TikTok ads work differently from search ads. You're mostly buying views of a video, priced per 1,000 impressions, and the cost of a sale depends on how many of those views turn into clicks and then customers. TikTok also sets firm budget minimums, which decide the smallest test you can run.
How much do TikTok ads cost?
TikTok requires a campaign daily budget above $50 and an ad group daily budget above $20, so the smallest always-on campaign costs a little over $1,520 a month. Beyond that, cost depends on your CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions), click-through rate and conversion rate. At an example $10 CPM, 1% click-through and 2% conversion rate, each result costs $50.
The minimums come from TikTok's help page on budgets, checked on September 25, 2026. TikTok doesn't publish an average CPM, so the rates in this guide are examples to show the maths, not benchmarks.
What is the minimum budget for TikTok ads?
TikTok's minimums apply at two levels:
| Budget type | Campaign level | Ad group level |
|---|---|---|
| Daily budget | More than $50 a day | More than $20 a day |
| Lifetime budget | More than $50 | $20 × number of days the ad group runs |
TikTok's own example for lifetime budgets: an ad group that runs for 31 days needs at least $20 × 31 = $620.
In monthly terms (using 30.4 days, the average month):
| Setup | Daily minimum | About per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 campaign at the minimum | just over $50 | just over $1,520 |
| 1 ad group at the minimum | just over $20 | just over $608 |
| 3 ad groups at the minimum each | just over $60 | just over $1,824 |
So a campaign testing three ad groups needs more than $60 a day, even though the campaign minimum is $50.
How do you estimate what a TikTok budget buys?
Work down the funnel from the budget:
- Impressions = budget ÷ CPM × 1,000
- Clicks = impressions × click-through rate
- Conversions = clicks × conversion rate
- Cost per conversion = budget ÷ conversions
With a $1,520 monthly budget and example rates of a $10 CPM, 1% click-through and 2% conversion rate:
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Impressions | $1,520 ÷ $10 × 1,000 | 152,000 |
| Clicks | 152,000 × 1% | 1,520 |
| Cost per click | $1,520 ÷ 1,520 | $1.00 |
| Conversions | 1,520 × 2% | about 30 |
| Cost per conversion | $1,520 ÷ 30.4 | $50.00 |
Our TikTok ads cost calculator runs the same steps with your own rates, works from CPC too, and warns when the daily budget falls below TikTok's minimum.
How much do CPM and conversion rate change the cost?
A lot. With click-through held at 1%, here's the cost per conversion at different CPMs and conversion rates:
| CPM | 1% conversion rate | 2% conversion rate | 3% conversion rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| $6 | $60.00 | $30.00 | $20.00 |
| $10 | $100.00 | $50.00 | $33.33 |
| $15 | $150.00 | $75.00 | $50.00 |
Both levers matter about equally: halving the CPM or doubling the conversion rate each halves the cost per conversion. You have more control over the second one. The landing page (or TikTok Shop listing) decides how many clicks become buyers, and the video decides how many viewers click.
How much should you spend to test TikTok ads?
Enough to learn something. A useful way to size a test is to decide how many conversions you want to see before judging it, then multiply by the cost per conversion you expect:
Test budget = conversions you want to see × expected cost per conversion
At $50 per conversion, seeing 30 conversions takes about $1,500, which lines up with running one campaign at TikTok's daily minimum for a month. A test that only produces three or four conversions can't tell a good ad from a lucky one.
Two ways to make a test budget go further:
- Test fewer ad groups at once. Each needs more than $20 a day. Three ad groups at the minimum split the budget three ways and give each less data.
- Test the video, not only the targeting. On TikTok the ad itself is a big part of what you pay. A video that holds attention tends to earn more clicks from the same impressions, which lowers cost per click and cost per conversion.
Are your TikTok ads profitable?
Compare what a conversion costs with what it's worth:
- Selling products? Compare your ROAS (revenue ÷ ad spend) with your break-even ROAS, which is 1 ÷ your margin. Our guide to a good ROAS shows how to work it out with shipping, fees and refunds included.
- Generating leads? Compare your cost per lead with what a lead is worth: revenue per customer × margin × close rate. The cost per lead guide walks through it.
If you're deciding between platforms, the Facebook ads budget guide has 2026 benchmarks for Meta, where the published averages give you a starting point that TikTok doesn't.
