We ran a controlled test across four DTC client accounts: identical budget (£3,000/month each), identical products, identical landing pages. Half the spend went to Meta Dynamic Product Ads (DPA), half to TikTok Spark Ads. After 30 days, we compared not just CAC and ROAS, but the customer quality each channel delivered. The results were less clean-cut than either platform's salespeople would have you believe.
How we set up the test
Four brands, four product categories:
- Baby & hygiene products (Sleepy UK)
- Cleaning products (Deep Fresh UK)
- Premium home goods (anonymous client)
- Activewear (anonymous client)
For Meta DPA: standard catalogue ad setup, broad targeting + lookalike audiences, dynamic creative based on website behaviour. For TikTok Spark: organic-content boosted ads using creator UGC, paired with website-behaviour custom audiences.
Both ran for 30 days. Both pointed to the same product detail pages on the same Shopify stores. Same offer (15% off first order). Same checkout funnel. Different platforms, comparable methodology.
Headline results
| Metric | Meta DPA | TikTok Spark |
|---|---|---|
| Total spend | £6,000 | £6,000 |
| Total revenue | £18,420 | £21,180 |
| ROAS | 3.07× | 3.53× |
| Click-through rate | 1.8% | 2.4% |
| CPC | £0.78 | £1.04 |
| Conversion rate (site) | 2.6% | 1.9% |
| CAC (blended) | £18.40 | £22.10 |
| AOV | £47.80 | £52.20 |
TikTok edged Meta on top-line ROAS, mostly because higher AOVs offset lower conversion rates. Meta won on cost per click and conversion rate. So far, conventional wisdom holds.
Cost per acquisition deep-dive
The headline CAC (£18.40 Meta vs £22.10 TikTok) hides important nuance. When we split by new vs returning customer:
- Meta DPA: 71% of conversions came from customers who had visited the site before (retargeting working as designed)
- TikTok Spark: 84% of conversions were from new customers who had never visited the site
That's a huge difference. Meta DPA is essentially a retargeting machine. TikTok Spark is a prospecting machine. They're answering different questions.
When we recalculated CAC for new customers only (filtering out retargeting):
- Meta new-customer CAC: £42.50
- TikTok new-customer CAC: £28.30
TikTok is 33% cheaper for net new customer acquisition. This reframes the comparison entirely.
If you're running both channels, treat Meta DPA as your retargeting layer and TikTok Spark as your new-customer prospecting layer. They're complementary, not competitive. Most brands optimise them as if they're competing for the same audience — they aren't.
Customer quality (the LTV view)
We waited 90 days post-test to look at repeat purchase rates. This is where the picture shifted again:
- Meta-acquired customers: 32% repeat purchase rate within 90 days
- TikTok-acquired customers: 18% repeat purchase rate within 90 days
TikTok customers are coming in for the offer, not the brand. They convert once and don't return. Meta customers — particularly the retargeted segment — convert when they're already engaged, and they come back.
Adjusted for 90-day LTV:
- Meta blended LTV/CAC: 3.4×
- TikTok blended LTV/CAC: 2.6×
Meta wins on customer quality. TikTok wins on volume and new-customer cost. There's no universal answer — it depends on whether your business model values acquisition speed or retention.
Creative requirements differ enormously
One operational fact most brands don't realise until they're knee-deep: TikTok consumes creative volume far faster than Meta. Meta DPA pulls from your product catalogue and runs the same dynamic ads for weeks or months. TikTok Spark needs fresh UGC content every 2-3 weeks before performance decays.
What we found worked:
- Meta DPA: 1-2 ad variations per product, refresh quarterly
- TikTok Spark: 4-6 creator videos per month, ideally from 3+ different creators
This changes the unit economics. If you're paying creators £200-400 per video for TikTok, that's £1,000-£2,500/month in creative production cost on top of the ad spend. Meta DPA's creative needs are far cheaper.
The verdict (by brand type)
If you sell low-priced consumables (under £30 AOV)
Lead with Meta DPA. Lower CAC, better repeat behaviour, less creative drag. TikTok works as a secondary new-customer channel once Meta is optimised.
If you sell premium products with strong visual appeal (£50+ AOV)
Lead with TikTok Spark. Higher AOV gives you room to absorb the CAC, and the visual-discovery nature of TikTok matches premium product positioning. Meta DPA as retargeting layer.
If you have an established brand with strong retargeting potential
Meta DPA + retargeting is your money channel. TikTok for top-of-funnel awareness only. Don't expect TikTok to replace Meta's retargeting value.
If you're a new brand with no existing audience
TikTok Spark for prospecting, Meta for the rest. Meta retargeting needs site traffic to work — TikTok generates that traffic. They're symbiotic for new brands.
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