What is the average cost of social advertising?
The cost of social advertising varies greatly by platform, industry and target audience.
On average, you pay between €0.10 and €2 per click, but in highly competitive markets-such as business services, software, finance or niche B2B audiences-costs can reach €5+ per click.
This is because ad platforms work according to an auction system: the more advertisers bid on the same target audience and objective, the higher the price.
The cost of social advertising depends on several factors:
Target
The more specific your target audience, the higher the cost. Platforms such as Meta and TikTok have relatively broad target audiences, so CPMs and CPCs are lower.
On LinkedIn, the target audience is often business and sophisticated segmentation, which automatically increases costs.
- Broad consumer market: often low CPCs (< €1)
- Niche B2B market: CPCs could rise to €4 – €8
Objective
Advertising costs are also determined by the campaign objective chosen. Awareness campaigns (CPM-based) tend to be cheaper because the platform looks primarily at views.
Conversion-oriented campaigns require more optimization toward valuable actions, which increases the cost per click or per conversion.
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CPM for reach: €4 – €12
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CPC for traffic: €0.10 – €2
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CPA for conversions: highly dependent on sector, but often from €5 – €50+
Quality of your ad
Platforms reward relevant content. Ads with high click rate, strong visuals and relevant targeting get lower cost per result.
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A 1 percentage point increase in CTR can reduce CPCs by up to 20-30%.
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Poorly performing ads, on the contrary, are shown more expensively or less frequently.
Budget Strategy
In social advertising, scale helps. Small test budgets (e.g. €5 – €10 per day) give limited data, so the algorithm optimizes less effectively.
Larger brands often invest thousands of dollars per month to collect enough data for stable performance.
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Minimum testing phase: 7-14 days
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Optimal learning phase: 50+ conversions per week (for conversion-oriented campaigns)
What are the average costs per platform?
The guidelines below are averages in Europe, based on market data from 2023-2024.
Actual costs may vary by industry, competition and account quality.
Facebook & Instagram (Meta Ads)
- CPC: €0.20 – €1.50
Meta remains one of the most cost-effective platforms for broad and mid-segment target groups. E-commerce, lead generation and remarketing perform particularly strongly here. - Budget recommendation: starting can be from €5 – €10 per day, but for consistent results, €500+ per month is recommended.
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CPC: €2 – €6 (sometimes even €8 – €12 with very specific B2B target groups)
LinkedIn is more expensive, but offers access to business decision makers, job titles and company size segmentation. The higher CPCs are often offset by quality leads. -
Budget recommendation: minimum €1,000 – €2,000 per month for meaningful campaigns.
TikTok
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CPC: €0.10 – €0.50
TikTok is known for low cost per click and impressive engagement. Creativity is key here: native content outperforms classic ads. -
Budget advice: effective campaigns usually start from €300 – €500 per month.
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CPC: €0.10 – €0.40
Ideal for e-commerce, lifestyle and visually oriented audiences. Users on Pinterest are often in the inspiration phase, so buying intent is high. -
Budget advice: successful campaigns often run from as little as €200 – €400 per month.
YouTube (via Google Ads)
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CPV: €0.02 – €0.10
CPM: €4 – €12
YouTube is attractive for video outreach and storytelling. Costs are relatively low, especially when targeting broad audiences. Conversion-oriented YouTube campaigns (via Performance Max or Video Action) have higher costs but deliver targeted interactions. -
Budget recommendation: minimum €500 per month for visible impact.
X (Twitter)
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CPC: €0.30 – €2.00
X is similar to Meta in terms of ad costs, but the targeting is less extensive. The platform works especially well for current affairs, financial markets, technology and community-oriented content. -
Budget recommendation: from €300 – €500 per month to generate sufficient reach.
Online Presence gets maximum value out of every euro
At Online Presence, we make sure you don’t just advertise, but invest smartly.
You pay for clicks, views and conversions – so we make sure those are as targeted and cost-effective as possible.
What can you expect from us?
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Clear strategy: together we determine your goals and build a campaign design that fits them
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Smart targeting: from broad awareness to hyper-targeted niche audiences
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Creative content: ads that stand out and convert
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Continuous optimization: regular adjustments so that your costs decrease and your results grow
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Transparent reporting: you always know exactly where your budget is going and what it is generating
With our approach, you get structurally more results from the same budget. Whether you invest €500 per month or thousands of euros: we make sure every euro works for you.
Do you also want to get more out of your social advertising?
Do you want to grow with campaigns that actually deliver results? Then contact Online Presence or fill out the form below.
We help you deploy social advertising effectively, profitably and scalably – so you can focus on your business, while we provide growth.
Ready to grow?
Call or email us. You can also fill out the form. We will contact you as soon as possible.
Alex Timmers
Founder
