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Meta ads vs Display ads
Side by side on the figures that matter for a small budget, from the same sourced benchmarks used across this site. At $500, Meta ads buys clicks more cheaply ($1.11 each) — but cheaper clicks are not better clicks, so read the caveats.
| Meta ads | Display ads | |
|---|---|---|
| Priced | per thousand impressions | per thousand impressions |
| Typical price | $10 | $8.00 |
| Range | $5.00–$20 | $3.00–$20 |
| Click-through rate | 0.90% | 0.05% |
| Least worth spending | $200 | $200 |
| Clicks for $200 | 180 | 12 |
| Clicks for $500 | 449 | 31 |
| Source | WordStream / LocaliQ Facebook advertising benchmarks (2026) | Nielsen Norman Group on banner blindness (2007, re-confirmed since) |
How it works
Meta ads: Interest targeting is broad rather than intent-driven, so a click here means less than the same click from a search result.
Display ads: A 0.05% click-through rate means most of the budget buys impressions nobody registers, and a share of them are never rendered at all.