Head to head · short video
TikTok vs Instagram Ads
By Oliver Wakefield-Smith, Digital Signet. Updated July 2026.
The short-video budget question. Both platforms auction attention against vertical video, and neither side of this page carries a benchmark number, because none currently meets the sourcing bar. What differs is the machinery, and that is decidable.
The benchmark situation, stated plainly
The Meta dataset we cite measures Facebook placements ($0.70 traffic-campaign link-click CPC, 2025 LocaliQ, 2025 data) and publishes no Instagram split. TikTok has no public benchmark we trust at all TikTok for Business. Comparing two unpublished numbers would be theatre; comparing the auctions is useful.
How the two auctions differ
Instagram inherits Meta's targeting: interests, behaviours, lookalikes, retargeting, refined across two decades of profile data. TikTok leans on content: its feed algorithm finds the audience your video earns, which rewards genuinely native creative and punishes adapted TV spots. Meta lets you buy precision; TikTok makes you earn distribution. Retargeting infrastructure, shop integrations and placement control are all deeper on Meta; raw reach into younger audiences per pound of creative effort is TikTok's claim.
A £300 test on each
Same product, same offer, same fortnight, one vertical video cut natively for each platform. Cap both at £300, send clicks to the same landing page, and measure to the same standard: spend over link clicks in the calculator, then enquiries per pound. For view-priced formats, translate with the CPV bridge before comparing. Local retail with a photogenic product usually finds Instagram converts better and TikTok reaches further; your own test decides which matters.
Platform detail: Instagram and TikTok; the search alternative for the same £600 is on the benchmark board.