How to Download Leads from Facebook Ads Manager

Your Facebook lead generation campaign is working, and the new leads are officially rolling in. So, what's next? Getting that valuable contact information out of Facebook's ecosystem and into your sales pipeline is the critical move that turns ad spend into actual revenue. This guide provides a complete walkthrough of every method to download your leads from Facebook Ads, from the simple manual export to a fully automated workflow.

What Are Facebook Lead Ads and Why Are They So Popular?

Before jumping into the "how," it's helpful to understand the "what." Facebook Lead Ads (or "Instant Forms") are a unique ad format designed to collect information from potential customers directly on the platform. When a user clicks your ad, a pre-filled form with their Facebook profile information (like their name, email, or phone number) opens up. They can confirm or edit their details and submit - all without ever leaving the Facebook or Instagram app.

This frictionless process is a game-changer because it removes the biggest hurdle to lead generation: forcing users to go to an external landing page, wait for it to load, and manually type in all their information. By making it fast and easy to submit a form, lead ads can dramatically lower your cost per lead.

But collecting the leads is only half the battle. If they sit inside Ads Manager for days, they grow cold and worthless. The speed at which you follow up is directly tied to your conversion rate, which is why knowing how to access your leads is so important.

The Classic Method: How to Manually Download Leads from Ads Manager

This is the most direct way to get your leads. Facebook Ads Manager provides a simple, built-in tool that lets you export your lead data into a spreadsheet file (like a CSV or XLS). It's perfect for when you need a quick list or if you're just starting and not yet using a CRM.

Step-by-Step Guide to Manual Downloads

Follow these steps to download your leads right from the Ads Manager dashboard:

1. Navigate to Facebook Ads Manager: Head to your Ads Manager account. You should see a dashboard with your active and inactive campaigns.
2. Select the Correct Campaign and Ad Set: Navigate to the Campaigns tab and select the lead generation campaign that contains the leads you want to download. From there, click over to the Ads tab. This will show you all the individual ads within that campaign.
3. Find the "Leads (Form)" Column: Look at the columns in your ads report. You should see a column titled Results. For a lead generation campaign, the result will usually be labeled "Leads (Form)." Underneath this label, you'll see a clickable blue link showing the number of leads generated by that ad. Click on this link.
4. Open the Lead Download Window: A new window will pop up showing your lead forms. At the top of this window, you'll find a "Download" button. Click it.
5. Choose What to Download: You will be given two options:
   • Download New Leads: This option downloads only the leads you haven't yet downloaded. It's great for daily check-ins so you don't have to sort through contacts you've already exported. Facebook keeps track of which leads have been exported from your account.
   • Download by Date Range: This lets you select a specific time frame, like "last week" or a custom date range. This is useful for creating weekly reports or if you accidentally deleted a previous file and need to re-download a specific batch of leads.
6. Select Your File Format: CSV or XLS: After choosing your date range, you'll be prompted to pick a file format.
   • CSV (Comma-Separated Values): This is the universal standard for spreadsheets. It's a plain text file that can be opened by virtually any spreadsheet program, including Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and Apple Numbers. This is almost always the best option.
   • XLS: This is the older, proprietary Microsoft Excel format. Choose this only if you know for certain that you have to work with legacy systems that require it.

Once you click the CSV or XLS button, your download will start immediately. You can now open this file in your spreadsheet program of choice and start reaching out to your new leads!

An Alternative Route: Downloading Leads From Your Meta Business Suite

Sometimes, navigating the deep waters of Ads Manager feels a little overwhelming just for a simple download. Luckily, Facebook provides a more direct way to access your lead forms and their data through the Meta Business Suite.

This method is especially useful if you just want to grab leads without getting distracted by ad performance metrics like CPC or CTR.

Steps for Downloading via Business Suite:

1. Go to your Meta Business Suite: Navigate to business.facebook.com and select the correct business account.
2. Find "All Tools": On the left-hand navigation menu, look for an icon that looks like a grid of squares called "All Tools." Click it. This will open a massive menu of all the business tools available.
3. Select "Instant Forms": Under the "Advertise" section, you'll find an option called "Instant Forms" (sometimes just listed as "Forms"). This takes you to a dedicated library of all the lead forms you have ever created.
4. Download Your Leads: You will see a list of all your forms. Find the specific form you want to get leads from. Next to each form, you'll see the number of leads it has collected. Click on that number or the "Download" link next to it. Just like in Ads Manager, you can choose to download new leads or filter by a specific date.

This interface is cleaner and more focused, making it a great alternative if you feel lost in the maze of Ads Manager columns.

Stop Downloading Manually: Automating Your Lead Delivery with a CRM

Manual downloads work, but they aren't scalable. If you're generating dozens of leads a day, you can't afford to waste time downloading CSVs. More importantly, every minute a lead waits for you to see them in a spreadsheet is a minute they lose interest, forget they filled out your form, or get contacted by a competitor. The solution? Automation.

Setting up your Facebook Lead Ads to integrate directly with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system or email marketing platform sends lead data to your sales team in real-time. This is how high-performing teams operate.

Two Main Ways to Automate Your Workflow:

1. Check for Native Integrations

Many popular CRM platforms have built-in, direct integrations with Facebook Lead Ads. Platforms like HubSpot, Salesforce, Mailchimp, and ActiveCampaign have recognized how popular this ad format is and have made it easy to connect your Facebook account. To get started, log into your CRM and search its integration marketplace or settings for "Facebook Lead Ads." The setup process is usually a simple authentication flow where you connect your Facebook account, grant permissions, and then "map" the fields from your Facebook form (e.g., "First Name") to the corresponding fields in your CRM (e.g., "Contact's First Name").

2. Use a Connector Tool like Zapier

What if your CRM doesn't have a native integration? This is where third-party automation tools like Zapier or Make.com come in. They act as a bridge between Facebook and thousands of other applications.

The concept is simple. You create an automated workflow that says:

• Trigger: "When a new lead is submitted on my Facebook Lead Ad..."
• Action: "...create a new contact in my Google Sheet, Hubspot CRM, Sendinblue account, etc."

Setting this up takes just a few minutes and permanently solves the manual download bottleneck. New leads can instantly receive an automated email, be added to a calling queue for your sales team, or be sent a text message - all without you lifting a finger.

Troubleshooting Common Lead Download Problems

Sometimes things don't go as planned. Here are a few common issues you might run into and how to fix them.

• "I don't see the option to download leads." Solution: This is almost always a permissions issue. To download leads, you need to have "Admin" level access to the Facebook Page connected to the ad. If you only have Editor or Advertiser level access, you won't be able to see or download lead data. Check your Page Roles with the Page owner.
• "The download button is greyed out." Solution: Similar to the above, this indicates a permission restriction. You must be a full Admin of the connected Facebook Page.
• "I can't find the leads from my ad campaign." Solution: Be sure to double-check your date range filter in Ads Manager. It's easy to accidentally have it set to "Today" when the leads came in yesterday. Set it to "Maximum" or specify the campaign's run dates to see everything.
• "The data looks scrambled in a single column in Excel." Solution: This happens when your spreadsheet program doesn't correctly parse the CSV file. Instead of double-clicking the file to open it, use your program's "Import" function. In Excel, go to Data > From Text/CSV. In Google Sheets, go to File > Import. This will give you more control over how the data is separated into columns.

Final Thoughts

Getting your leads out of Facebook Ads doesn't have to be a major chore. Whether you're downloading them manually in a pinch or setting up an automated workflow for real-time delivery, the most important part is to act on that data quickly. Putting these methods into practice ensures your sales team gets the information they need while it's still fresh.

While Ads Manager deals with your paid campaigns, managing your brand's organic presence shouldn't be a disjointed, chaotic process. We've seen many teams streamline their lead delivery, only to find their next bottleneck is managing DMs, comments, and the daily grind of content planning across all platforms. We built Postbase to solve that very problem by bringing all your organic social media management - from visual content calendars and scheduling to a unified inbox - into a single, clean dashboard. It's designed to save you time on your daily tasks so you can focus on building a brand people love.