Our TikTok ads benchmarks report reviews common ad performance across brands using Triple Whale to monitor and maximize performance. This analysis includes over 5,900 brands for the period of August 1, 2025 to July 31, 2026
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Additionally, we’ll break down the vertical-specific trends with data from the following industries:
- Apparel & Accessories
- Beauty
- Home & Garden
- Food & Beverage
- Toys, Art, & Collectibles
- Sports & Outdoors
- Electronics
- Health & Wellness
- Pets & Animals
- Lifestyle & Boutique
Overall Benchmarks for TikTok Ads
| Metric | Aug 2025 – July 2026 | Aug 2024 – July 2025 | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPA | $17.07 | $24.86 | -31.36% |
| CPM | $4.08 | $5.71 | -24.48% |
| CVR | 1.56% | 2.46% | -36.79% |
| ROAS | 1.51 | 1.43 | +5.85% |
| AOV | $50.32 | $46.90 | +7.29% |
| CTR | 0.61% | 0.70% | -12.50% |
| MER | 0.23 | 0.35 | -34.68% |
TikTok’s reputation as the emerging cost-efficient alternative to Meta and Google is being tested by the latest data.
CPM fell 28.48% year-over-year to $4.08, which, while still meaningfully cheaper than Meta’s $15.06 overall median, has moved further from parity.
CPA dropped 31.36% to $17.07, while CVR slipped 36.79% to 1.56% and ROAS increased 5.85% to 1.51, indicating that TikTok’s audience is clicking less (-12.50% CTR decline) but converting at a lower rate than the year prior.
The platform still offers genuine advantages, with lower CPMs than Meta across most industries, a format that drives strong top-of-funnel engagement, and an algorithm that surfaces products to interest-matched audiences at scale.
Understanding where your industry sits within these benchmarks is essential for setting realistic goals and building an ad strategy that can take advantage of TikTok in 2027
Ad performance benchmarks: by industry
Industry-level benchmarks show how TikTok advertising costs, engagement, and returns vary across categories. The sections below compare CPA, CPM, CVR, CTR, ROAS, AOV, and MER across the 10 industries in this report, giving you a clearer baseline for evaluating your own performance
Cost per acquisition (CPA) by industry
| Industry | Median CPA | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | $20.64 | -13.73% |
| Beauty | $10.32 | -58.38% |
| Home & Garden | $19.33 | +17.18% |
| Food & Beverage | $12.44 | -50.58% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | $18.37 | -30.19% |
| Sports & Outdoors | $14.67 | -45.14% |
| Electronics | $28.90 | -11.61% |
| Health & Wellness | $11.17 | -40.31% |
| Pets & Animals | $5.46 | -75.65% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | $19.59 | -34.48% |
TikTok’s cost per acquisition (CPA) profile is one of its clearest advantages over other platforms. Most industries acquire customers for under $22, a threshold that Meta and Google consistently exceed in comparable verticals.
Pets & Animals posted the lowest CPA at $5.46, followed by Health & Wellness ($10.32) and Health & Wellness ($11.17). These categories benefit from TikTok’s strength in community-driven discovery, where organic content and paid ads share the same format and audience trust.
Electronics is the clear outlier at $28.90, which is more than double the lowest CPA in the dataset. This category has a longer consideration cycle and higher product complexity, which makes TikTok’s impulse-driven format a less natural fit for driving direct acquisition
Cost per mille (CPM) by industry
| Industry | Median CPM | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | $4.16 | -9.09% |
| Beauty | $3.92 | -47.09% |
| Home & Garden | $4.61 | -28.64% |
| Food & Beverage | $4.54 | -42.46% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | $4.40 | -21.42% |
| Sports & Outdoors | $3.46 | -27.32% |
| Electronics | $4.40 | -22.55% |
| Health & Wellness | $3.67 | -62.74% |
| Pets & Animals | $4.59 | -31.43% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | $4.01 | -18.17% |
Reach costs on TikTok remain low relative to Meta, and the industry-level spread is comparatively tight, with a $1.15 range from cheapest to most expensive
Sports & Outdoors earned the lowest CPM at $3.46, with Health & Wellness ($3.67) and Beauty ($3.92) also offering cost-effective reach. These categories align naturally with TikTok’s content culture, where fashion, fitness, and lifestyle content thrives organically and keeps audience engagement high.
Home & Garden had the highest CPM at $4.61, followed by Pets & Animals at $4.59. Even at the top of the range, however, TikTok CPMs compare favorably to Meta’s industry equivalents, reinforcing the platform’s position as a cost-efficient channel for brands looking to diversify reach beyond dominant platforms
Conversion rate (CVR) by industry
| Industry | Median CVR | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 2.08% | -11.64% |
| Beauty | 1.12% | -61.40% |
| Home & Garden | 1.61% | -41.16% |
| Food & Beverage | 0.99% | -66.17% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | 1.71% | -33.22% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 0.99% | -37.64% |
| Electronics | 1.46% | -24.07% |
| Health & Wellness | 0.80% | -58.69% |
| Pets & Animals | 0.38% | -84.41% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | 2.06% | -0.52% |
Conversion rate (CVR) tells you what percentage of users who click on an ad actually convert into customers. CVR on TikTok is notably strong for several categories, with two of ten industries converting above 2% — an impressive threshold for a platform built around discovery and entertainment rather than explicit purchase intent.
Apparel & Accessories led at 2.08%, followed closely by Lifestyle & Boutique (2.06%) and Toys, Art, & Collectibles (1.71%). These categories benefit from TikTok’s visual product showcase format, where short-form video can demonstrate products in context and drive impulse decisions effectively
Pets & Animals sat at the bottom with a 0.38% CVR, a notable gap below the next lowest. Health & Wellness (0.80%) also underperformed on CVR even though it had a low CPA, suggesting efficient acquisition may come partly from low price points rather than strong conversion behavior
Click-through (CTR) rate by industry
| Industry | Median CTR | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 0.74% | +3.62% |
| Beauty | 0.51% | -25.56% |
| Home & Garden | 0.59% | -18.63% |
| Food & Beverage | 0.45% | -34.76% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | 0.55% | -16.17% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 0.54% | -6.12% |
| Electronics | 0.64% | -15.76% |
| Health & Wellness | 0.51% | -17.84% |
| Pets & Animals | 0.41% | -30.17% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | 0.61% | +3.13% |
Click through rate (CTR) measures how often users who see an ad choose to click it. TikTok’s CTR figures are structurally lower than Meta’s — the platform’s full-screen video format means users engage with content differently than with static feed ads. This is expected behavior for the format and does not reflect underperformance on its own
Apparel & Accessories led with the highest CTR at 0.74%, followed by Electronics (0.64%) and Lifestyle & Boutique (0.61%). Pets & Animals posted the lowest CTR at 0.41%, consistent with a category where TikTok content resonates emotionally but may not translate directly into shopping behavior
Return on ad spend (ROAS) by industry
| Industry | Median ROAS | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 2.70 | +20.50% |
| Beauty | 0.46 | -38.00% |
| Home & Garden | 2.02 | +15.71% |
| Food & Beverage | 0.33 | -34.67% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | 1.57 | +8.09% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 1.44 | +19.16% |
| Electronics | 1.98 | +29.18% |
| Health & Wellness | 0.42 | +41.99% |
| Pets & Animals | 0.02 | -93.70% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | 2.00 | +20.58% |
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the most direct measure of advertising efficiency as it measures how much revenue is returned for every dollar spent on ads. During the latest data period, ROAS on TikTok varied more dramatically by industry than any other platform we evaluated, and several figures fell well below break-even on a platform-reported basis.
Pets & Animals (0.02%), Food & Beverage (0.33%), and Beauty (0.46%) displayed the lowest ROAS of all industries, representing poor returns on dollars invested. However, the platform’s in-feed format may drive significant organic lift and delayed purchase behavior that last-click attribution undercounts. Brands in these categories may be seeing real downstream revenue impact that TikTok’s pixel does not fully capture.
Apparel & Accessories stands apart with a 2.70 ROAS — one of two industries to clear 2.0 and the clearest evidence of TikTok’s native strengths. Fashion and style content is among TikTok’s highest-performing organic categories, and that cultural alignment carries over into paid performance. Home & Garden (2.02) and Lifestyle & Boutique (2.00) also posted competitive returns, rounding out the categories where TikTok’s format and audience intent align most naturally with the products being sold.
Average order value (AOV) by industry
| Industry | Median AOV | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | $73.79 | +13.98% |
| Beauty | $29.35 | -10.83% |
| Home & Garden | $61.28 | +31.00% |
| Food & Beverage | $30.19 | -4.98% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | $47.43 | +1.86% |
| Sports & Outdoors | $51.96 | +4.37% |
| Electronics | $70.72 | +26.52% |
| Health & Wellness | $18.56 | +198.89% |
| Pets & Animals | $0.38 | -98.10% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | $53.77 | +19.65% |
Average order value (AOV) on TikTok skews lower than on Meta and Google across most industries, reflecting the platform’s audience demographics and its strength in driving impulse purchases at accessible price points.
Apparel & Accessories leads at $73.79, followed by Electronics ($70.72), both categories where TikTok’s visual format can showcase products effectively and justify a higher transaction value.
Pets & Animals posted the lowest AOV at $0.38, which, in combination with its $5.46 CPA, creates almost no margin for profitable acquisition when considering just TikTok’s platform-reported data.
Health & Wellness ($18.56), Food & Beverage ($30.19), and Beauty ($29.35) also cluster at the low end — categories where TikTok likely drives repeat consumable purchases rather than high-value transactions. For these verticals, profitability depends heavily on customer lifetime value and repeat purchase rates rather than first-order economics
Marketing efficiency ratio (MER) by industry
| Industry | Median MER | % Change YoY |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 0.25 | -26.16% |
| Beauty | 0.21 | -46.63% |
| Home & Garden | 0.16 | -26.92% |
| Food & Beverage | 0.21 | -37.94% |
| Toys, Art, & Collectibles | 0.27 | -33.39% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 0.15 | -39.26% |
| Electronics | 0.28 | -34.23% |
| Health & Wellness | 0.16 | -12.73% |
| Pets & Animals | 0.09 | -73.76% |
| Lifestyle & Boutique | 0.35 | -28.97% |
Marketing efficiency ratio (MER) indicates how many dollars in revenue your brand generates for each dollar of paid media, calculated by dividing total revenue by total ad spend. This differs from ROAS, which divides total revenue generated from ads by ad spend
Lifestyle & Boutique led on MER at 0.35, the strongest blended efficiency of any industry on TikTok and consistent with a category that has found a natural home in the platform’s content ecosystem.
Electronics follows at 0.28 and Toys, Art, & Collectibles at 0.27 — both suggesting that despite higher CPAs or lower ROAS figures, the broader revenue picture relative to spend is more favorable than platform-reported metrics alone would indicate
Pets & Animals (0.09) and Sports & Outdoors (0.15) sit at the bottom of the MER ranking, pointing to categories where TikTok spend is generating the least revenue return. For Pets & Animals, in particular, the combination of the lowest CVR (0.38%), lowest AOV ($0.38), and lowest MER tells a consistent story: the platform reaches the audience cheaply, but that audience is not converting or spending at a rate that justifies the investment for most brands in this vertical.
Conclusion
TikTok remains a compelling diversification channel, particularly for brands where Meta CPMs have become prohibitive, but the 2026 data clearly signals that treating it as a low-cost conversion engine requires careful vertical fit and realistic expectations about what the platform’s attribution can and cannot measure.
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See how CPA, CPM, ROAS, and conversion rates shifted across 10 industries on TikTok this year — and what it means for your 2026 strategy
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