News flash: running social media ads in 2025 is a necessity. However, let's be real, trying to map out how much ads actually cost can feel like reading a restaurant’s menu with no prices.
There are business owners who throw in a few hundred dollars blindly and keep their fingers crossed. Others tend to overspend without actually knowing if it’s working. Most are just trying to answer one simple question: “How much should I spend in order to get real results?”
This article breaks that exact question down. We’ll walk you through the factors that impact ad costs, illustrate the average pricing across platforms, and the kinds of budgets that will give you the best chance at success! This is regardless of if you’re going DIY or thinking of hiring an agency such as Born Social.
Key takeaways:
1. Social media ad costs vary by platform, audience, and objective — not all clicks are created equal.
2. Average CPM (cost per 1,000 views) ranges from $6 to $30+ USD in the US and $10 to $40 AUD in Australia, depending on the platform.
3. “A good budget” isn’t a fixed number — it depends on your goals and how efficient your creative and targeting are.
4. Agencies (like Born Social) can help you avoid common money-wasters with smart testing, better tracking, and experience-driven strategy.
5. The goal isn't just spend money — it’s make it work.
What Impacts the Cost of Social Media Ads?
Not all ads are priced equally. The amount you pay depends on a combination of factors. Some you control, others you don’t. Think of it like booking a flight: the destination matters, but so do the time of year, airline, and how early you book.
Here’s what affects your ad costs:
1. The Platform
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and others each have their pricing quirks.
- Meta (Facebook & Instagram) offers broad reach, solid targeting, and mid-range costs.
- TikTok can be cost-effective, but it demands scroll-stopping creative content.
- LinkedIn is pricey, but often worth it for B2B leads.
- YouTube sits somewhere in the middle, ideal for brand storytelling.
2. Campaign Objective
A traffic campaign costs less than a conversion campaign. The more you ask of a user, the more you will likely pay.
3. Audience Targeting
A broad audience generally yields a cheaper audience. The more requirements you add to limit your target audience, the more expensive the ads will be.
4. Ad Format
Video ads typically outperform static images, but they often come at a higher production cost.
Carousels, stories, and reels all have different engagement rates and cost implications.
5. Competition & Bidding
You’re not the only one trying to reach your audience. During peak times (Black Friday, end-of-financial-year), ad space gets more competitive and prices spike. Platforms run on auctions, and you’re bidding against others for attention.
Cost Benchmarks by Platform and Region
Let’s get to the numbers. These averages are not fixed, but they give a reliable benchmark when estimating spend.
Cost of Social Media Adverts in Australia:
| Platform |
Avg. CPM (AUD) |
Notes |
| Facebook/Instagram |
$14–22 |
Popular for retail, hospitality, services |
| TikTok |
$12–18 |
Fast-growing in Australia, especially Gen Z |
| LinkedIn |
$25–40 |
Strong for consultants, SaaS, and finance |
| YouTube |
$12–20 |
Works well for visual brand stories |
| Pinterest |
$10–15 |
Ideal for design, weddings, and lifestyle |
Cost of Social Media Adverts in USA:
| Platform |
Avg. CPM (USD) |
Notes |
| Facebook/Instagram |
$10–15 |
Great for B2C, lead gen, and broad reach |
| TikTok |
$8–12 |
Strong engagement with younger demos |
| LinkedIn |
$20–30 |
Expensive, but gold for B2B |
| YouTube |
$10–15 |
Good for storytelling & awareness |
| Pinterest/Twitter |
$6–10 |
Niche reach, often overlooked |
Pro Tip: These numbers shift with competition, seasonality, and how dialled-in your targeting and creative are. Great ads can lower your CPM. Average ones won’t.
What Is a Good Budget for Social Media Advertising?
There is no one-size-fits-all budget for social media ads. The right starting point depends on your objective, platform, and the extent of testing you are prepared to conduct.
Most small to mid-sized businesses see traction starting with $1,500 to $2,500 per month, especially on Meta platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This range enables you to conduct meaningful tests, gather valuable insights, and make informed decisions.
• If your goal is lead generation, your budget may stretch further since the cost per result is generally lower.
• If you are running conversion campaigns, such as driving purchases, expect to need a higher starting budget or allow more time for the platform to optimise. These campaigns ask more of the algorithm and typically require more data to succeed.
Plan for 3 to 6 Months of Testing
Good optimisation takes time. Each week of ad spend might only deliver a handful of meaningful data points. Most campaigns require several testing cycles over three to six months to identify what consistently performs well. Your early budget is an investment in learning what works, not just in buying clicks.
Let Profit Guide Your Ad Spend
In the early stages, you might need to invest without seeing immediate returns. This phase is about building awareness, testing creativity, and learning what resonates. But once your ads start performing, your budget should be shaped by one key question. Can you continue to spend more while still making a profit? It is not about how much you spend, it is about spending in a way that consistently brings in more than it costs.
Spend Smarter with These Guidelines:
• Start with one platform and maximise its potential before expanding.
• Match your budget to the campaign goal. Awareness campaigns can start smaller($500-$1,000). Conversion campaigns require more data and creative testing ($1,500 - $2,500 to start).
• Know your numbers and turn off ads that do not meet your KPIs. Define your ideal cost per lead or sale and use it to guide decisions and cut what underperforms.
• Adapt your budget to seasonal trends. Spend more when demand and conversions are high. Pull back when seasonality or rising costs make returns harder to achieve.
Success comes from structured testing, clear metrics, and patience. With the right strategy, your media budget becomes an investment, not a gamble.
Should you work with an agency?
Not every business needs an agency from day one. If you are still validating your product or offer, it is often better to start small and get your hands dirty. Running ads yourself can help you understand your audience, test your positioning, and build a feedback loop without burning through your budget too quickly.
A good agency can help you lay the proper foundation and give you the best chance of testing an idea properly. However, no marketing strategy can compensate for a product that lacks market fit. If your offer is unproven, it is often better to invest in learning and testing the fundamentals yourself before committing a large portion of your budget to agency support unless you’ve budgeted for it.
What an agency offers is a team of specialists with experience across many industries. You are not just paying for services. You gain access to a team of experts across strategy, media buying, creative, analytics, and optimisation, all working together to help you grow. Here’s what a full-service agency should be able to offer.
• Strategic planning and performance forecasting
• Rapid testing cycles across multiple creative angles and audiences
• Scroll-stopping ad creatives tailored to your brand, platform, and customer journey
• Full-funnel strategy and funnel building to align every stage from awareness to sale
• Conversion tracking and pixel setup so you can measure what matters
• Ongoing creative refreshes to reduce fatigue and improve results over time
• Campaign optimisation and audience scaling for sustainable growth
• Clear performance reporting and insights to guide your next move
• Holistic support across paid media, email, landing pages, and organic content
Once you start to see signs of traction, a good agency can help you scale more quickly and efficiently. It is one of the quickest ways to access the talent you need to take your business to the next level.
Not sure whether you are ready for an agency? Start a conversation with us, and we'll help you determine the best next step.
Estimate the Impact of Your Spend
Knowing how much to spend is only part of the picture. What matters is understanding what kind of results the ad spend can realistically deliver.
Most ad platforms provide basic forecasting tools. They are helpful as a starting point, but without the proper context, they can create misleading expectations.
Use Platform Forecasts as a Starting Point
Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads Planner can show you estimated reach, impressions, or clicks based on your budget. While helpful for ballpark figures, these tools do not account for factors like creative strength, audience quality, or funnel performance.
Set Expectations Based on Strategy, Not Hope
If your goal is to generate leads, bookings, or purchases, base your expectations on your business data. What is your average order value or lead conversion rate? How many clicks do you need to make a sale? These numbers matter more than what the platform suggests.
This Is Where Experience Helps
At Born Social, we bring insight from hundreds of campaigns across Hospitality, Fashion & Retail, Beauty & Wellness, and Consumer Goods. We understand what performance looks like in your industry and can help you avoid common mistakes.
We can help you:
• Identify growth opportunities based on your goals and offer
• Identify early warning signs before your budget is wasted
• Align your media spend with your actual business goals
When you combine real data with real-world experience, your ad spend becomes a smart investment instead of a guessing game.
Conclusion
Frankly, social media ads are becoming more and more competitive. However, success is not solely about how much one is spending. It’s about how well you spend it.
The business who wins at the end of the day are the ones that constantly plan, test, and refine. They do not take shortcuts by boosting and hoping for the best. They build real strategies, learn from the data, and then make informed choices.
If you’re unsure of where to begin, you are definitely not alone! We’ve witnessed many businesses burn through their budget before realising they need a better approach or the support of a knowledgeable team that has executed it all before.
Here at Born Social, we’d like to quit playing the guessing game with social media advertising. Whether or not you’re just starting with $1,500 or scaling past $10k, we’ll help you spend smarter because we believe in quality over quantity.
Book a free strategy call with our team or learn more about our Digital Advertising Services!
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a reasonable budget for social media advertising in 2025?
Most small to medium-sized businesses can start seeing meaningful traction with a monthly budget between $1,500 and $2,500 on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. If you are testing across multiple platforms or operating in a competitive niche, such as finance or technology, you may need to invest $3,000 to $5,000 per month.
It is not about spending more. It is about spending with a clear objective and tracking performance along the way.
How much do Facebook ads cost per 1,000 views?
In the United States, CPM typically ranges from $10 to $15 USD. In Australia, the average falls between $14 and $22 AUD.
Your actual cost depends on how competitive your audience is and how effective your targeting and creative are.
How much do Instagram ads cost per 1,000 views?
Instagram CPMs are usually similar to Facebook, ranging from $10 to $20 USD or $14 to $22 AUD.
It often performs better for visual-first campaigns and lifestyle brands. Good creative makes a big difference here.
Why are LinkedIn ads more expensive?
LinkedIn targets high-value professionals and decision-makers, especially for B2B.
That audience is smaller and more specific, so the cost to reach them is higher. CPMs can reach $30 USD or $40 AUD, but the return can justify the investment when the offer and targeting are right.
Do I need an agency to run social media ads?
Not always. If your product is still in the early stage or you are testing market fit, it can be smart to run ads yourself first.
Once you have something working, a good agency brings you the creative, strategy, tracking, and testing systems needed to scale without wasting time or money.
Can I get results with a small ad budget?
Yes, but you need to be focused.With clear messaging, good targeting, and strong creative, even a $1,000 budget can drive leads or sales.Smaller budgets take longer to collect reliable data, so it is important to be patient and strategic.