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A pay-per-click (PPC) platform, also known as PPC website, pay-per-click site, PPC channel or PPC network, is a digital advertising platform where you can promote your business. In the PPC model, a platform displays your ad, and you pay a fee every time someone clicks on it.
Today, there are countless options offering diverse features and possibilities. However, not all are worth your time.
Choosing the best PPC platform for your business involves considering key factors such as your advertising budget, goals, and customer base. This type of advertising can make or break your brand, so we created a list of the best PPC platforms every business should consider in 2025.
Table of Contents
Best PPC Platforms
- Google Ads
- Microsoft Ads
- X (Formerly Twitter)
- YouTube
- AdRoll
- Bidvertiser
- RevContent
- Taboola & Outbrain
Only the best pay-per-click platforms can help promote your business to a wider audience, simultaneously offering different features for an affordable price. To spare you time researching, we’ve gathered the top 12 PPC platforms in one list.
1. Google Ads
As the leading SERP in practically the whole world, it’s no surprise that Google Ads is the best PPC platform out there. It has over 6.3 million searches in a minute, which is around 8.5 billion daily.
Google supports search ads and display ads (AdSense). Search ads or Google Ads appear in search results when users start looking for a product or service. Display ads are displayed on websites while users are visiting them. Since Google works with millions of websites through the Google Display Network, this is a great way to get more exposure. It allows you to reach your target audiences wherever they are.
- Reach: 91.47% global market share; 84.2 billion monthly global traffic.
- Ad format: Google supports text ads, responsive display ads, image ads and video ads.
- Pricing: Depends on your budget. Google’s cost-per-click (CPC) is based on ad quality and relevance as well as keyword search volume and competition. The average CPC for search ads is $1 to $2, while more expensive ads can run up to $50 per click.
2. Microsoft Ads
The runner-up for the best PPC platforms is Microsoft. The number of monthly PC searches on Microsoft Search Network surpasses 659 billion. One of the advantages of Microsoft Ads (previously Bing Ads) is that you can import your Google Ads campaigns to get started easily.
Microsoft Ads and Google Ads function in a very similar way. Advertisers bid on keywords and whoever wins the auction gets their ad displayed. However, one part where Microsoft takes a slight lead is the lesser competition (thanks to a smaller audience), meaning you have more options to win the auction and get better display.
- Reach: 17.02% PC market share; 659 billion monthly searches.
- Ad format: Microsoft supports image, animation, audio and video ads.
- Pricing: Pricing is determined by demand for Microsoft Ads. The average CPC is from $1 to $1.50.
3. Facebook
Given its almost 4 billion user base, Facebook (now also known as Meta) is one of the best pay-per-click platforms. It allows you to target granular audiences based on demographics, interests, user behavior and other key factors. It also lets you retarget ads based on user activity.
Facebook's ad platform operates on an auction basis, so you can set a budget and bid on keywords.
- Reach: 45.5% market share of all social media sites; 3.98 billion monthly Meta products users.
- Ad format: Facebook supports image ads, video, carousel (up to 10 images or videos in one ad), instant experience (full-screen ads that open up when someone taps on your ad), and collection ads (multiple products in one ad).
- Pricing: Pricing depends on the bidding model, your industry, and competition. The average cost per click is between $0.50 and $2.
4. Instagram
Another Meta product that’s among the top paid advertising platforms today is Instagram. With over 1.4 billion monthly active users, Instagram’s audience is mostly between 18 and 24, so it’s a good way to target the younger population. Since Instagram is owned by Meta, pay-per-click ads are run through Facebook.
- Reach: 14% market share of all social media sites; 1.4 billion monthly active users.
- Ad format: Instagram supports image ads, videos, reels, stories, and image shop ads (ads must be in a carousel of collection form).
- Pricing: Pricing depends on the bidding model and ranges from $1 to $1,000. The average CPC is between $0.30 and $1.
5. LinkedIn
Owned by Microsoft, LinkedIn has about 900 million users. What differentiates it from other PPC platforms and simultaneously makes it one of the best PPC platforms is that it lets you target a unique audience. Namely, you can target professionals based on career information such as company, job title, and more.
LinkedIn Ads also function as auctions, so you only pay if someone clicks on your ad.
- Reach: 17% share of US social media users; 900 million users.
- Ad format: LinkedIn supports single image ads (sponsored ads), text ads, video ads, carousel ads, and event ads.
- Pricing: Pricing depends on campaign objective and ad relevance, but there is a minimum of $2 for CPC.
6. X (Formerly Twitter)
As one of the most popular social media networks, X is very effective as a top PPC platform. It hasn’t partnered with any other network, so your ads are only displayed on this platform, which includes both the website and the app.
- Reach: 611 million active users.
- Ad format: Twitter supports image ads, video ads, text ads, carousel ads, and moments ads. They also have five categories, including Promoted Ads, Follower Ads, Twitter Amplify, Twitter Takeover and Twitter Live. Each of the categories is designed to suit different goals. For example, Follower Ads are great for promoting your account to get more visibility, Promoted Ads support various ad formats including image, text and video, while Twitter Amplify lets you align your ads with premium video content with premium publishers.
- Pricing: Depends on the pricing model; the cost for a promoted tweet can range from $0.50 to $2.
7. YouTube
YouTube is another one of the best PPC platforms of 2025. You can start your campaign through Google Ads and manage it from there, but you can also access YouTube Analytics to monitor your ad performance.
With YouTube Ads, you only pay when someone chooses to see at least 30 seconds of your video ad or clicks on your ad.
- Reach: 2.7 billion monthly active users; 80 million subscribers to YouTube TV.
- Ad format: YouTube supports video ads, which include skippable and non-skippable video ads from 5 to 20 seconds in length, as well as overlay image or text ads.
- Pricing: On average, it costs from $0.10 to $0.30 per ad view.
8. AdRoll
AdRoll is a platform built specifically to allow eCommerce businesses to display ads, placing it as one of the finest paid advertising platforms. It uses Artificial Intelligence to optimize campaigns and analyze customer data such as purchase history and product pages viewed.
AdRoll partnered with hundreds of networks such as Facebook, Yahoo and eBay, making it a great place to get exposure for your brand.
- Reach: Access to 1-2 billion digital shopper profiles.
- Ad format: AdRoll supports static ads, which include native ads, video ads and rich-media ads), as well as dynamic ads, where images are pulled from your product feed.
- Pricing: 3 pricing options for monthly packages — $12/month, $25/month and a free starter plan.
9. Bidvertiser
BidVertiser is a direct advertising platform for pay-per-click campaigns. It’s a self-serve platform that finds the perfect match between advertisers and publishers. What ranks it on the list of the best PPC platforms is its broad range of partners where you can place your ad. Namely, you create campaigns to be featured on BidVertiser’s partner websites.
- Reach: Over 78,500 partner websites.
- Ad format: BidVertiser supports Native Ads, which can feature text and/or image, Direct Ads, Pop Under Ads and push notifications.
- Pricing: CPC starts at $0.0005 while the minimum daily budget is $5.
10. RevContent
RevContent is the best PPC platform for native advertising, meaning the ads are designed to match the content of the platform they appear on. For example, if your ad is to appear on a news website, it will appear as a sponsored article to match the platform’s content and style.
The platform was founded in 2013 and it’s now valued at more than $40 billion.
- Reach: Reaches about 97% of households in the United States.
- Ad format: Supports sponsored content ads and video ads.
- Pricing: RevContent shares pricing info on request. The minimum CPC bid is $0.001 but you must have $100 daily budget for boosting a campaign.
11. Pinterest
Pinterest is part of the best PPC platforms thanks to its popularity as a site for inspiration. It has over 500 million daily active users, so it’s a great place to share your PPC campaign and boost brand awareness or increase conversions.
The website states that Pinterest ads have a 2.3x more efficient CPC than other social media.
- Reach: 500 million monthly users.
- Ad format: Pinterest supports Static pins and ads (single-image ads), video pins and ads, Carousel pins and ads, Collection pins and ads, Shopping ads and Idea ads.
- Pricing: You can set a budget for each day. The average cost per 1,000 impressions ranges between $2 and $5.
12. Taboola & Outbrain
Paid advertising platforms Taboola and Outbrain merged in 2019, to create one excellent PPC platform. With Taboola and Outbrain, you get to display your ads on some of the most visited websites around the world, such as CNN and The Guardian, making it one of the best pay-per-click platforms for businesses looking to broaden their reach.
- Reach: Taboola and Outbrain are estimated to reach more than 2 billion people a month.
- Ad format: Native ads, including video and content.
- Pricing: Outbrain CPC starts at $0.03, while Taboola has a minimum CPC of $0.01.
Best Pay-Per-Click Platforms Compared
| PPC Platform | Reach | Ad Format | Pricing |
| Google Ads | 91.47% global market share; 84.2 billion monthly global traffic | Text ads, responsive display ads, image ads and video ads | Average CPC for search ads is $1 - $2 |
| Microsoft Ads | 17.02% PC market share; 659 billion monthly searches | Image, animation, audio and video ads | Average CPC is from $1 - $1.50 |
45.5% market share of all social media sites; 3.98 billion monthly Meta products users | Image ads, video ads, carousel, instant experience ads, and collection ads | Average cost per click is between $0.50 - $2 | |
14% market share of all social media sites; 1.4 billion monthly active users | Image ads, videos, reels, stories, and image shop ads | Average CPC is between $0.30 - $1 | |
17% share of US social media users; 900 million users | Image ads (sponsored ads), text ads, video ads, carousel ads, and event ads | A minimum of $2 for CPC | |
| X (former Twitter) | 611 million active users | Image ads, video ads, text ads, carousel ads, and moments ads | The cost for a promoted tweet can range between $0.50 - $2 |
| YouTube | 2.7 billion monthly active users; 80 million subscribers to YouTube TV | Video ads (skippable and non-skippable), and overlay image or text ads | On average, it costs $0.10 - $0.30 per ad view |
| AdRoll | Access to 1-2 billion digital shopper profiles | Static ads (native ads, video ads, and rich-media ads) and dynamic ads | 3 pricing plans: $12/month, $25/month, and free starter plan |
| BidVertiser | Over 78,500 partner websites | Native Ads (text and/or image), Direct Ads, Pop Under Ads, and push notifications | CPC starts at $0.0005 while the minimum daily budget is $5 |
| RevContent | Reaches about 97% of households in the US | Sponsored content ads and video ads | The minimum CPC bid is $0.001 + $100 daily budget for boosting |
| 500 million monthly users | Static pins and ads (single-image ads), video pins and ads, Carousel pins and ads, Collection pins and ads, Shopping ads and Idea ads | Average CPM ranges between $2 - $5 | |
| Taboola & Outbrain | Over 2 billion people a month | Native ads, including video and content | Outbrain minimum CPC $0.03; Taboola minimum CPC $0.01 |
How Do PPC Platforms Work?
Pay-per-click platforms typically use an auction system. In this model, businesses compete for ad space on different platforms by bidding on keywords. This means you set a maximum amount of money you are willing to pay if someone clicks on your ad.
The higher the search volume for keywords, the higher the price. So, when a user searches for a keyword that you have bid on, a PPC platform runs an auction to evaluate which ad is most eligible to appear at the top of the results.
1. Bidding
Choosing a good PPC bidding strategy is a necessary step in running a pay-per-click campaign on some of the best PPC platforms. There are multiple bidding strategies you can choose from based on the specific goals you’re looking to achieve with your PPC campaign.
Most common PPC bidding models include:
- Cost per click: You pay for each click on your ad.
- Cost per acquisition: You pay for every acquisition (new leads or customers).
- Maximum clicks: You pay to get as many clicks as possible for a set price.
- Cost per mille: You pay a fee for one thousand impressions.
- Target impression share: You pay to position your ad on the page/ how you want your ad to be seen.
Keep in mind that not every PPC platform or website offers the same bidding strategy options. Bidding strategies on PPC platforms can be automated or manual.
Automated means you don’t have to manually update bids for certain keywords or keyword groups. Again, the choice depends on the number of campaigns you’re running and your goals.
2. Targeting
The top paid advertising platforms allow you to target your audience based on their demographic, geographic location, interests, gender, parental status, and profile information. This depends on which pay-per-click site you’re using for your PPC campaign.
For example, Google allows you to set where your ad will be displayed based on your ideal audience, such as their age group or hobbies.
3. Optimization
Quality pay-per-click platforms allow you to optimize your ads in the campaign setup phase. This means you can decide who should see your ads, where they will be displayed, choose target keywords, and set ad groups.
4. Analytics
When you set up your PPC campaign on one of the best PPC platforms, you can track PPC ad results to see how well you’re performing. You can check impressions, click-through rate, cost per click, conversion rate, etc., depending on your PPC key performance indicators (KPIs).
KPIs for a PPC campaign might include:
- Click-through rate
- Conversion rate
- Quality Score
- Average cost per click
How To Choose a PPC Channel
Given the number of options available, choosing the right paid advertising platforms requires weighing the pros and cons of each for your specific needs. Before you start your PPC campaign, compile a list of questions that will help you narrow down the search:
- Where is your customer base? Which social media platforms do they prefer: Instagram, Facebook or Twitter? Are your target audience professionals (LinkedIn)? Does your audience use mostly Google or Microsoft Bing for searches?
- What features does the platform offer? What kind of ads can you run there? Do you have multiple options, such as text, image, native ads?
- Does the price match the features of the platform? What platform is the most affordable if you have a tight advertising budget? Which bidding model suits you best?
- What type of PPC reporting does a platform offer? Which KPIs can you track to determine the success of your campaign?
Answering these questions will give you an idea of the features and functionalities you need in a PPC platform, so you can narrow down your list.
PPC Platforms Takeaways
We have covered the best PPC platforms available today with key elements like pricing, reach and ad format — now you’re ready to choose a platform for your campaign!
Remember to consider:
- Your target market
- Your specific goals
- Your advertising budget
- Bidding model
- Analytics
Outsourcing the services of some of the best PPC companies as well as Google Adwords agencies can help you with this. Once you choose a PPC platform, it’s time to start your campaign and experience its benefits. Good luck with your pay-per-click campaign!
