TikTok Ads: How Much Do They Cost?

Some social media platforms let you pay a few bucks to try to sell T-shirts or boost your profile.

TikTok isn’t one of them.

Yes, you can certainly advertise on the app; TikTok is expected to take in $15 billion in ad revenue by the end of 2026. However, small-time spenders need not apply; you’ll have to be ready to pay at least $500. Here are the details you may be wondering about.

How Do You Advertise on TikTok?

To start with, you can’t buy ads with a regular TikTok account. You need a business account, which you sign up for on the TikTok for Business website.

You’ll then be able to access the TikTok Ads Manager to set up and manage your ad campaigns. Five types of ad programs are available.

• In-feed “native” ads generally look like the regular TikTok posts that appear as you scroll your feed. Like ads on other social platforms, though, they contain a CTA (call-to-action) that links to an outside site or starts a download.
• Top-view ads take the first position in the users’ For You page (FYP) feeds. These ads can include videos as long as 60 seconds and offer advertisers options for CTAs in a variety of formats.
• Brand takeover ads appear when TikTok users open the app. They show a three-second, full-screen display and then take the first position in the users’ feeds. These ads can include videos as long as 60 seconds and offer advertisers the options for CTAs, polls, and many other features. Only one of these ads is available per day (at premium pricing) since the advertiser is “taking over” the app for the day.
• Branded hashtag challenges let advertisers get in on one of the platform’s signature features by sponsoring a TikTok challenge. Advertisers receive in-feed ads for the challenge, as well as featured banners, a custom landing page, and a dedicated hashtag.
• Branded lenses (also known as branded effects) allow the advertiser to provide and sponsor a special filter for as many as ten days. The filter appears in users’ “trending” sections.

Not all business accounts are eligible to run branded ads; approval is required.

How Much Do TikTok Ads Cost?

As with most online advertising opportunities, pricing for in-feed ads is based on the cost per 1,000 ad views (CPM) or the cost per click (CPC). There’s a minimum spend per campaign of $500, and you have to spend either $50 per day for a campaign or $20 per day for a simpler feed-based ad. 

You can choose target audiences for your ads and ads cost more in competitive product categories, so prices will vary on your selections. However, the average CPM for TikTok ads is around $1.00, and the average CPC can range between 25¢ and $4.00.

Top-view and branded opportunities are much more expensive and priced based on the complexity of the campaign. On average, though, they start at $50,000 and can easily run into six figures.

That’s way out of your price range? There’s another option to consider.

Spark Ads

TikTok Spark ads essentially use your existing content (or someone else’s, with their permission) to boost your TikTok presence. You’re paying for extra visibility, so you can’t edit or change the original post in any way. However, you can include a CTA button in several places, as well as on your profile page.

The CPC and CPM for Spark ads are in the same ballpark as prices for in-feed ads, but here’s the benefit: you can spend as little as $20 per Spark ad. That makes them a good way to dip your toes into the TikTok ad world without blowing a fortune.