Top 7 Social Media Platforms for Paid Ads in 2025: Which One Should You Choose?

Top social media platforms for paid ads are becoming more important. Organic reach on social media is slowly dropping down, so in 2025, paid advertising kinda became a must for most brands. No matter if you’re running a small startup, an e-commerce store, or some B2B service social ads help you target the right people, track your ROI clearly, and get seen almost fast.

But honestly, with so many platforms out there, it’s hard to figure out which social media platform is actually best for paid advertising.

So in this guide, we’ll break down the top 7 social media platforms for paid ads, look at what each one’s best at, their ad formats, and how much they roughly cost just to help you decide which fits your business the best.

1. Facebook Ads: Still the best for Social Advertising 

Facebook still kind of stands out as one of the most powerful platforms for paid ads mostly ‘cause of its huge audience and those crazy good targeting options it’s got.

Why choose Facebook Ads?

• Huge user base (3 billion+ active users).
• targeting based on interests\, behaviors.
• Supports multiple ad formats: carousel, video, lead forms, and more.
• Ideal for B2C, local businesses, e commerce.

Average Cost:

• CPC (Cost per Click): $0.50–$2.00
• CPM (Cost per 1,000 impressions): $5–$12

Best for businesses that got a pretty wide audience or mainly wanna focus on brand awareness and getting more conversions.

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2. Instagram Ads: Visual Engagement That Converts 

Instagram’s kinda perfect for brands that depend a lot on visuals to tell their story. Since it’s owned by Meta, it uses the same Ads Manager as Facebook so setting up your campaigns is super easy and feels all connected.

Why choose Instagram Ads?

• High engagement rate, especially for fashion, beauty, food, travel.
• Ad placements include Stories, Reels, Explore Page, and Feed.
• Influencer collaborations boost paid ad reach.

Average Cost:

• CPC: $0.70–$1.50
• CPM: $5–$8

Best For: Lifestyle, e-commerce, and influencer-driven brands.

3. LinkedIn Ads: Best for B2B Marketing 

LinkedIn Ads are mainly built for professional targeting, which is why it’s honestly the best pick for B2B marketers and even recruiters who wanna reach decision makers or industry directly.

Why choose LinkedIn Ads?

• Target users based on job title, industry, company size.
• Multiple ad formats: sponsored content, InMail, lead gen forms.
• Great for high ticket services, SaaS, B2B lead generation.

Average Cost:

• CPC: $5–$10
• CPM: $6–$9

Best For: B2B services, corporate training, SaaS businesses.

4. TikTok Ads: Reaching Gen Z and Beyond 

TikTok’s growing super fast, mostly used by Gen Z and Millennials, so if you wanna go viral quick, this is best the place to be.

Why choose TikTok Ads?

• High organic reach potential.
• Creative ad formats like In Feed Ads, Branded Challenges, Spark Ads.
• Perfect for trend driven content.

Average Cost:

• CPC: $0.20–$1.00
• CPM: $2–$10

Best For: Entertainment, lifestyle, beauty, gaming.

5. YouTube Ads: Video Marketing That Sells 

YouTube Ads It still stays a top-performing paid ad platform cause it’s got huge reach and people really engage with the videos a lo

Why choose YouTube Ads?

• Owned by Google → great targeting with Google Ads integration.
• Skippable and non skippable ad formats.
• Perfect for long form storytelling.

Average Cost:

• CPV (Cost per View): $0.10–$0.30
• CPM: $4–$10

Best For: Brand awareness, educational content, product demos.

6. Pinterest Ads: Visual Discovery for E Commerce 

Pinterest is like a visual search engine, which makes it super powerful for e commerce brands and bloggers alike.

Why choose Pinterest Ads?

• Audience with high buying intent.
• Great for home decor, fashion, recipes, travel.
• Long ad life span—pins continue driving traffic for months.

Average Cost:

• CPC: $0.10–$1.50
• CPM: $2–$5

Best For: E commerce, bloggers, DIY brands.

7. Twitter/X Ads: Trending Conversations, Quick Conversions 

Twitter, now called X, ads are really good for real-time marketing and jumping on trending topics quickly.

Why choose Twitter Ads?

• Promote tweets for engagement.
• Target users by keywords, hashtags, and interests.
• Best for event marketing & trending campaigns.
• Average Cost:
• CPC: $0.50–$2.00
• CPM: $6–$12

Best For: News, sports, SaaS, real time campaigns.

Social media Ads Comparison Table 2025 

Which Platform Should You Choose? 

The best tools and social media ad platform depends on your business goals:

• For broad reach & conversions, go with Facebook & Instagram.
• For B2B leads, choose LinkedIn.
• For viral trends & Gen Z, TikTok wins.
• For educational or storytelling ads, YouTube is best.
• For e commerce & visual discovery, Pinterest is your platform.

FAQs on Social Media Paid Advertising 

1. Is social media advertising worth it in 2025?

Yep, paid social ads are really important for reaching the right audience, getting more engagement, and actually seeing measurable conversions.

2. What’s the minimum budget for social media ads?

You can start with as little as $5/day on platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

3. Can I run ads on multiple platforms at once?

Yup, lots of businesses run ads on multiple platforms at once to reach more people and test out different audiences.

4. Which ad format performs best?

Video ads generally have higher engagement rates across platforms.

5. Should I hire an agency for paid social ads?

If you’re just getting started, hiring an agency or a social media specialist can help you set up campaigns better and get higher ROI.

6. Which social media platform has the cheapest ads?

TikTok and Pinterest usually have the cheapest ads with low CPC, making them great for budget friendly campaigns while still reaching a wide audience.

7. Which platform has the best ROI?

Facebook usually gives the best ROI for most biz, cuz of its advanced targeting, huge user base, and flexible ad formats that help boost engagement and conversions realy well.

8. Which social media is best for B2B marketing?

LinkedIn works best for B2B marketing, giving really precise professional targeting, good quality leads, and better conversion rates for businesses that focus on other business audiences.

Ready to kick off your paid social ad campaigns? Begin with just one platform, test your audience, and then scale up what’s actually working.

Need expert help? Contact DigeHub for a free consultation and let’s grow your business with high converting paid ads!

• Meta Business Suite
• LinkedIn Ads Guide
• TikTok Business Center