Instagram and Facebook are run from the same Meta Ads Manager and most advertisers treat them as a single channel. That is a mistake. They have different audiences, different formats that work, and different costs. Choosing the right platform (or the right split) can double the result from the same budget.
The Big Audience Differences
Despite being owned by the same company, the user behaviour on each platform is genuinely different in 2026:
| Attribute | ||
|---|---|---|
| UK monthly active users | ~40 million | ~33 million |
| Dominant age group | 35 to 65 plus | 18 to 44 |
| Gender skew | Slight female | Stronger female bias |
| Time on app per day | ~30 minutes | ~50 minutes |
| Primary content | Groups, family, news | Reels, stories, creators |
| Best ad formats | Single image, video, lead forms | Reels, stories, carousels |
Where Facebook Ads Win
Facebook still has serious power for specific use cases:
Older Demographics
If your customer is 45 plus, Facebook is where they are. Period.
Lead Forms
Instant lead forms on Facebook still produce the lowest cost per lead in social. Pre filled, frictionless.
Local Service Businesses
Local awareness ads, especially with offers, still work well on Facebook for trade and home services.
Marketplace Adjacent
If you sell furniture, home goods, second hand items, Facebook Marketplace traffic plus ads compounds well.
Where Instagram Ads Win
Instagram outperforms when:
- Your offer is visual. Beauty, fashion, food, fitness, interiors, photography, travel.
- You have decent video content. Reels ads cost less per impression and convert better than static.
- Your target is 18 to 44. They live on Instagram and barely open Facebook.
- You sell aspiration. Premium products, lifestyle services, transformations.
The Costs Differ More Than You Think
Instagram CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) are usually 20 to 50 percent higher than Facebook. But cost per lead can be lower if your offer matches the platform.
How to Test Both Properly
If you have a budget of £30 plus per day, you can test both. The cleanest test:
- Build the same campaign twice. Identical audience, identical creative, identical bid strategy.
- Set placement on the first version to "Facebook feed only".
- Set placement on the second version to "Instagram feed and reels only".
- Run for 14 days minimum.
- Compare cost per lead, lead quality, and engagement.
Important: Do not let the same person see both ads or your data becomes muddy. Use audience exclusion. Or test on separate weeks.
The "Advantage Plus Placements" Trap
By default, Meta will set your placements to "Advantage Plus Placements" which means it picks where to show your ads. For testing or learning, this hides everything from you. For ongoing campaigns once you know which placements work, Advantage Plus is fine and can lower costs by 15 to 30 percent.
Our rule: manual placements for the first 60 days, Advantage Plus once you have clear winners.
Creative Differences That Matter
You cannot use the same creative on both and expect equal results. Facebook tolerates longer text. Instagram demands tighter, more visual content.
- Facebook ad: Up to 125 characters of primary text, slightly longer description allowed. Image with text overlay works.
- Instagram feed ad: Image must hold attention in 3 seconds. Text overlay rarely works (Instagram penalises text heavy images).
- Instagram reels ad: Vertical 9:16 video, 15 to 30 seconds, hook in the first second.
- Instagram story ad: Vertical 9:16, with bottom 250 pixels avoided (covered by the swipe up CTA).
The Combined Strategy
For most service businesses, the right answer is not "one or the other". It is "both, with different content for each":
| Goal | Platform | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness, 25-44 audience | Reels and stories | |
| Awareness, 45 plus audience | Single image or video in feed | |
| Lead generation, all ages | Lead form ads | |
| Retargeting site visitors | Both, Advantage Plus | Carousel with reviews and offer |
What to Do
If you have under £400 a month for social ads, pick one platform based on where your customer actually is. If you have over £600 a month, run both with different creative for each. Lead forms on Facebook and Reels on Instagram is the modern small business stack. We manage Meta Ads campaigns across both platforms for service businesses and e-commerce stores.
Brett Dixon
Founder & Managing Director of DPOM. Brett founded DPOM nearly 15 years ago after a career in marketing working with Harvey Nichols, BBC Top Gear, Formula One circuits, and UK Trade and Investment. His passion became helping smaller businesses grow, with honest advice, no jargon, and realistic expectations.
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