Google Ads vs Facebook Ads and how to pick one or run both

Facebook and Instagram usually have a lower cost per click, often meaningfully lower, because you are interrupting a scroll rather than bidding on high-intent keywords. Google Search clicks cost more, sometimes a lot more in competitive industries, because the person is closer to buying. But cheap clicks are not the goal; cheap conversions are. A more expensive Google click that converts at 8 percent can beat a cheap Meta click that converts at 1 percent.

That is why the comparison should be made on cost per acquisition across both channels rather than on cheap clicks on one, with budget moved toward whichever channel is returning the most for your offer, a decision that is impossible to make well by staring at two separate dashboards once a month.

For most businesses with the budget, yes, because the channels are complementary rather than competing. Meta introduces your brand to people who have never heard of you; Google catches them when that awareness turns into a search; retargeting on Meta closes the ones who did not convert the first time. Run only one and you are working half the funnel.

The honest exception is budget. Below roughly $1,500 to $2,000 a month in ad spend, splitting across two channels can leave each too thin to exit the learning phase. In that case, pick the one that matches your demand (search exists, start Google; it does not, start Meta), prove it, then expand. For new orders AdBot runs Meta (Facebook and Instagram); campaigns on Google are not available for new orders right now. Running a store? Our breakdown of Facebook ads vs Google ads for ecommerce covers how the split changes by product type.