Are Microsoft Ads Worth It vs Google Ads?

Short answer: Microsoft Ads are usually worth it, but as an addition to Google Ads rather than a replacement. Google has the far bigger audience, so most small businesses should start there. Once your Google campaigns are working, Microsoft Ads often bring cheaper clicks and a slightly older, higher income audience that can lift your overall results.

If you only ever run one platform, run Google. If you want to squeeze more sales from the same effort and budget, adding Microsoft Ads is one of the easiest wins available. Below we break down the real differences on reach, cost, competition and audience, so you can decide what fits your business.

What Microsoft Ads actually are

Microsoft Ads (once called Bing Ads) is the pay per click platform that shows search adverts across Microsoft's network. That includes Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo and the search box built into Windows and the Edge browser. So it is not just "Bing". If you want the detail on that reach, we covered it in do Bing Ads show on Yahoo.

The platform works almost exactly like Google Ads. You bid on keywords, write text adverts, set budgets and track conversions. If you have ever built a Google Ads campaign, Microsoft will feel instantly familiar, which is a large part of why adding it is low effort.

There is one point worth understanding early. The network is a collection of places, not a single site. When someone types into the Windows taskbar search, uses Edge with its default settings, or lands on a partner site that uses Microsoft's search results, your advert can appear. That is why the audience behaves a little differently from Google, and why it pays to think about who is actually sitting behind those searches rather than treating it as a smaller copy of Google.

The honest case for and against each platform

Here is the plain version, no spin.

Reach: this is where Google wins

There is no getting around it. Google handles the overwhelming majority of UK searches. Microsoft's network is a fraction of that. If your goal is maximum leads and you can only manage one account, Google is the correct starting point every time.

What this means in practice: Microsoft Ads will rarely deliver the same lead volume as Google, even with a healthy budget. So do not judge it on volume. Judge it on cost per lead and total extra sales it adds on top of what Google already brings in.

A worked example makes this clearer. Say your Google campaign brings in 40 leads a month at a comfortable cost per lead. You add Microsoft, and it brings in another 8 leads a month at a slightly lower cost per lead. On its own, 8 leads looks small next to 40. But those 8 leads are extra business you were not getting before, at a cost that does not hurt your average. That is the right way to think about it. Microsoft is a top up, not a rival, and top ups still pay the bills.

Cost: Microsoft often comes in cheaper

Because fewer advertisers compete on the Microsoft network, cost per click is often lower than on Google for the same keywords. That does vary by industry, and we will not quote a fixed figure because it depends entirely on your sector and location. But the pattern is consistent enough to matter.

Cheaper clicks are only useful if they convert. The good news is that the Microsoft audience often converts well, partly because of who is using it. That brings us to the point that actually decides whether it is worth it for you.

It is worth being careful about how you read cost per click, though. A low click cost that produces no enquiries is expensive, not cheap. The number that matters is what you pay for an actual lead or sale, and then what that customer is worth to you over time. A slightly higher click cost that brings in serious buyers beats a cheap click that brings in tyre kickers. Keep your eye on the outcome, not the headline click price.

Audience: the real reason to add Microsoft Ads

The Microsoft network audience tends to be older, more likely to be in work and on higher household incomes. A lot of it comes from Windows and Edge being the default on office computers. People searching from a work machine are often searching with intent, and often with a company budget behind them.

If any of these describe your business, Microsoft Ads are especially worth testing:

• B2B services. You are trying to reach people at their desks during working hours.
• Higher value products or services. A more affluent audience suits you.
• Professional and financial sectors. Legal, accountancy, insurance, IT and similar.
• Older customer base. Home improvements, healthcare, retirement products.

If you sell to a young, mobile first audience, Microsoft will be weaker for you and Google (plus social advertising) should take priority.

There is a practical wrinkle here that catches people out. Because so much Microsoft traffic comes from work computers, the times of day and days of the week that perform can look different from Google. You may find that a plumber's emergency callout keywords do little on Microsoft, while a commercial accountant's terms do very well between nine and five on weekdays. If your business sells to other businesses, look closely at your day and time reports on Microsoft. You will often see a clean office hours pattern that tells you exactly when to push your budget.

Side by side comparison

Factor	Google Ads	Microsoft Ads
Search volume	Very high	Much lower
Cost per click	Often higher	Often lower
Competition	High	Lower
Audience age	All ages	Skews older
Income skew	Broad	Higher income
Best for B2B	Good	Very good
Setup effort	Build from scratch	Import from Google

Can you just copy your Google campaigns over?

Yes, and that is one of the biggest reasons to bother. Microsoft has an import tool that pulls your campaigns, keywords, adverts and settings straight out of Google Ads. You can be live in an afternoon.

But do not treat "import and forget" as the finished job. That is where most people go wrong. After importing, you need to:

1. Review the imported settings. Location targeting, bid strategies and network options do not always carry across sensibly.
2. Check the Audience Network setting. This can send your adverts to native placements across the web, which behaves very differently to search. Decide deliberately whether to keep it on. We explain the trade offs in Microsoft Ads Audience Network explained.
3. Set up conversion tracking separately. It does not import from Google. Without it you are flying blind.
4. Adjust bids for the different competition. Google bids are often too high for the cheaper Microsoft auction.

How often should you re-import?

A common mistake is treating the import as a one off. If you keep improving your Google campaigns, and you should, those improvements do not flow across on their own. Set a habit of syncing your best changes over on a regular basis, for example once a month, so your Microsoft account keeps pace with your winning keywords and adverts. Do not sync blindly, though. If a change was made for a Google specific reason, such as a bid adjustment for a competitor you only face on Google, it may not belong on Microsoft.

Watch the automated bid strategies

Automated bidding needs data to work well, and Microsoft's lower volume means it takes longer to gather that data than on Google. If you switch an imported campaign straight to a fully automated strategy, it can struggle at first because it simply does not have enough conversions to learn from. On smaller Microsoft accounts we often start with more manual control, gather a solid base of conversions, and only then move to automation once there is enough history to support it.

When Microsoft Ads are worth it

Run through these before you commit budget.

You already have Google Ads working

This is the ideal scenario. You know your best keywords, your winning adverts and your real cost per lead. Copy that proven setup into Microsoft, tune it, and you are adding incremental sales cheaply.

Google clicks are getting expensive

If competition has pushed your Google costs up, Microsoft's cheaper auction can bring your blended cost per lead down. You are effectively diversifying so you are not entirely at the mercy of one auction.

Your audience skews older or B2B

As covered above, this is where Microsoft genuinely outperforms its small market share. The audience fit can make it punch above its weight.

You want more control over waste

Smaller platforms can attract low quality clicks too. Whichever platform you run, watching for wasted spend matters, and click fraud protection helps stop your budget draining on clicks that will never convert.

When Microsoft Ads are not worth it (yet)

• You have no working Google campaign. Fix Google first. That is where the volume and the learning are.
• Your budget is very tight. Spreading a small budget across two platforms can leave neither with enough data to optimise. Concentrate first.
• Your niche has almost no Microsoft search volume. Some very specific or very young markets simply are not there. Test small and check the data before scaling.
• You sell to a young, mobile first crowd. Your money works harder on Google and paid social.

None of these are permanent. A business with a tight budget today may be in a position to add Microsoft in six months once Google is paying its way. A niche with little volume now may grow. The sensible move is to review the decision every few months rather than ruling it in or out forever.

A sensible plan for a small business

Here is the order we would suggest for most small businesses starting from scratch.

1. Build a solid Google Ads campaign first. Get tracking right, find your winning keywords and adverts, and reach a stable cost per lead.
2. Let it run for a few weeks. Gather enough conversion data to know what actually works, not just what looks busy.
3. Import your best campaigns into Microsoft. Start with your proven winners, not everything.
4. Set up separate conversion tracking. Non negotiable. You need to judge Microsoft on its own numbers.
5. Give it a fair test window. Because volume is lower, it takes a little longer to gather meaningful data.
6. Compare cost per lead, not click count. If Microsoft brings leads at a similar or better cost, keep it. If it does not, pause it and revisit later.

How much budget should you move across?

You do not need to take budget away from Google to test Microsoft. If you can, add a small separate budget so you are measuring the extra business Microsoft brings, not shuffling the same money around. If your budget is fixed, a small share moved across, perhaps a modest slice while you test, is enough to get meaningful data on a proven campaign. The point of the test is to learn whether Microsoft earns its keep, so give it enough to work with but not so much that a poor test hurts your main results.

Landing pages still matter

One thing people forget when adding a second platform is that both send traffic to the same website. If your landing page is weak, adding Microsoft just spreads the same problem across two networks. Before you scale spend anywhere, make sure the page your adverts point to loads quickly, matches the promise of the advert and makes it obvious how to get in touch. A better page lifts results on Google and Microsoft at the same time, which is the cheapest win of all.

Common questions we get asked

Do I have to choose one or the other?

No, and most businesses that run both do better than those on either alone. They reach different people. The question is sequencing and budget, not loyalty to a single platform.

Is Microsoft Ads harder to manage?

No. It is very similar to Google Ads, and if anything the smaller scale makes it simpler. The skill is in tuning it correctly after import, which is where an experienced hand helps.

Will it hurt my Google performance?

No. They are entirely separate auctions on separate networks. Adding Microsoft does not affect your Google account at all.

How long before I know if it is working?

Because volume is lower, give it longer than you would on Google. A couple of weeks is rarely enough to judge fairly. Aim to gather a solid batch of conversions before you make a keep or pause decision, and look at the trend rather than reacting to a single quiet week. On very small accounts this patience is the difference between a fair test and a false conclusion.

What about agencies running client accounts?

If you are an agency rather than a business owner, the same logic applies at scale. Many agencies bolt Microsoft Ads onto their Google delivery. If you outsource that work, our white label Google Ads management covers both, and it is worth reading what is white label PPC for the full picture.

Is Microsoft Ads worth it in 2026 specifically?

We think so, and increasingly so. Costs on Google keep rising in competitive sectors, and diversifying reduces your reliance on one auction. We go deeper on that in why Microsoft Ads belong in every 2026 PPC strategy.

How we run it at DPOM

We are a UK agency that has worked with small businesses for 15 years, and we are a Google Partner. We manage Google Ads and Microsoft Ads on fixed transparent monthly pricing, so you always know what you are paying. Meetings are video calls, so it does not matter where in the country you are.

We do not promise rankings or magic results, because nobody honest can. What we do is set up the tracking properly, run proven campaigns across both networks, and judge everything on cost per lead. If Microsoft is not adding value for your business, we will tell you.

In practice, that means we start where the volume is, get your Google account earning, and only add Microsoft once we have proven winners to carry across. Then we tune the bids for the cheaper auction, keep the two accounts in sync as we improve them, and report on the numbers that actually matter to you. Simple, honest and paid for at a fixed monthly fee so there are no surprises.