YouTube vs TikTok ad cost

The honest comparison has a caveat row pinned to the top: YouTube bills a 30-second view Google Ads Help, video ad views, 2026, TikTok reports 2-second and 6-second events TikTok Ads Manager, Video Views help, 2026. Any table that divides both spends by "views" and declares a winner is comparing a paragraph to a sentence fragment.

$5,000 on YouTube, banded

At the Q1 2026 industry spread of $0.018 to $0.058 Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026, $5,000 buys between 86,207 views ($5,000 / $0.058, legal end) and 277,778 views ($5,000 / $0.018, CPG end); at the $0.024 blended average Store Growers, Google Ads Benchmarks, Q1 2026, 208,333 views. Those are 30-second-or- interaction views, bought skips-free.

$5,000 on TikTok, honestly

No sourced TikTok CPV band passes our ledger rule (why), so we do not print a projected view count. What is published: the auction model and minimums of $50/day per campaign, $20/day per ad group TikTok Ads Manager, Budget help article, 2026. The reliable expectation is directional: 2s view counts will be numerically much larger than 30s view counts for the same money, because the unit is smaller. That is definition, not efficiency.

Cheaper per comparable unit?

Convert both flights to cost per completed view with the CPCV calculator and the platforms become comparable at last. Short creative completes more; weight accordingly.

Run both?

Usually yes at $5,000+: TikTok at the ad-group minimum as a creative lab, the rest on the channel your account history prices better. Read each half in its own currency (mix-shift trap), and plan the split with the budget planner. Solvers: YouTube, TikTok.