That daily number is the entire media bill for that day across Meta, Google, Reddit, TikTok, web, mobile, and television. There is no separate platform fee on top.
Creation credit is separate from media. Fund your wallet when you are ready to launch.
How the prepaid wallet works
The wallet is a balance you control:
You add funds before (or as) you launch.
Active campaign days draw down the wallet by your daily budget.
When the wallet runs low, you top up or the campaign stops delivering when it can't fund the next day.
Money left in the wallet stays yours to spend when you're ready. You are not on a retainer clock.
This is the same prepaid idea covered in our guide to prepaid advertising platforms. The hard ceiling is the point: you decide the number up front.
How daily budgets work
Your daily budget is the one number that matters for media. Pick an amount from $30/day to $10,000/day. While the campaign is active, that amount is charged from the wallet once per active day and funds delivery across every channel in the mix.
A few practical notes:
$30/day is a real starting point for testing targeting and creative, not a fake teaser that forces you into a larger plan.
One budget covers every channel. You are not allocating $X to Meta and $Y to TV by hand unless you want to dig into optimization later.
Raising or lowering the daily budget changes how fast you spend and how much reach you buy. It does not create a new subscription tier.
For broader pricing context (CPMs, sample monthly ranges), see how Adwave pricing works and the pricing page.
What happens when you pause
Pause the campaign and charges stop. There is no cancellation window and no minimum term. Resume when you're ready, as long as the wallet has balance and your creatives are still approved.
That pause behavior is the main difference from agency retainers and many managed CTV contracts. You stay in control of the calendar.
How much to fund first
There is no required load amount beyond having enough wallet balance to cover the daily budgets you set. Common patterns:
Tester. Fund enough for a week or two at $30/day so you can confirm delivery, targeting, and creative.
Local presence. Many small businesses settle into a few hundred dollars a month of sustained daily spend once they like the results.
Growth push. Raise the daily budget for a launch, seasonal window, or multi-location rollout, then dial back.
Start small, watch the dashboard for 10–14 days, then adjust. Our campaign optimization guide covers when to change creative vs budget.
Common questions answered
Is the $60 starter credit a campaign minimum?
No. $60 starter credit is for generating ads (activates with a deposit within 14 days). Campaign media starts at $30/day from the prepaid wallet.
Is there a monthly subscription?
No. You fund the wallet and pay the daily budget on active days only.
Can I go into debt or get an overage bill?
No. Spend comes from the prepaid wallet. When the balance can't fund delivery, ads stop.
Does the daily budget buy only TV?
No. One daily budget funds the full Waverunner mix: Meta, Google, Reddit, TikTok, web, mobile, and television.
Where does Wavemaker pricing fit?
Wavemaker creative pricing lives at wavemaker.adwave.com. Waverunner wallet and daily budget rules cover campaign media. See how Wavemaker and Waverunner work together.
See pricing and start
Review the numbers on Adwave pricing, then paste your website into Waverunner to generate ads with your creation credit before you fund media.
