How much does TikTok advertising cost in 2026? Rates, budgets, and examples

"How much does advertising on TikTok cost?" is one of the first questions we hear from brands looking to expand beyond Facebook and Google. The short answer: as much as you set it to, but there are minimum thresholds below which a campaign won't start, and realistic budgets below which it's impossible to measure anything meaningfully. Below, we break down TikTok Ads costs into prime factors: minimum budgets, CPM and CPC rates in Poland, the billing model, creative costs, and sample starting budgets.

How TikTok advertising is billed

TikTok Ads Manager operates on an auction model, similar to Meta Ads. You pay for impressions (CPM), clicks (CPC), video views (CPV), or optimize the campaign for conversions, but the cost still stems from the auction, where your bid, predicted ad performance, and ad quality matter. You can fund your account via prepayment or, after meeting specific requirements, use automatic card payments.

Available bidding strategies include Lowest Cost (the algorithm spends the budget seeking the cheapest results), Cost Cap, and Target ROAS for sales campaigns. To start, we recommend Lowest Cost, applying Cost Caps only after building a conversion history.

Minimum TikTok Ads budget

TikTok requires a minimum daily budget at both the campaign and ad group levels. In accounts billed in USD, this is $50 per day for a campaign and $20 per day for an ad group, respectively. In PLN accounts, these thresholds are converted into Polish zloty, so in practice, we are talking about amounts of several dozen PLN per day per ad group. You can always see the current values in the dashboard when setting your budget.

However, the technical minimum budget is not the same as a budget that allows the campaign to learn. The algorithm needs about 50 conversions per week per ad group to exit the learning phase. If your cost per purchase is 80 PLN, that means about 4,000 PLN per week for a single ad group optimized for purchases. With smaller budgets, it's worth optimizing for an event higher up the funnel, such as Add to Cart.

CPM and CPC rates on TikTok in Poland

Costs vary depending on the industry, season, and creative quality, but based on the accounts we manage, typical ranges in Poland look like this:

• CPM, or cost per 1,000 impressions: usually 8–25 PLN. In November and December, around Black Friday and the holidays, it can increase by 30–60%.

• CPC, or cost per click: typically 0.40–2.00 PLN, though a low CPC does not always mean a cheap purchase.

• CTR: good native ads achieve 1–2%, while weak ones that look like TV commercials stay below 0.5%.

• Cost per 6-second view: often just a few groszy, making TikTok one of the cheapest channels for building video reach.

Compared to Meta, CPM on TikTok is usually lower, but the post-click conversion rate can also be lower because the user is in entertainment mode. That's why we always compare channels based on cost per acquisition and ROAS, not just CPM. If you want to understand what affects impression costs and how to lower them, read our article on what CPM is.

What impacts TikTok advertising costs the most

Creative

On TikTok, creative is the biggest cost lever. The algorithm rewards content that people watch to the end, comment on, and share with a lower cost per impression. A native video shot on a phone, with a strong hook in the first second, regularly achieves a cost per result several times lower than a polished, TV-style ad. We describe how to test this methodically in our article on A/B testing creatives.

Campaign objective and optimization event

A reach campaign will have the lowest CPM, but it doesn't guarantee sales. A sales campaign optimized for purchases has a higher CPM because the algorithm looks for higher-value audiences. This is normal and profitable, provided the TikTok Pixel and Events API transmit accurate data.

Seasonality and competition

The fourth quarter is the most expensive time of the year. If you plan to launch on TikTok, it's better to do so in September or January, when auctions are cheaper and the algorithm can learn without the pressure of holiday competition.

Formats

Spark Ads—promoting organic posts from a brand's or creator's account—often have a lower cost per result than regular ads because they retain likes, comments, and the profile's social proof.

How much do TikTok creatives cost

The media budget is only part of the expenses. Ads on TikTok burn out faster than on other platforms, usually after 2–4 weeks, so you need a steady stream of fresh assets. Estimated costs in Poland:

• UGC video from a creator: typically 300–1,500 PLN per asset, depending on experience and the scope of usage rights.

• Influencer collaboration with posting on their profile: from several hundred PLN for micro-creators to tens of thousands for top accounts.

• In-house production: low direct cost, but requires someone who understands the format and trends.

We follow the rule that 10–20% of the budget should go toward creative production. With a monthly media budget of 20,000 PLN, this means 2,000–4,000 PLN for new materials.

Sample starting budgets

• Channel test, 6,000–10,000 PLN per month. One sales campaign, 2–3 ad groups, 6–10 creatives. Enough to assess whether TikTok converts for your brand at all.

• Scaling, 20,000–50,000 PLN per month. Sales campaigns, Spark Ads with creators, regular testing of 5–10 new creatives monthly.

• Large brand, over 50,000 PLN per month. Full funnel: reach, consideration, sales, often combined with TikTok Shop and catalog campaigns.

Budgets below 3,000 PLN per month rarely allow you to draw conclusions. The campaign will gather impressions, but it won't gather the data the algorithm needs to learn.

Summary

Advertising on TikTok in Poland is often cheaper per impression than on Facebook, but its profitability depends primarily on the creative, proper measurement, and a budget that allows the algorithm to learn. Focus on cost per acquisition rather than CPM, and plan your video production budget from the start. If you're wondering whether TikTok makes sense for your brand, start with our TikTok Ads guide or see how we run TikTok Ads campaigns, and we'll prepare a channel test plan for you.