Why is ROAS on alternative ad platforms lower than Meta?
Alternative platforms offer far fewer data points, less optimization control, and highly inaccurate conversion tracking. This causes campaigns to cost substantially more than the actual value of their conversions, keeping overall returns nowhere near Meta's levels. Because of this missing data, advertisers are left guessing whether it is worth scaling their ads or shutting them down completely.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Keeping spend low to test
- 2Sticking primarily to Meta for advertising funnel fill
- 3Turning off campaigns after initial testing and waiting several months before trying again.
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“by no means has my ROAS been anywhere near meta, although it’s been like 1.8-2 roas.”source ↗
“Not sure if it’s worth scaling or shutting down, but there’s much less data points and control over what you can do to optimize it, it seems.”source ↗
“Conversion tracking is not accurate by a long shot, and it is currently costing substantially more in cost than actual conversion value.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why are my Etsy Ads not spending my daily budget?
- 4Why do fundraising galas cost so much and raise so little?
- 5How to advertise a creative project on a tiny budget
- 5Why does posting daily on social media not bring in customers?
- 5Why does scaling ad spend stop working and burn money?
- 7How do you know if a marketing agency is actually working?