YouTube ads vs Facebook ads: which fits your business

The facts here come from Google's and Meta's own help pages: Google Ads Help Create a Video campaign, About video ad formats, About YouTube's cost-per-view (CPV) bidding, Target CPM and About average daily budgets, and Meta's 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 Neither company publishes a standard cost per view, cost per thousand impressions or return on ad spend, and we do not quote averages.

The short answer

	YouTube ads (Google Ads)	Facebook and Instagram ads (Meta)
Where ads run	YouTube, Google TV and Google video partners	Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and the Meta Audience Network
Creative	Video only	Images, video, carousels and collections
What you pay for	Views (CPV) or impressions (CPM), by format and bid strategy	Usually impressions, unless you choose otherwise
Budget	Average daily budget, monthly limit 30.4 times it	Daily or lifetime budget
Tracking	Google Ads conversion tracking	Meta Pixel and Conversions API

The rest of this page explains each row and links to our longer guides: YouTube video ads and Meta ads basics.

Where the ads run

You run YouTube ads from a Video campaign in Google Ads. Google says Video campaigns "allow you to reach and engage with your audience on YouTube, Google TV, and through Google video partners." Most of that inventory is people who chose to watch a video, on a phone, a computer or a TV screen (see YouTube ads on TV).

Meta's ads run across its apps. How Meta charges for ads names the places you buy through one account: "Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, or the Meta Audience Network". People see the ads while scrolling feeds, Stories and Reels; Meta ads placements explains how to choose them.

Video formats and lengths

On YouTube every format is video. Google's About video ad formats page lists them, including:

• Skippable in-stream: plays before, during or after other videos. "Viewers can skip the ad after 5 seconds."
• Non-skippable in-stream: "60 seconds or shorter", and viewers cannot skip it.
• Bumper ads: "non-skippable video ads lasting between 5 and 6 seconds".
• In-feed video ads: "a thumbnail image from your video with some text"; a click takes people to the YouTube watch page.
• Shorts ads: vertical ads between Shorts; "Users can immediately skip the ad by swiping up or down."

Sizes and lengths are in our YouTube ads specs and YouTube Shorts ads guides.

Meta takes images as well as video, so you can start with product photos and add video later. Specs are in Meta ads specs. A vertical video made for Shorts can often be reused for Instagram Reels ads, after checking each platform's safe zones.

Targeting

YouTube targeting sits in Google Ads: audiences (such as people who searched for or watched related topics, and your own customer and website data), demographics, and content targeting by keyword, topic or placement. Our YouTube ads targeting guide covers each one. The content options let you choose the kind of videos your ad appears next to, which Meta's feeds do not offer in the same way.

Meta still lets you set an audience yourself, including custom audiences, but it 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.

How each one charges

Both run auctions, so there is no fixed price per view or per thousand impressions.

• YouTube: what you pay for depends on the format and bid strategy. With cost-per-view bidding, Google says "you'll pay for TrueView views and interactions". For in-stream ads a view counts "When someone watches 30 seconds of your video ad (or until the end of the ad if it's shorter than 30 seconds) or interacts with the ad, whichever comes first." Non-skippable ads "use Target CPM bidding, so you pay based on impressions." Details: How much do YouTube ads cost?
• Meta: "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?

A skippable YouTube ad paid per view and a Meta ad paid per impression are not the same unit, so a lower view price does not mean a cheaper result. Compare the cost per lead or sale.

Budgets

In Google Ads you set an average daily budget per campaign. Spend can vary by day, but Google caps the month: your monthly spending limit is "30.4 times your average daily budget for most campaigns". Our YouTube budgets section covers this and the other budget types.

On Meta 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, as explained in our Meta cost section. Payment thresholds decide when you are billed: Meta ads payment threshold.

Measurement

• YouTube: conversions are measured with Google Ads conversion tracking (the Google tag on your site, or imported GA4 conversions). Many people who see a video ad buy later without clicking it; view-through windows are in our conversion windows guide. Setup: Google Ads conversion tracking.
• Meta: "The Meta Pixel is a piece of code that you put on your website." Its events appear in Events Manager, and you can 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.

Which to start with (our view)

This section is our opinion, not a rule from Google or Meta.

• Start with Meta if you have a small budget, mostly photos rather than video, or want to retarget past visitors and customers. One campaign covers Facebook and Instagram.
• Start with YouTube if you have, or can make, a clear video that explains or shows your product, and people watch videos about your topic (how-tos, reviews, comparisons). Content targeting lets you appear next to exactly those videos.
• Run both once tracking works 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, compare search ads too: Google Ads vs Facebook ads. For short vertical video, see TikTok ads vs Facebook ads.

Frequently asked questions

Are YouTube ads better than Facebook ads?

Neither is better for every business. YouTube suits brands with a video that explains or shows the product, shown to people already watching related videos; Meta works with images as well as video and reaches people across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp. Test both with the same offer and compare the cost per lead or sale.

Are YouTube ads cheaper than Facebook ads?

Neither has a fixed price; both use auctions. YouTube often charges per view (a view counts after 30 seconds, the end of a shorter ad, or an interaction), while Meta usually charges per impression, so the prices are not directly comparable. Compare the cost per result.

Do I need a video to advertise on YouTube?

Yes. YouTube ads in Video campaigns use a video, which you upload to YouTube and link in Google Ads. On Meta you can start with an image.

Can I use the same video on YouTube and Facebook?

Often yes, if you export it in the ratios each placement needs (horizontal for YouTube in-stream, vertical for Shorts and Reels) and check each platform's length limits and safe zones.

What is the minimum budget for YouTube ads?

The Google Ads pages we cite set no fixed minimum for Video campaigns. You set an average daily budget, and the monthly spend limit is 30.4 times that amount for most campaigns.