How much does targeted advertising on Instagram cost: current prices for budget and setup

Advantages of targeted advertising on Instagram

Targeted advertising on Instagram has a number of advantages that make it attractive for businesses of all sizes. The main ones include:

• High targeting accuracy: Instagram provides extensive opportunities for audience segmentation based on various parameters, such as age, gender, interests, geographical location, and behaviour. This allows you to target your audience as accurately as possible.

One of the main features of the advertising platform is its powerful targeting algorithm. This algorithm is renowned for its efficiency and accuracy, allowing advertisers to achieve their goals with remarkable precision.

Thanks to machine learning algorithms, the system can adapt advertising campaigns to the interests and preferences of each user. This means that advertising becomes more relevant and attractive to the target audience, which in turn increases conversion and the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

• Visually appealing content: The platform is inherently focused on visual content, which makes ads more appealing and memorable for users.
• High engagement: Compared to other social networks, Instagram users demonstrate a high level of engagement with advertising content, which increases the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.
• Variety of advertising formats: Instagram offers a variety of advertising formats, including feed posts, stories, carousels, videos, and IGTV advertising campaigns. This allows you to choose the optimal format for each specific goal.

Anna Zhirina 

Targeted advertising on Instagram is a powerful tool for achieving specific marketing goals thanks to its high targeting accuracy and the ability to create visually appealing content.

These advantages make Instagram one of the most effective platforms for promoting brands and products in 2025.

Instagram advertising formats

Instagram offers a variety of advertising formats, each designed to achieve specific goals and reach different audience segments. Here are the main advertising formats available on the platform:

• Feed Ads: These are standard advertising posts that appear in users’ feeds. They can include photos, videos, or carousels of multiple images or videos.
• Stories Ads: Short-term, full-screen ads that appear between users’ stories. This format is suitable for creating engaging and interactive content.
• Carousel Ads: Allows you to add multiple images or videos to a single ad that users can scroll through. Great for showcasing product collections or narrative content.
• Video Ads: Video ads can be placed in both the feed and stories. This format is effective for attracting attention and conveying more complex messages.
• IGTV Ads: These ads are shown in long IGTV video formats, allowing brands to talk about their products and services.
• Reels Ads: Ads in short, 15-30 second videos similar to TikTok. This is a great way to reach a young and active audience.
• Collection Ads: An interactive format that allows users to browse a product catalogue directly in the app. This simplifies the purchasing process and increases conversion rates.

These ad formats allow brands to flexibly adapt their marketing strategies depending on the campaign goals and the specifics of the target audience. Using different formats helps to create more diverse and interesting content, which increases engagement and advertising effectiveness.

Challenges with advertising on Instagram

Facebook’s advertising platform offers excellent opportunities for promoting your business, but it has some features that complicate the work of advertisers:

• Strict moderation. Facebook actively combats unscrupulous advertisers and strives to provide a safe and secure space for users. As a result, advertising materials undergo thorough moderation, which can cause delays in launching advertising campaigns. The platform protects ethical and anti-discrimination principles, which limits creativity when creating ads, especially in niches such as medicine, beauty, weight loss, nutraceuticals, and finance.
• A blocking system designed to combat fraudsters and arbitrageurs. This can be a challenge for advertisers who honestly follow the rules.
• Complex account structure. If you are unfamiliar with it, you will have to spend a lot of time figuring out access permissions, object links, and the reasons for blocking.

Factors affecting the cost of targeted advertising on Instagram

The cost of targeting on Instagram depends on a number of factors that must be taken into account when planning an advertising campaign. The main factors affecting the cost of advertising on Instagram targeting include:

• Target audience: A narrower and more specific audience can increase the cost of advertising due to high competition.
• Campaign goals: Advertising to increase reach or attract traffic may be cheaper than advertising for conversions or sales.
• Content quality: Visually appealing and relevant content can lower the cost per click and increase campaign effectiveness.
• Time and date of placement: Costs can vary depending on the time of day, day of the week, and seasonal fluctuations in advertising demand.
• Competition: High competition in a particular niche can increase the cost of targeting on Instagram.
• Budget and bids: Setting higher bids can lead to greater visibility, but also increases costs.

These factors must be taken into account for effective budget management and to increase the profitability of advertising campaigns on Instagram.

The cost of targeted advertising on Instagram

How much does targeted advertising on Instagram cost? The cost can vary depending on a number of factors. Let’s take a look at the main ones.

How much does advertising on Instagram cost if you set it up through the app?

How much does Instagram targeting cost when setting up ads through the app? This is one of the most common questions among marketers and entrepreneurs. Setting up ads through the Instagram app allows you to quickly and easily launch a campaign, but the cost can vary depending on several factors.

The main elements that affect the cost of targeted advertising on Instagram when using the app are:

• Budget: The minimum daily budget can start at £100, but to achieve significant results, it is recommended to set a higher budget.
• Audience: Setting up a narrower and more specific audience can increase the cost of advertising due to high competition for impressions.
• Ad format: The cost may vary depending on the format you choose (photo, video, stories, etc.). Video ads are usually more expensive than photo ads.
• Campaign goals: Ads designed to increase reach or engagement may be cheaper than ads designed for conversions or sales.
• Competition: The level of competition in the selected niche also affects the price. Advertising will be more expensive in popular segments.

The average cost per click (CPC) can range from £1 to £3, and the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) from £5 to £15. However, these figures can vary significantly depending on the above factors.

How much does targeted advertising on Instagram cost if you set it up through the advertising account?

Setting up targeted advertising on Instagram through the Facebook advertising account allows you to use more advanced features and tools to create and manage campaigns. How much does targeted advertising on Instagram cost when using this approach? Let’s look at the main factors that affect the cost and some price examples.

Main factors affecting the cost:

• Target audience: The more specific and narrow the target audience, the higher the cost of advertising may be due to competition.
• Ad format: The cost varies depending on the format you choose (photo, video, carousel, stories, etc.). For example, video ads are often more expensive than static images.
• Campaign goals: Depending on the goals of the campaign (increasing reach, engagement, conversions), the cost can vary significantly. Conversion-focused campaigns are usually more expensive.
• Competition: The level of competition in the selected niche also affects the price. The more competitors targeting the same audience, the higher the cost will be.
• Content quality: Visually appealing and relevant content can lower the cost per click and increase the overall effectiveness of the campaign.

Cost examples:

• Average cost per click (CPC): $0.3–$1.5
• Average cost per thousand impressions (CPM): $5–$10
• Minimum daily budget: from $1

Anna Zhirina

Using Facebook Ads Manager to set up targeted advertising on Instagram provides more flexible and accurate tools for audience segmentation and data analysis, which helps to increase the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.

Setting up through Facebook Ads Manager also allows you to use remarketing capabilities, lookalike audience targeting, and detailed analytics, which helps optimise costs and achieve better results.

Advantages of setting up advertising through Facebook:

• Extensive targeting options: Ability to segment your audience in detail according to a variety of parameters.
• Analytics and optimisation: Access to advanced analytics and tools for optimising campaigns.
• Remarketing: Ability to return to users who have already interacted with your content.
• Lookalike audiences: Create audiences similar to your current customers to expand your reach.

These advantages make setting up ads through your Facebook account the preferred option for more complex and large-scale advertising campaigns on Instagram.

How to save money on advertising

You can save money on targeted advertising on Instagram by using several effective strategies and methods. Proper planning and optimisation will help reduce costs while maintaining or even improving the effectiveness of your campaigns.

Ways to save money on advertising on Instagram:

• Careful audience targeting: Identify the most relevant target audience to avoid unnecessary costs for impressions to people who are not interested in your product.
• Testing and optimisation: Continuously test different ads, images, and texts. Stop less effective campaigns and reallocate your budget to those that deliver the best results.
• Use remarketing: Return to users who have already interacted with your content or website. Remarketing typically has a lower cost per click and high conversion rates.
• Choosing the optimal time for impressions: Analyse data and choose the times of day and days of the week when your audience is most active. This will help reduce advertising costs.
• Use automatic bidding: Let Facebook’s algorithms handle your bidding, which can optimise your budget for the best results.
• Create quality content: Invest in creating visually appealing and relevant content. High-quality ads attract more attention and can lower your cost per click.

Anna Zhirina

Optimising advertising campaigns and paying close attention to content quality are key factors that can help significantly reduce advertising costs on Instagram.

Applying these strategies will allow you to use your budget effectively and achieve better results at a lower cost.

How much does it cost to set up advertising on Instagram: DIY, freelance or agency

When it comes to targeted advertising on Instagram, the cost of setting up a campaign can vary significantly depending on who does the work: you yourself, a freelancer or an agency. Let’s look at each option and its cost, with an emphasis on the advantages of working with an agency.

Doing it yourself:

• Cost: Minimal, as no services need to be paid for.
• Advantages: Opportunity to learn and gain experience.
• Disadvantages: Time-consuming, requires training, risk of errors.

Freelancers:

• Cost: Average, depending on the freelancer’s experience. Prices can range from … per project.
• Advantages: More economical than agencies.
• Disadvantages: Variable quality of services, difficulty in finding a reliable contractor.

Agencies:

• Cost: From … and above per project.
• Advantages:
• Professional approach: Agencies have a team of experienced specialists who use advanced tools and strategies.
• Comprehensive service: From target audience analysis to advertising campaign optimisation, all stages are carried out professionally.
• Time savings: You can focus on other aspects of your business by entrusting your advertising to professionals.
• Better results: Agencies usually provide higher efficiency and return on investment in advertising.

Comparative Table of Advertising Setup Costs

Working with an agency, despite the higher cost, offers many advantages that will help you make the most of your advertising budget and achieve great results.

If you want professional help setting up targeted advertising on Instagram, contact us! Our team of experts will help you develop an effective strategy and achieve the best results. Learn more about our services and rates on the service page.

Choosing an agency to set up advertising on Instagram will allow you to avoid common mistakes, save time, and ensure a high return on your advertising investment.

FAQ

1. How to determine the optimal budget for targeted advertising on Instagram?
   The optimal budget for targeted advertising on Instagram depends on your campaign goals, target audience, and the level of competition. Start with a test budget — for example, from $55, and gradually increase it while analyzing the results and optimizing your campaigns.
2. How can I find out the cost of targeted advertising on Instagram?
   You can determine the cost of targeted advertising on Instagram by setting up a test campaign in the Facebook Ads Manager. The cost will depend on factors like audience parameters, campaign objectives, target audience size, and more. You can also contact an agency to get a preliminary estimate.
3. What is the average price for targeted advertising on Instagram?
   The average cost per click (CPC) on Instagram ranges from $0.22 to $1.65, and the cost per thousand impressions (CPM) ranges from $4.50 to $11. These numbers can vary depending on the specifics of the audience and campaign settings.
4. Are there any guarantees for successful Instagram advertising?
   There are no guarantees of success in Instagram advertising, as the final results — such as sales — depend on many factors, including content quality, seasonality, lead response speed, and competition. However, working with a professional agency can significantly increase the chances of a successful campaign.