PPC vs Social Media Ads: Results From 1,100+ Agency Case Studies

PPC and social media ads are both paid advertising, bought the same way and judged on the same numbers. Search ads reach people who are already looking; social ads reach people who weren't. Most comparisons stop at that difference. Very few show what each one delivered for real clients.

This page compares them with data. It draws on 1,137 case studies from 52 marketing agencies in OpenServed's directory: 818 that list PPC, 525 that list social media ads, and 206 that list both. For the head-to-head we use the 206 case studies that list PPC alone and the 129 that list social media ads alone, because only those show one channel's results without the other mixed in.

Data as of October 2026. These are results agencies chose to publish, so they show what a successful campaign looks like, not what an average one does. If you cite a number, please cite the date.

PPC vs social media ads at a glance

• On conversions and leads the two are close: a median 74% increase for PPC-only case studies and 67% for social-ads-only ones.
• On revenue there is no consistent winner. Social ads are ahead in single-service case studies (128% against 80%) and PPC is ahead in the larger comparison (102% against 83%).
• Social ads case studies report bigger cuts in acquisition cost: a median 47% against 40% for PPC.
• PPC case studies report bigger gains in ROAS: a median 66% against 44% for social ads. The ROAS agencies quote is similar, at 7.6x for PPC and 8.0x for social ads.
• PPC case studies are more likely to prove a business result. 82% of PPC-only case studies report revenue, leads or conversions, against 62% of social-ads-only ones.
• Social ads case studies are twice as likely to report ROAS (32% against 15%) and seven times as likely to report engagement and reach (22% against 3%).
• PPC is used more often in every large industry except food and beverage, where social ads appear in 34% of case studies and PPC in 22%.
• Enterprise is the only client size where social ads lead, at 22% of case studies against 19% for PPC.
• A quarter of PPC case studies also list social ads. Case studies that combine the two report a median 112% gain in conversions or leads.
• The data can't measure ROI or speed. Only 3 of the 1,137 case studies state a budget, and only 17 say how long the work took.

The short answer

On results, the two are closer than any other pair of channels we've compared. Neither is reliably ahead on conversions, leads or revenue. The differences are in how results are proven and who uses each one: PPC case studies show conversions and cost for lead-driven businesses, while social ads case studies show ROAS and reach for consumer brands and enterprises. The last section of this page turns that into a choice.

What PPC and social media ads case studies report

Both channels are paid, so both report cost. The differences are in what else they show.

PPC case studies report conversions and cost; social ads case studies add ROAS and reach. Share of single-service case studies that include each result:

• Conversions or leads: 64% of PPC-only, 35% of social-ads-only
• Cost per acquisition or lead: 50% of PPC-only, 35% of social-ads-only
• Revenue or sales: 26% of PPC-only, 36% of social-ads-only
• ROAS: 15% of PPC-only, 32% of social-ads-only
• Conversion rate: 31% of PPC-only, 9% of social-ads-only
• Click-through rate: 15% of PPC-only, 13% of social-ads-only
• Engagement and reach: 3% of PPC-only, 22% of social-ads-only

PPC case studies are more likely to show a business result. 82% of PPC-only case studies report revenue, leads or conversions. For social-ads-only case studies it is 62%.

Both report efficiency about equally often. 72% of PPC-only case studies and 65% of social-ads-only ones include a cost or return metric. PPC leans on cost per acquisition; social ads lean on ROAS.

Reach belongs to social ads. An engagement or reach stat appears in 22% of social-ads-only case studies and 3% of PPC-only ones.

PPC vs social media ads results on shared metrics

Because both are paid channels, they share more metrics than either shares with SEO. We show two views: single-service case studies, which are the cleanest, and case studies that list one channel without the other, which give a larger sample. The second group may include other services, but never both PPC and social ads.

Conversions and revenue

In single-service case studies, PPC is slightly ahead on conversions and social ads are ahead on revenue. Median reported gain, with the middle half in brackets:

• Conversions or leads: 74% for PPC only (40% to 225%, 106 case studies), 67% for social ads only (38% to 149%, 23 case studies)
• Revenue: 80% for PPC only (45% to 190%, 42 case studies), 128% for social ads only (35% to 452%, 21 case studies)

In the larger group, both results reverse. Median reported gain for case studies that list one channel without the other:

• Conversions or leads: 78% for PPC (45% to 225%, 242 case studies), 90% for social media ads (38% to 150%, 41 case studies)
• Revenue: 102% for PPC (45% to 270%, 168 case studies), 83% for social media ads (32% to 308%, 61 case studies)

There is no consistent winner on outcomes. Each channel leads on one metric in one view and trails in the other, and the ranges overlap almost completely. On conversions, leads and revenue, this data can't separate the two.

Acquisition cost and ROAS

The social-ads-only group has too few data points for these two metrics, so the figures below use case studies that list one channel without the other.

Social ads case studies report bigger cuts in acquisition cost. The median reported cut in cost per acquisition or lead is 47% for social media ads (34% to 60%, 31 case studies) and 40% for PPC (24% to 57%, 154 case studies).

PPC case studies report bigger gains in ROAS. The median reported increase in ROAS is 66% for PPC (27% to 120%, 40 case studies) and 44% for social media ads (27% to 89%, 28 case studies).

Both differences hold on each channel's full dataset. Counting every case study that lists a channel, and only stats that don't name another channel, the median cost cut is 39% for PPC and 45% for social media ads, and the median ROAS gain is 82% and 49%. See PPC Statistics 2026 and Social Media Ads Statistics 2026.

The ROAS agencies quote is about the same. Where a case study states the ROAS itself, the median is 7.6x for PPC (32 case studies) and 8.0x for social media ads (41 case studies).

Click-through and conversion rate gains are a little higher for PPC. On each channel's full dataset, the median reported gain in click-through rate is 88% for PPC and 74% for social media ads, and in conversion rate 63% and 54%.

PPC vs social media ads by industry

This section uses every case study that lists each channel, so a case study listing both counts on both sides. We merged industry labels into 13 groups (see methodology).

Most industries use PPC more; food and beverage brands prefer social ads. Share of each industry's case studies that list PPC and social media ads:

• Industrial & Manufacturing: 28% PPC, 7% social media ads
• Software & Technology: 31% PPC, 12% social media ads
• Healthcare & Wellness: 43% PPC, 23% social media ads
• Home, Property & Local Services: 38% PPC, 23% social media ads
• Professional & B2B Services: 21% PPC, 7% social media ads
• Education & Nonprofit: 33% PPC, 19% social media ads
• Retail & Ecommerce: 28% PPC, 21% social media ads
• Financial Services: 22% PPC, 15% social media ads
• Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry: 37% PPC, 33% social media ads
• Food & Beverage: 22% PPC, 34% social media ads

B2B industries lean hardest toward PPC. PPC appears four times as often as social media ads in Industrial & Manufacturing case studies, three times as often in Professional & B2B Services and more than twice as often in Software & Technology.

Consumer brands split their paid budget. In Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry the two are nearly level, at 37% and 33%. Food & Beverage is the one large industry where social ads lead.

Revenue gains for ecommerce don't favor either channel. The median reported revenue gain for Retail & Ecommerce clients is 92% for PPC (76 case studies) and 106% for social media ads (53 case studies). For Fashion, Beauty & Jewelry it is the other way round: 106% for PPC (60) and 86% for social media ads (36).

Healthcare clients report larger lead gains from social ads. The median reported gain in conversions or leads for Healthcare & Wellness clients is 153% for social media ads (20 case studies) and 93% for PPC (71 case studies). No other industry has 20 lead data points on both sides.

PPC vs social media ads by client size

This section also uses every case study that lists each channel. Client size is the client's employee count.

PPC skews smaller; social ads skew toward enterprise. Among PPC case studies with a known client size, 46% are small businesses (1 to 50 employees) and 15% are enterprises (more than 1,000). Among social media ads case studies, 34% are small businesses and 30% are enterprises.

PPC leads at every size except enterprise. Share of case studies at each client size that list PPC and social media ads:

• Small (1 to 50 employees): 34% PPC, 15% social media ads
• Medium (51 to 200): 32% PPC, 16% social media ads
• Large (201 to 1,000): 32% PPC, 19% social media ads
• Enterprise (1,000+): 19% PPC, 22% social media ads

Small businesses report almost the same results from both. Among small businesses, the median reported gain in conversions or leads is 107% for PPC and 97% for social media ads (96 and 35 case studies). The median cut in acquisition cost is 40% for both (60 and 21 case studies), and the median revenue gain is 98% and 92% (96 and 32 case studies).

Lead gains for larger clients are mixed. The median reported gain in conversions or leads is 86% for PPC and 127% for social media ads among medium businesses (66 and 24 case studies), and 78% and 82% among large businesses (55 and 21). Social ads have too few enterprise data points to compare.

Enterprises use the two for different jobs. A revenue, lead or conversion stat appears in 72% of enterprise PPC case studies but only 41% of enterprise social media ads ones. An engagement, reach or awareness stat appears in 53% of enterprise social media ads case studies and 16% of enterprise PPC ones.

What happens when PPC and social media ads are combined

Running both is common. 206 case studies list PPC and social media ads together. That is 25% of all PPC case studies and 39% of all social media ads case studies.

Combined case studies report larger gains in conversions and leads. Median reported gain, with the middle half in brackets:

• Conversions or leads: 112% together (48% to 243%, 82 case studies), 74% for PPC only, 67% for social ads only
• Revenue: 106% together (73% to 274%, 62 case studies), 80% for PPC only, 128% for social ads only

The cut in acquisition cost is about the same. Combined case studies report a median 40% cut in cost per acquisition or lead (51 case studies), against 38% for PPC alone (81 case studies).

Combined case studies report business results about as often as PPC alone. 77% report revenue, leads or conversions, against 82% of PPC-only and 62% of social-ads-only case studies.

A combined case study can't say which channel produced the result, and 64 of the 206 also list SEO. Read these as what agencies report when a client runs both paid channels, not as a sum of the two.

What the data can't tell you

It can't measure ROI. Only 3 of the 1,137 case studies state a budget. Without spend, there is no way to compare what each channel returned per dollar.

It can't measure speed. Only 17 case studies say how long the work took.

It only shows wins. Agencies publish their best work, and only 38 of the 1,137 case studies are Client-verified. Every number here is a published best case, not a typical outcome.

General context, not from this data: both channels deliver while you pay and stop when you stop. They differ in who they reach: search ads reach people already looking for something, while social ads reach people who weren't. The platforms also count conversions differently, so a ROAS reported for one is not strictly comparable with a ROAS reported for the other. Those differences matter for the choice below, but our case studies can't put a number on them.

PPC or social media ads: which should you choose?

The data doesn't pick a winner on results. It does show where each channel has the stronger record.

• If your customers search for what you sell, PPC has more evidence. PPC leads in healthcare, home services, software and B2B, and its case studies are the most likely to show conversions and what they cost.
• If you sell something people don't search for yet, look at social ads. Food and beverage brands use social ads more than PPC, and fashion brands use them almost as much.
• If you're a small business, PPC is the more common choice, but results are similar. PPC is listed in 34% of small-business case studies and social ads in 15%. Small businesses report near-identical gains from both.
• If you sell online, either can work. Retail clients report slightly higher revenue gains from social ads, and fashion clients from PPC.
• If you're an enterprise looking for reach, social ads are the usual tool. Half of enterprise social ads case studies report engagement or awareness.
• If you can fund both, many do. A quarter of PPC case studies also list social ads, and the combined group reports a median 112% gain in conversions or leads.

Whichever you choose, ask an agency for three things most case studies leave out: a business result, what it cost, and how long it took. For paid channels, also ask how conversions were attributed.

You can browse the case studies behind these numbers in OpenServed's PPC agency directory and social media ads agency directory, and filter by industry, client size and location. For the organic side, see SEO vs PPC.

Methodology

• Source: all 1,137 case studies in OpenServed's directory that list PPC, Social Media Ads or both, as of October 5, 2026, from 52 agencies: 818 list PPC, 525 list Social Media Ads and 206 list both. Each links to the agency's own published case study.
• Single-service comparison: the first view uses the 206 case studies that list PPC as their only service and the 129 that list Social Media Ads as their only service.
• One channel without the other: because the single-service social group is small, the second view uses the 612 case studies that list PPC but not Social Media Ads and the 319 that list Social Media Ads but not PPC. These may include other services.
• Industry and client size: these sections use every case study that lists each channel. A case study that lists both counts toward both.
• One set of rules for both channels: each case study carries the result stats the agency published, as free text. We assigned each stat to a metric by keyword matching, using the same rules for both channels.
• Percentages only: medians use stats that state a percentage change. Plain counts, dollar figures and before-and-after pairs are left out. The one exception is the ROAS figure, read from stats such as "6x ROAS".
• Direction: cost metrics count reductions; every other metric counts increases. Claimed cost reductions above 100% are excluded as impossible. Comparisons with a goal, target or industry average are left out.
• One data point per case study: if a case study has several stats for the same metric, we use the first one listed. "Conversions or leads" uses whichever comes first.
• Median and middle half: we report the median, not the average, because a handful of gains above 1,000% would distort an average. The middle half is the range from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
• Minimum sample: we compare the two channels on a metric or segment only when both have at least 20 data points.
• Full-dataset figures: where noted, figures are quoted from our PPC and social media ads statistics pages, which count every case study that lists a channel and exclude stats that name another channel.
• Industry groups: we merged industry labels into 13 groups. Client size uses employee count: small is 1 to 50, medium 51 to 200, large 201 to 1,000 and enterprise more than 1,000.
• Selection bias: agencies publish their wins, and the directory is not a random sample of the industry. KlientBoost supplies 26% of the PPC-only case studies and LYFE Marketing 38% of the social-ads-only ones.
• Agency-reported: except for the 38 Client-verified case studies, results are as published by each agency and haven't been independently confirmed.

Cite this data: OpenServed, "PPC vs Social Media Ads: Results From 1,100+ Agency Case Studies", October 2026, https://openserved.com/blog/ppc-vs-social-media-ads