How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Rankite is independent; if a vendor ever pays for a featured spot, that listing is clearly labeled Partner.
Key takeaways
- If your buyers search for what you sell, start with Google Ads: nothing beats search intent, but budget for rising CPCs and real management.
- Ecommerce and consumer brands should pair Meta Ads (prospecting plus retargeting) with TikTok Ads for cheap video reach.
- B2B companies with four-figure deal values belong on LinkedIn Ads ($10/day minimum), the only platform with published dollar minimums.
- Brands selling on Amazon should advertise on Amazon: Sponsored Products convert with closed-loop sales data no other platform offers.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Google Ads | Any business whose buyers search for the category | Auction-based; no minimum spend published by Google | No (occasional new-advertiser credits) |
 Meta Ads | Ecommerce and consumer brands doing prospecting plus retargeting | Auction-based; budgets can start in cents, no published dollar minimum | No (occasional ad credits) |
 TikTok Ads | Mobile-first consumer brands targeting Gen Z and Millennials | Auction-based; no published minimum | No |
 LinkedIn Ads | B2B companies with four-figure-plus deal values | Auction-based; published minimums: $10/day, $100 lifetime budget, 300+ audience size | No |
 Amazon Ads | Brands selling products on Amazon's marketplace | Auction-based; no fixed minimum | No |
 Microsoft Advertising | Search advertisers wanting cheaper incremental volume alongside Google | Auction-based; no published minimum | No |
 Reddit Ads | Brands with a genuine community angle or enthusiast products | Auction-based; no published minimum | No |
 Snapchat Ads | Youth-focused consumer brands, especially mobile apps and fashion | Auction-based; no published minimum | No |
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Most ad spend is wasted on the wrong platform, not on bad ads. A B2B software company burning money on TikTok and a local plumber ignoring Google search are making the same mistake: buying attention where their buyers are not. Every major platform runs an auction with no meaningful minimum, so the choice is never about budget. It is about where your buyers already are and what a customer is worth to you.
Starting priceAuction-based; no minimum spend published by Google
Free planNo (occasional new-advertiser credits)
Google is where buying intent goes to convert. Someone typing "emergency plumber near me" or "best payroll software" is not browsing; they are shopping. Search captures that moment, while Performance Max, YouTube and Display extend the same account up and down the funnel. No other platform offers this combination of intent and control.
The auction punishes amateurs. Competitive keywords cost more every year, loose match types burn budget on irrelevant clicks, and weak landing pages pay a quality-score tax on every conversion. Expect days of setup: conversion tracking, keyword builds, negative lists, and feed work for shopping. If your buyers search, this is the first platform to master and the last to turn off.
What we like- Captures highest-intent buyers through search
- Performance Max, YouTube and Display cover the full funnel
- Unmatched keyword-level control
Watch out for- Competitive CPCs are expensive and rising
- Account complexity needs real skill
- Click fraud and invalid traffic need monitoring
#2
Meta Ads
Best for: Ecommerce and consumer brands doing prospecting plus retargeting
Visit facebook.com
Starting priceAuction-based; budgets can start in cents, no published dollar minimum
Free planNo (occasional ad credits)
Meta is the prospecting engine. Nobody opens Instagram to buy, which is exactly why the targeting matters: interest, behavior and lookalike audiences find buyers who were not searching, and the retargeting stack recaptures the ones who visited and left. For ecommerce, the prospecting-plus-retargeting loop is the highest-ROI structure in paid social.
The price is creative volume. Audiences fatigue fast, so the account needs a constant stream of new images and videos, and iOS privacy changes made attribution murkier than it used to be. B2B advertisers should note the weak job-title precision; this is a consumer platform first. Setup takes hours with the pixel, catalog and creative. Budget for creative production, not just media.
What we like- Massive reach across Facebook, Instagram and Reels
- Best-in-class interest and lookalike targeting
- Strongest retargeting stack for site visitors
Watch out for- Weak job-title precision for B2B
- Creative fatigue demands constant new ads
- IOS privacy changes weakened tracking
#3
TikTok Ads
Best for: Mobile-first consumer brands targeting Gen Z and Millennials
Visit ads.tiktok.com
Starting priceAuction-based; no published minimum
Free planNo
TikTok sells the cheapest attention on the internet for anyone under 35. CPMs undercut Meta significantly, Spark Ads let you amplify creator content that already works, and the discovery feed gives new brands reach that would cost far more elsewhere. For a DTC brand with video-ready products, this is the testing ground.
Intent is the trade. TikTok users are entertained, not shopping, so conversion rates trail search and even Meta retargeting. The creative treadmill is relentless: polished ads flop, native-feeling phone-shot videos win, and you need a pipeline of them. B2B should mostly stay away. If your buyer is young, mobile and discovery-driven, test here with a few hundred dollars and real creator-style creative.
What we like- Cheapest attention at scale for young audiences
- Spark Ads boost organic-style content
- Discovery-driven reach for new brands
Watch out for- Lower purchase intent than search
- Demands constant native-feeling creative
- Weak fit for most B2B
#4
LinkedIn Ads
Best for: B2B companies with four-figure-plus deal values
Visit linkedin.com
Starting priceAuction-based; published minimums: $10/day, $100 lifetime budget, 300+ audience size
Free planNo
LinkedIn is the only platform where you can target "VP of Operations at manufacturing companies with 200-1,000 employees," and for B2B that precision is worth the premium. Lead Gen Forms capture the lead without leaving the feed, and matched audiences let you run account-based campaigns against a named list. It is also the only major platform with published dollar minimums: $10 per day, $100 lifetime.
The CPCs are brutal, often $8 to $15 a click, so the math only works when a customer is worth thousands. Test with tight audiences and a genuinely strong offer; broad targeting here is just expensive noise. Audiences under 300 people will not serve. Setup takes hours with the Insight Tag and lead forms. If your deals are big and your buyers have job titles, this earns its place.
What we like- Unmatched B2B targeting by job title, company, industry and seniority
- Lead Gen Forms capture leads in-feed
- Strong for ABM with named account lists
Watch out for- Most expensive CPCs of any major platform
- Needs high customer values to pay back
- Small audiences hit the 300-person floor
Starting priceAuction-based; no fixed minimum
Free planNo
Nobody on Amazon is "just browsing." Sponsored Products put your listing in front of shoppers at the exact moment of purchase, with closed-loop sales data that ties every click to revenue. For a brand selling on the marketplace, this is the highest-intent inventory outside of Google search, and the DSP plus streaming TV options extend reach to off-Amazon audiences.
The catch is the margin stack. Ad cost sits on top of Amazon's referral and fulfillment fees, so price the whole equation before scaling. Auction inflation in hot categories can erode returns fast. And if you do not sell on Amazon, most of this platform's value disappears. Setup takes hours with Seller Central linkage and campaign builds. For Amazon sellers, this is mandatory; for everyone else, it is a footnote.
What we like- Reaches shoppers at the point of purchase
- Sponsored Products convert with clear ROAS
- DSP and streaming TV extend beyond Amazon
Watch out for- Best suited to brands selling on Amazon
- Auction inflation in hot categories
- Limited upper-funnel storytelling
#6
Microsoft Advertising
Best for: Search advertisers wanting cheaper incremental volume alongside Google
Visit ads.microsoft.com
Starting priceAuction-based; no published minimum
Free planNo
Microsoft Advertising is Google Ads at a discount. The auction works the same way, average CPCs run 20 to 30 percent lower, and the one-click Google Ads import clones your campaigns in under an hour. Bing's audience skews older and more affluent, which suits certain categories well.
Volume is the ceiling. Bing holds single-digit search share in most markets, so this is incremental reach, not a primary channel. Fewer betas and slower feature rollouts mean it always trails Google. Setup is under an hour via the import tool. If you already run Google search profitably, there is no reason not to mirror it here; just do not expect it to replace Google.
What we like- Same auction logic as Google with often 20-30% lower average CPCs
- One-click Google Ads import
- Reaches Bing and partner audiences
Watch out for- Far smaller search volume than Google
- Skews older demographics
- Fewer betas and new features
#7
Reddit Ads
Best for: Brands with a genuine community angle or enthusiast products
Visit ads.reddit.com
Starting priceAuction-based; no published minimum
Free planNo
Reddit reaches people mid-research. A buyer reading a "what should I buy" thread in a niche subreddit is deep in consideration, and ads targeted to that community meet them there at CPCs well below Meta. For enthusiast products, software with a cult following, or anything with a genuine community angle, this intent is hard to replicate.
The culture is the risk. Redditors punish ads that feel like ads; creative has to be native, honest and preferably self-aware, or it backfires publicly. Scale is limited and targeting is coarser than the big platforms. Setup takes hours with the pixel and community targeting. Test with a small budget and creative that respects the community, or skip it.
What we like- Access to passionate niche communities by subreddit
- Discussion-driven intent on purchase threads
- Generally lower CPCs than Meta
Watch out for- Communities can be hostile to obvious ads
- Smaller scale
- Targeting is coarser than Meta or LinkedIn
#8
Snapchat Ads
Best for: Youth-focused consumer brands, especially mobile apps and fashion
Visit ads.snapchat.com
Starting priceAuction-based; no published minimum
Free planNo
Snapchat owns a slice of under-30 attention that Meta and TikTok do not fully cover, and its AR lenses and filters give advertisers creative formats nobody else offers. For mobile apps, fashion and youth consumer brands, the demographic concentration is the pitch: less waste than broader platforms.
Scale and measurement are the limits. Reach trails Meta and TikTok significantly, web-conversion attribution is weaker, and creative has to be built for Snapchat's vertical, playful format. Setup takes hours with the Snap Pixel and vertical creative. If your buyer is young and your creative team can feed the format, it is worth a test budget; otherwise the bigger platforms cover the same people.
What we like- Strong reach with under-30 audiences
- AR lenses and filters offer creative formats others lack
- Vertical video native
Watch out for- Smaller reach than Meta or TikTok
- Attribution weaker for web conversions
- Demands Snapchat-native creative
How we chose
We started with the categories buyers search: advertising platforms, best ad platforms, and where to advertise online. For each candidate we checked the platform's own advertising pages for minimums and pricing structure, cross-checked costs and best practices against practitioner discussion on Reddit and industry publications, and compared audience, intent level and measurement strength. Where a platform publishes no minimums we said so rather than inventing one. The shortlist covers search, social, retail and community inventory, because different buyers live in different places.
The decision tree is simpler than the platform sales teams make it sound. First, do your buyers search for what you sell? If yes, Google Ads comes before everything. Second, what is a customer worth? Four-figure deals justify LinkedIn's CPCs; $30 products need Meta, TikTok or Amazon economics. Third, where do your buyers hang out? Enthusiasts live on Reddit, under-30s on TikTok and Snapchat, shoppers on Amazon. Fourth, do you sell on Amazon? If yes, Amazon Ads is mandatory, not optional. Run this filter before you spend a dollar, and most of the "which platform" debate disappears.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to start advertising?
Technically almost nothing: most platforms let you set tiny budgets, and LinkedIn publishes the only real minimums at $10 per day. Practically, budget enough to learn: a few hundred dollars a month per platform for testing, more in competitive categories. Google search in legal or insurance can need thousands before the data means anything.
Which advertising platform has the best ROI?
It depends on the business. Google search usually wins for high-intent services, Meta for ecommerce prospecting, Amazon for marketplace sellers, LinkedIn for B2B with big deals. The honest answer is that ROI follows intent and customer value more than platform choice; the wrong platform with great creative still loses to the right platform with average creative.
Should a small business run ads or focus on SEO?
Do both, in sequence. Ads buy data and revenue now; SEO compounds later. If you need customers this quarter, start with Google or Meta ads on a test budget while SEO builds. If cash is tight, SEO and organic social cost time instead of money. Most healthy small businesses eventually run both.
Do I need an agency to run ads?
Not at the start. Google, Meta and TikTok are self-serve, and a focused owner can run a test budget well. Bring in a freelancer or agency when spend passes a few thousand a month, when you need creative production at volume, or when the account's complexity exceeds your time. Avoid anyone promising guaranteed ROAS.
How long before ads produce results?
Search and shopping campaigns can convert in the first week if tracking and landing pages are ready. Social prospecting usually needs two to four weeks of learning and creative testing. LinkedIn B2B campaigns need longer: the sales cycle, not the platform, sets the timeline. Anyone promising instant results is selling something.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://ads.google.com/
- https://www.facebook.com/business/ads
- https://ads.tiktok.com/
- https://www.linkedin.com/advertising/
- https://advertising.amazon.com/
- https://ads.microsoft.com/
- https://ads.reddit.com/
- https://ads.snapchat.com/
- https://www.g2.com/categories/advertising
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has spent more than a decade helping SaaS and e-commerce brands grow through search. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.