How do your TikTok ads compare to other ecommerce businesses?
We analyzed TikTok advertising performance across ecommerce businesses in the Lebesgue dataset to understand what typical performance looks like for conversion-focused campaigns.
Based on our data, the average TikTok Ads click-through rate (CTR) is 0.61%, conversion rate (CR) is 1.92%, and cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is $4.80.
Key takeaways
Here are the key TikTok Ads benchmarks from our ecommerce advertising data:
- Average TikTok Ads CTR is 0.61%. This gives you a reference point for understanding how effectively your ads are turning impressions into website traffic.
- Average TikTok Ads conversion rate is 1.92%. If your CTR is strong but conversion rate is below this benchmark, the bigger opportunity may be after the click rather than in the ad itself.
- Average TikTok Ads CPM is $4.80. A lower CPM gives you cheaper reach, but it doesn’t necessarily mean better campaign performance if those impressions aren’t generating clicks and purchases.
- No benchmark should be evaluated on its own. Looking at CPM, CTR, and conversion rate together gives you a clearer picture of where your campaign performance may have room to improve.
About our TikTok Ads benchmark data
These benchmarks are based on ecommerce advertising data analyzed by Lebesgue.
For CTR and conversion rate, we focus on conversion-driven TikTok campaigns using Complete Payment as the conversion event. This keeps the comparison relevant to ecommerce businesses using TikTok to drive purchases rather than campaigns focused primarily on reach or engagement.
These benchmarks should be used as reference points rather than fixed targets. Performance can vary depending on your product, audience, creative, offer, campaign setup, and landing page experience.
What is a good CTR for TikTok Ads?
Based on Lebesgue’s ecommerce advertising data, the average CTR for conversion-focused TikTok Ads is 0.61%.
Click-through rate measures the percentage of ad impressions that result in a click:
CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
CTR helps you understand whether your ads are generating enough interest to move people from TikTok to your website.
If your CTR is significantly below the 0.61% benchmark, your creative is one of the first areas worth investigating. TikTok is heavily driven by creative, so your ad needs to capture attention while quickly communicating why someone should care about the product.
A lower CTR can point to several issues:
- Your creative isn’t capturing attention early enough.
- The product or value proposition isn’t immediately clear.
- Your messaging doesn’t match the audience you’re targeting.
- The same creative has been running for too long and may be experiencing fatigue.
- The ad doesn’t give users a compelling reason to click.
But a CTR above the benchmark doesn’t automatically mean a campaign is performing well.
If people are clicking but not purchasing, your ads may be successfully generating interest while another part of the customer journey is preventing conversions.
That’s why CTR becomes much more useful when you analyze it together with conversion rate.
This data is updated in real-time, so the latest CTR benchmarks can always be found within the Lebesgue: AI CMO.
It’s worth noting that this CTR is comparable to the underperforming Meta ads’ CTR. While it’s true that CPMs on TikTok are generally lower than on Facebook, the CTRs on TikTok may also be slightly lower.
See more on how to increase TikTok CTR.
What is a good conversion rate for TikTok Ads?
Based on Lebesgue’s data, the average conversion rate for conversion-focused TikTok Ads is 1.92%.
Conversion rate measures the percentage of clicks that result in the desired conversion:
Conversion rate = Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100
For the campaigns included in our benchmark, the conversion event is Complete Payment, making the metric particularly relevant for ecommerce businesses focused on purchases.
If your CTR is around or above the 0.61% benchmark but your conversion rate is significantly below 1.92%, the problem may not be your ad.
Your creative is generating enough interest to bring people to your store, but something is happening between the click and the purchase.
That could point to:
- A disconnect between the ad and landing page
- A slow or difficult mobile experience
- Product pricing or unexpected shipping costs
- An offer that isn’t strong enough
- A complicated checkout process
- Traffic that engages with the creative but has low purchase intent
On the other hand, if your conversion rate is strong but CTR is low, the visitors who reach your website may be qualified. The bigger opportunity could be getting more of the right people to click.
Looking at CTR and conversion rate together gives you a much clearer picture than either benchmark can provide on its own.
What is the average CPM for TikTok Ads?
Based on Lebesgue’s ecommerce advertising data, the average TikTok Ads CPM is $4.80.
CPM, or cost per thousand impressions, tells you how much you’re paying to generate 1,000 ad impressions:
CPM = Ad spend ÷ Impressions × 1,000
CPM helps you understand how expensive it is to reach your audience before clicks and conversions enter the equation.
A CPM below $4.80 means you’re paying less than the average in our dataset to generate impressions. But that doesn’t necessarily mean your campaign is performing efficiently.
For example, you could have a relatively low CPM but a CTR significantly below 0.61%. In that case, you’re getting inexpensive impressions, but those impressions aren’t generating enough traffic.
The opposite can also happen. You might pay more per 1,000 impressions while generating stronger CTR and conversion rates.
That’s why the goal isn’t simply to achieve the lowest possible CPM. The more important question is whether the impressions you’re paying for eventually turn into qualified traffic and customers.
It’s worth noting that this CPM is approximately 30% lower than similar ad types and targeting on Facebook ads.
While this lower CPM can be attractive for businesses looking to stretch their ad budget, it’s important to keep in mind that lower CPMs may also be accompanied by lower CTRs and CRs.
How to interpret TikTok Ads benchmarks
TikTok Ads benchmarks are most useful when you look at the relationship between metrics rather than evaluating CTR, conversion rate, or CPM separately.
Here’s what different combinations can tell you:
The benchmark tells you where your performance differs from the average. The relationship between your metrics can help you understand why.
For example, if your CTR is above 0.61% but conversion rate is below 1.92%, simply trying to increase CTR further may not address the actual problem. Your landing page or offer may deserve more attention.
How to benefit from low TikTok ads CPM
Having a low CPM on TikTok is a big plus for businesses. It means they can boost brand awareness and get better value from their ad budget. When CPM is low, businesses get more views for their budget, especially compared to platforms like Facebook.
This is especially handy for those aiming to stand out on TikTok. It’s a great strategy, especially for businesses in competitive industries, where ads can be expensive. It helps them get more brand visibility without spending too much.
Additionally, if a business is able to create high-quality content and achieve a high CTR on TikTok, they may be able to get even more clicks for the same ad budget compared to other platforms. This is a great way to drive traffic to a business’s website or online store and potentially lead to more conversions.
Why a lower TikTok CPM doesn't always mean better performance
A low CPM can look attractive because it means you’re reaching more people for the same advertising budget.
But inexpensive reach only has value if it contributes to business results.
Consider two TikTok campaigns.
One generates impressions at a very low CPM but struggles to get people to click. Another has a higher CPM but generates a stronger CTR and sends more qualified traffic to the website.
The first campaign looks better if you only compare CPM. Once you look further down the funnel, the second campaign may be much more efficient at acquiring customers.
For ecommerce businesses, it helps to think about TikTok performance as a journey:
Impression → Click → Website visit → Purchase
CPM tells you how much you’re paying for visibility.
CTR tells you whether that visibility is turning into traffic.
Conversion rate tells you whether that traffic is turning into customers.
Looking at all three together gives you a much better understanding of campaign performance.
What should you do if your TikTok CTR is below the benchmark?
If your TikTok CTR is below the 0.61% average, start with your creative rather than immediately changing your entire campaign setup.
TikTok users move through content quickly, so the beginning of your ad has a significant impact on whether they continue watching and eventually click.
Test different:
- Hooks
- Creative formats
- Product demonstrations
- Messages and value propositions
- Calls to action
- Creators or UGC approaches
- Product angles
The goal isn’t simply to generate more clicks. You want to identify the creative approaches that bring qualified visitors to your website.
If a new creative increases CTR but conversion rate falls significantly, you may be attracting more clicks without improving the quality of the traffic.
That’s another reason to monitor CTR and conversion rate together.
What should you do if your TikTok conversion rate is below the benchmark?
If your CTR is healthy but your conversion rate is below the 1.92% benchmark, look at what happens after someone clicks the ad.
Start by checking whether your landing page delivers on the expectation created by the TikTok ad.
The product, offer, messaging, and pricing users see after clicking should feel like a natural continuation of the ad.
Then look at other factors that can influence purchase decisions, including:
- Mobile page speed
- Product information
- Pricing
- Shipping costs and delivery information
- Reviews and other trust signals
- Checkout experience
A conversion problem isn’t always an advertising problem.
If TikTok is successfully sending interested visitors to your store, improving the post-click experience may have a larger impact than trying to push CTR even higher.
What should you do if your TikTok CPM is above the benchmark?
If your CPM is significantly above the $4.80 average, first look at whether the higher cost is actually hurting overall performance.
A CPM above the benchmark isn’t necessarily a problem if you’re reaching a more relevant audience that clicks and converts at a stronger rate.
If higher CPM is accompanied by weak CTR and conversion rate, however, it is worth reviewing your campaign setup.
Factors such as audience competition, targeting, seasonality, campaign objective, and ad quality can all influence what you pay for impressions.
Instead of optimizing CPM in isolation, look at whether reducing CPM also improves the economics further down the funnel.
Should ecommerce brands use TikTok Ads?
Benchmarks can show you what typical TikTok Ads performance looks like, but they can’t tell you whether TikTok will work for every ecommerce business.
TikTok can be worth testing when your target customers are active on the platform and your business has the resources to continuously develop and test creative.
It can also give ecommerce businesses another acquisition channel beyond platforms such as Meta and Google.
However, TikTok’s relatively inexpensive reach shouldn’t be the only reason to invest.
The more important question is whether TikTok can generate customers at an acquisition cost that makes sense for your business.
A $4.80 CPM may look attractive, but it only becomes valuable when those impressions contribute to clicks, purchases, and profitable growth.
How to improve TikTok Ads performance
If your campaign is below one or more TikTok Ads benchmarks, use the metrics to identify where to investigate first.
If CTR is low, start with your creative and messaging. Test different hooks, formats, product angles, and calls to action.
If CTR is strong but conversion rate is low, look beyond the ad. Review your landing page, offer, mobile experience, pricing, shipping information, and checkout process.
If CPM is high, review your audience, targeting, campaign setup, and how efficiently TikTok is delivering your ads. Then check whether the higher CPM is actually resulting in stronger traffic or conversions before making changes.
Most importantly, avoid optimizing a metric simply because it is below the benchmark.
The goal isn’t to make every number look better. It’s to understand which changes ultimately help you acquire customers more efficiently.
When to start testing TikTok ads
As with any ad platform, there are certain circumstances in which TikTok ads may be particularly useful for businesses. Here are a few scenarios where starting a TikTok ad campaign may be a good idea:
- If your target audience is under 40 years old: TikTok is a platform that is particularly popular with younger users, so if your target audience falls within this age range, it may be a good fit for your business.
- If you’re having trouble getting low CPMs on other platforms, TikTok may be worth considering.
- If you’re able to achieve higher than average CR and CTR on other platforms, and you know how to impact those metrics through your ad strategy and targeting, TikTok may be a good fit for your business.
- If you’re looking to increase brand awareness: With its large and growing user base, TikTok can be a powerful tool for increasing brand awareness. If this is a major goal for your business, TikTok advertising may be worth considering.
Summing Up
These numbers provide useful reference points for conversion-focused ecommerce campaigns, but they shouldn’t be treated as universal targets.
If your CTR is below 0.61%, your creative may be a good place to start investigating. If people are clicking but your conversion rate is below 1.92%, look at what happens after the click. And if your CPM is above $4.80, determine whether the more expensive impressions are producing better traffic and conversions before assuming that CPM needs to come down.
The most useful insight doesn’t come from one benchmark on its own. It comes from understanding how CPM, CTR, and conversion rate work together to move someone from seeing your TikTok ad to becoming a customer.
Frequently Asked Questionsabout TikTok Ads Benchmarks
Based on Lebesgue’s ecommerce advertising data, the average CTR for conversion-focused TikTok Ads is 0.61%. CTR can vary depending on your creative, audience, product, offer, and campaign setup.
The 0.61% average CTR in Lebesgue’s e-commerce dataset can be used as a reference point for conversion-focused campaigns. Rather than treating it as a strict target, compare your CTR with conversion rate and customer acquisition costs to understand whether the traffic you’re generating is valuable.
Based on Lebesgue’s data, the average conversion rate for conversion-focused TikTok Ads is 1.92%. For this benchmark, we focus on campaigns using Complete Payment as the conversion event.
A 1.92% conversion rate is the average in Lebesgue’s e-commerce dataset and can be used as a reference point. Conversion rates can vary based on traffic quality, product, pricing, offer, landing page experience, and checkout experience.
Based on Lebesgue’s e-commerce advertising data, the average TikTok Ads CPM is $4.80. CPM can vary based on targeting, competition, seasonality, campaign setup, and other factors.
A lower CPM means you’re paying less for 1,000 impressions, but it doesn’t necessarily mean the campaign is more efficient. Look at CTR, conversion rate, and customer acquisition cost to understand whether those impressions are contributing to business results.
A high CTR combined with a low conversion rate can indicate that your creative is generating interest but users aren’t converting after reaching your website. Review the connection between your ad and landing page, as well as your offer, pricing, shipping information, mobile experience, and checkout process.
Use TikTok Ads benchmarks as diagnostic reference points rather than fixed targets. Compare your CTR, conversion rate, and CPM with the averages to identify where your performance differs, then investigate the factors influencing that part of the customer journey.
