TikTok Ads vs Meta Ads, with LinkedIn alongside

Three feeds, three states of mind

TikTok, Meta and LinkedIn all sell ad space in a feed, but the person scrolling each one is in a different mood. On TikTok, people watch one short clip after another that an algorithm picked for them, and they decide within a second whether to stay. On Facebook and Instagram they move between friends, brands, stories and reels, half paying attention. On LinkedIn they are at work, or thinking about it, reading posts from colleagues, job offers and news from their industry.

That mood shapes what you need to make and what you can expect. A TikTok ad has to look like TikTok: a face, sound, and a reason to keep watching in the first second. Meta takes a wider range of formats, from a single photo to a carousel of products, a reel or a lead form inside the app. LinkedIn lets you target a role rather than an interest, so you speak to an owner, an HR manager or a buyer. For a picture of how people in Belgium spread their time across these apps, see our research on social media usage in Belgium.

Budget floors as of November 2026

None of the three platforms publishes a fixed price per click or per thousand impressions; the auction sets that. What they do publish is the lowest budget you are allowed to enter. TikTok's help page, in November 2026, says a daily budget must be above 50 dollars at campaign level and above 20 dollars at ad group level. With a lifetime budget, a campaign also needs more than 50 dollars, and an ad group needs its number of days multiplied by the minimum daily budget, so a 31-day ad group starts at 620 dollars. TikTok quotes these amounts in dollars only.

LinkedIn sets a minimum of 10 dollars a day for every ad format and a lifetime budget of at least 100 dollars for a new campaign. Meta shows the floor that applies to your account inside Ads Manager when you set the budget, so check it there rather than relying on a number from a blog.

A floor is a starting line, not a recommendation. Run three audiences side by side on TikTok and you are at three times the ad group minimum before anything has had time to learn. For realistic monthly figures per platform, read our guides on TikTok ads cost, Facebook ads cost and LinkedIn ads cost, and split a total across channels with the marketing budget calculator. The terms CPC and CTR are explained in our glossary.

LinkedIn ads vs Meta ads for B2B

Plenty of people searching this comparison sell to other businesses, and for them LinkedIn is the real alternative to Meta. Meta lets you pick an audience by interests, behaviour, age and region. LinkedIn lets you pick by job title, industry, company size and seniority. If your buyer is a role, such as a facilities manager or a CFO, LinkedIn reaches that role directly. If your buyer could be any small business owner or any consumer, Meta gives you more reach for the same budget. We explain the split between the two markets under B2B and B2C.

Many B2B companies use both in sequence: LinkedIn for the first contact with the right role, Meta to show those visitors your offer again later. That second step is retargeting. How we approach LinkedIn for companies is on the LinkedIn management page, and if your goal is hiring, start with how to post a job on LinkedIn.

EU rules that apply to all three

Political advertising has largely left these platforms in the EU. TikTok does not allow paid political ads at all; government bodies can advertise through a sales representative once certified, and only official election bodies may advertise about elections. Meta stopped political, electoral and social issue ads in the EU from early October 2025, pointing to the new EU rules on political advertising. LinkedIn does not allow political advertising in the EU as defined by Regulation (EU) 2024/900. Our answer on whether political ads are still allowed in the EU covers what this means for associations and campaigns.

For minors, the Digital Services Act bans targeted ads aimed at children and ads based on sensitive data such as religion or sexual orientation, and every ad must say who placed it and why you see it. TikTok no longer shows users aged 13 to 17 in Europe personalised ads based on their activity on or off the app. Meta stopped showing teens aged 13 to 17 ads based on their activity, and advertisers can only use age and location to reach them. Meta also keeps every ad that targets people in the EU in its public Ad Library.

Outside politics, Meta restricts targeting for some topics as well; see special ad category. If an ad gets turned down, read why Facebook rejects ads before you appeal.

When neither platform is the right first move

Paid social only works if a click lands somewhere useful. Without a fast, focused landing page, any budget on any platform leaks away. If your customers already search for what you offer, a search campaign through Google Ads is often the better start; the trade-off between searching and scrolling is laid out in Meta ads or Google ads.

If nobody on your team has time for video, TikTok is a poor starting point. If your B2B niche is a few hundred companies, a well-kept company page and direct conversations may reach them faster than a campaign. If you sell products and TikTok appeals, look at the arrival of TikTok Shop in Belgium and at influencer marketing, where a creator makes the video for you. And if you want to build an audience before spending on ads, that starts with social media management.