TikTok ads vs Facebook ads: which fits your business
TikTok and Meta both sell ads through an auction, and both let you choose your own budget. They differ in where the ads run, how you can target people, what you are charged for, the minimum budget and the creative each one needs. This guide compares them side by side, so you can decide where to put a first test budget.
The facts here come from TikTok's and Meta's own help pages: TikTok's Available bidding strategies, About budgets, About ad targeting and About Events API, and Meta's About ad auctions, How Meta charges for ads, About Advantage+ audience and Learn about Meta Pixel. Where we give an opinion, we say so. Neither company publishes a standard cost per click or return on ad spend, and we do not quote averages.
The short answer
| TikTok ads | Facebook and Instagram ads (Meta) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where ads run | TikTok's feed (plus TikTok's ad network for some campaigns) | Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and the Meta Audience Network |
| Targeting | Demographics, audiences, interests and behaviours, device, smart targeting | An audience you define, or one Meta's AI finds (Advantage+ audience) |
| What you pay for | The ad group's billing event: CPC, CPM, CPV or oCPM | Usually impressions, unless you choose otherwise |
| Minimum budget | Campaign over 50 USD a day, ad group over 20 USD a day | You set a daily or lifetime budget |
| Tracking | TikTok Pixel and Events API | Meta Pixel and Conversions API |
The rest of this page explains each row and links to our longer guides: TikTok ads basics and Meta ads basics.
Where the ads run
A TikTok ad is a full-screen vertical video (or an image carousel) shown between the videos people scroll through. Our TikTok ad specs guide lists the placements and sizes, including the TikTok Ad Network for some objectives.
Meta's ads reach further than Facebook. How Meta charges for ads names the places you buy through one account: "Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, or the Meta Audience Network". One campaign can run on several of them; Meta ads placements explains how to choose.
Targeting
On TikTok you set targeting per ad group. TikTok's About ad targeting page lists five groups: "Demographics Audience Targeting Advanced Targeting Device type Smart targeting". Demographics cover age bands, gender, location and language. Advanced targeting covers interests, purchase intent and behaviours, such as "interactions with videos or creators". Smart targeting "helps you expand your targeting criteria to deliver outside your designated audience settings". The full list is in our TikTok ads targeting guide.
Meta still lets you set an audience yourself, including custom audiences, but it now leans on its own AI. Its About Advantage+ audience page says the setting "lets you use Meta's advanced AI to find the audience for your Meta ad campaign, instead of defining that audience yourself." See Meta Advantage+ audience.
In both, custom audiences from your website visitors or customer lists need the tracking described under measurement and the right consent.
How each one charges
Both run auctions, so there is no fixed price per click or per thousand views.
- TikTok: "TikTok ranks ads by how much advertisers bid and how relevant the ads are to users." You choose Maximum Results, a spend-based strategy, or Target cost per result, where TikTok warns that "the actual CPA can be slightly higher or lower than the target CPA." The ad group's billing event decides what you pay for: a click (CPC), a thousand impressions (CPM or oCPM) or a view (CPV). Details: How much do TikTok ads cost?
- Meta: "Each time there's an opportunity to show an ad to someone, an auction takes place to determine which ad to show to that person." The winner is the ad with "the highest total value", which combines bid, estimated action rates and ad quality. On billing, Meta says: "Usually, you're charged based on the number of impressions your ad receives unless specified otherwise during ad creation." Details: How much do Facebook and Instagram ads cost?
Because one platform may charge per click and the other per impression, compare the cost per lead or sale, not the cost per click.
Minimum budgets
TikTok sets floors the system enforces. Its About budgets page says that for a daily budget, at campaign level "Budget must exceed $50" and at ad group level "Budget must exceed $20". A lifetime ad group budget must cover the daily floor times the number of scheduled days. Our minimum budgets section has the table and TikTok's higher recommended starting points.
The Meta pages we cite here do not state fixed floors like these. You choose a daily or lifetime budget, and Meta says that "Typically, you won't be charged beyond your set budget." A daily budget can run over on some days within the weekly limit, as explained in our Meta cost section. Payment thresholds decide when you are billed: Meta ads payment threshold.
Creative
TikTok is built around vertical video with sound, so a TikTok test needs several short videos, ideally shot for the format rather than cut down from a TV ad. Spark Ads let you promote organic posts from your own or a creator's account; see TikTok Spark Ads.
Meta accepts images, video, carousels and collections, so you can start with product photos and add video later. Specs and ratios are in Meta ads specs, including Reels ads, where vertical video made for TikTok can often be reused.
Measurement: pixel and server events
Both use the same two-part model: a browser tag plus a server connection.
- TikTok: the TikTok Pixel on your site, plus the Events API from your server or store platform. TikTok's About Events API page says "Pixel or Events API set-up is a pre-requisite for our Web Conversions objective", and for websites "we recommend having an Events API integration with your existing Pixel integration". Setup: TikTok Pixel and Events API.
- Meta: "The Meta Pixel is a piece of code that you put on your website." Its events appear in Events Manager, and you can build custom audiences and retarget from them. The Conversions API adds server-side events. Setup: Meta Pixel and Conversions API.
Each platform counts conversions under its own attribution rules, so the same sale can show up in both reports. Check results against your own orders or leads, and tag your links with UTM parameters so your analytics shows both side by side.
Which to start with (our view)
This section is our opinion, not a rule from TikTok or Meta.
- Start with Meta if you have a small budget, mostly photos rather than video, or want to retarget past visitors and customers. You can start with product photos, and one campaign covers Facebook and Instagram.
- Start with TikTok if you can make several short vertical videos a month, your product shows well on camera, and the people you sell to use TikTok. Budget for TikTok's daily floors per ad group.
- Run both once the pixel and server events work on each. Use the same offer and landing page so the comparison is fair, and judge on cost per lead or sale.
If people already search for what you sell, also compare search ads: Google Ads vs Facebook ads. For longer video, see YouTube ads vs Facebook ads.
Frequently asked questions
Are TikTok ads better than Facebook ads?
Neither is better for every business. TikTok suits brands that can make short vertical videos; Meta reaches people across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp and works with images as well as video. Test both with the same offer and compare the cost per lead or sale.
Are TikTok ads cheaper than Facebook ads?
Neither has a fixed price; both use auctions. TikTok does set minimum budgets (a campaign daily budget must exceed 50 USD and an ad group daily budget must exceed 20 USD), so plan any TikTok test around those floors.
What is the minimum budget for TikTok ads?
For daily budgets, TikTok's budget page says the campaign budget must exceed 50 USD and each ad group budget must exceed 20 USD. A lifetime ad group budget must be at least the daily minimum times the number of scheduled days.
Can I use the same videos on TikTok and Instagram Reels?
Often yes, since both use full-screen vertical video. Check each platform's specs and safe zones, and remove the other platform's watermark or interface before you upload.
Do I need both a pixel and a server connection?
Both platforms recommend using the browser pixel together with their server connection (TikTok Events API, Meta Conversions API), with the same event ID on both so a sale is counted once.
Are TikTok ads good for dropshipping?
TikTok and Meta both allow online stores to advertise if the ads and the products meet their advertising policies. Whichever you use, the landing page, delivery times and refund terms have to match what the ad promises, or the ads can be rejected.