The honest answer is a set of ranges, because category, season and targeting move every number. These are the ranges we plan with, per channel:
| Channel | Typical US cost, 2026 | What moves the price |
|---|---|---|
| Display (programmatic) | $3 to 8 CPM | Audience data on top, viewability floors |
| Online video | $15 to 25 CPM | Length, skippability, content adjacency |
| Streaming TV (CTV) | $25 to 45 CPM | Service tier, live sports, election windows |
| Social (Meta, TikTok) | $8 to 20 CPM | Category competition, creative quality |
| Search, B2C | $2 to 15 per click | Purchase intent, brand vs generic terms |
| Search, B2B | $20 to 80+ per click | Deal size behind the keyword |
| Amazon sponsored ads | $1 to 6 per click | Category, shelf competition |
Two clicks from our own research that show the spread: "amazon dsp agency" costs $63.90 per click in the US, while the same agency-intent click costs a fraction of that in most European markets. High-value B2B intent is where the US premium is steepest.
Run the math on a mid-priced channel:
40 monthly actions is enough for a first honest read on one channel in a focused geography. Half the budget produces half the signals, and the learning phase quietly doubles in length. That is the whole argument, and it is why our plans start at $10,000 a month.
The most expensive sentence in US media is "let's just try a little bit everywhere." I have watched it burn six-figure budgets: five channels, none above the data threshold, twelve months of reports that proved nothing. Pick one channel, fund it properly, and you will know something in 90 days.
A 30-minute strategy call: your product, your target metros, and the realistic budget ranges for your first 90 days.
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