In 2024, TikTok was just “that dancing app.” In 2026, it is the biggest threat to Mark Zuckerberg’s empire in Nepal.

For local businesses—clothing stores, restaurants, colleges—the question is simple: Where should I put my Rs. 50,000 budget?

We ran identical campaigns on both platforms for 3 months. Here are the results.

1. The Cost (Who is Cheaper?)

Winner: TikTok (By landslide).

  • Facebook (Meta) CPC: Rs. 12 - Rs. 45 per click. (Getting expensive due to competition).
  • TikTok CPC: Rs. 3 - Rs. 8 per click. (Still underpriced attention).

Scenario: With Rs. 10,000, you get ~500 visitors from Facebook. From TikTok, you get ~2,000.
Caveat: Traffic quality matters. TikTok traffic is “colder” and bounces faster.

2. The Audience (Who is Watching?)

  • Facebook & Instagram:
    • Age: 25 - 55+.
    • Intent: High buying power. People are used to buying from Instagram DMs.
    • Best For: Real Estate, Education (Parents), High-ticket Consultancies, B2B services.
  • TikTok:
    • Age: 16 - 35. (Yes, millennials are here now too).
    • Intent: Impulse buying. “TikTok Made Me Buy It” is real.
    • Best For: Fashion, Beauty, Gadgets, Food, Viral Products under Rs. 2,000.

3. The Creative (What Works?)

This is the hardest part. You cannot run the same ad on both.

  • Facebook: Polished images, Carousels, Professional videos. “Book Now” buttons work.
  • TikTok: Must look like a normal user video (UGC - User Generated Content).
    • If it looks like an ad, people scroll instantly.
    • Hook: “Stop doing this…” or “I found this hidden gem in Kathmandu…”
    • No polish needed: Phone camera quality often outperforms studio quality.

4. Targeting Capabilities

Winner: Facebook (Still).

  • Facebook: Sniper targeting. You can target “Parents with toddlers,” “Business Admins,” or “Looking for Luxury Goods.”
  • TikTok: Broad targeting. You target by “Interests” (Beauty, Tech). The algorithm finds the buyers for you. It relies on AI much more than manual input.

The Strategy: Combined Approach

Smart brands don’t choose. They combine.

  1. Awareness (TikTok): Run a viral video showing your product in action. Get 100k views for cheap (Rs. 5,000).
  2. Retargeting (Facebook): Complicated to set up directly, but you can target people who visited your site from TikTok with a “10% Off” offer on Instagram.
    • Note: Cross-platform retargeting requires a website with pixels from both.

Conclusion

  • Sell Fashion/Cosmetics? Put 70% budget on TikTok. The virality can empty your stock in 2 days.
  • Sell Real Estate/Software? Stick to Facebook/LinkedIn. A TikTok user isn’t buying a Rs. 2 Crore house from a 15-second video (yet).

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