Performance
Meta vs TikTok ads: the only spreadsheet you need
Same budget, two platforms
The question comes up every Q1: "How much on Meta, how much on TikTok?" Short answer: it depends on product, audience and creative budget.
Long answer: a decision framework we use with every client. No "real-campaign ROAS" charts of the kind you scroll past on LinkedIn. Just the logic.
When Meta wins
Small budgets (under €1,500/mo). Meta's algorithm is the most mature. At €500-1,500/mo the learning phase actually closes. TikTok demands more creative volume for the same result.
Remarketing. The Meta pixel has the longest cookie-based remarketing history. Lookalike audiences still work. TikTok Pixel caught up in 2024 but is still weak for niche segments.
35+ audiences. Demographics are clear: Meta dominates 35-55, TikTok 18-34. Selling to business owners? Meta.
When TikTok wins
High creative volume. If you ship 8+ videos a month, TikTok rewards you. The algorithm feeds on variety; recycle a creative for two weeks and CPM doubles.
Under 30 audiences. For FMCG, beauty, fashion, food delivery, TikTok delivers lower CPM and more engagement. Meta-Reels is the follow-up, not the lead.
Brand discovery, not intent. Someone who wasn't searching but has a generic need — TikTok's serendipity machine beats Meta.
The spreadsheet (literally)
Best tool: a Google Sheet with 4 columns.
- Cost per result (CPA, CPM, or CPL depending on objective)
- Settled volume — the figure after 14 days of learning, not day one
- Frequency at 14 days (so the audience doesn't fatigue)
- Asset cost — what a creative actually costs on this platform
Column 4 is the one people forget. An in-house TikTok reel costs €50-200; a well-made Meta Ads creative costs €300-800. If the "cheap on ads" platform consumes 5× the creative budget, the maths inverts.
How we decide with clients
First: two weeks of parallel testing, equal budget, the same creative re-encoded for each platform. At the end we multiply column 1 by column 2 and compare against column 4.
If the gap between platforms is under 15%, we go 70/30 toward the lower-CPA platform. If it's over 30%, we move the entire budget to the winner for a month and re-run the test with new creative.
Never a fixed 50/50 split. That's just a tax on indecision.
Key takeaways
- Meta wins on budgets under €1,500/mo, remarketing, and 35+ audiences. - TikTok wins on high creative volume (8+/mo), under-30 audiences, brand discovery. - Keep a 4-column sheet: cost-per-result, settled volume, frequency, asset cost. - Compare column 1 × 2 against column 4 — the "cheap-on-ads" platform may cost 5× to produce for. - Never a fixed 50/50 split; run two weeks parallel testing with the same creative re-encoded.