Data: June–August 2026 · 848 top-spending ads from 17 US ad accounts · $14.9M in spend
Part of our Meta Ads Statistics 2026 report.
The Short Answer
Video gets most of the budget, but statics are far from dead. Across the top 50 ads in each of 17 accounts:
- Video took about two-thirds of spend (68%), and statics took one-third (32%).
- 4 in 10 top-spending ads were statics, including 73 of the 170 ads that ranked in their account's top 10.
- Statics cost about 15% less per 1,000 impressions, but got about 13% fewer clicks per impression.
- In the end, cost per purchase was nearly identical. In the median account, statics' cost per purchase was within 4% of video's.
Neither format wins outright. The accounts in this data scale with both.
The Data
We pulled June–August 2026 data from 17 US ad accounts we have visibility into, each spending $100K or more over the three months. For each account we took its top 50 ads by spend: 848 ads with $14.9M in combined spend. The accounts include consumer brands (food, supplements, pet, beauty and household) and apps and services (software, streaming, telecom, fintech and health).
- "Static" means image ads, including carousels.
- "Video" includes UGC, motion, and animated or GIF-style ads, since Meta delivers those as video.
- For performance comparisons, we compared statics and video within each account and then took the median, so one big account can't skew the results. We only counted ads with at least $1,000 in spend.
Brand names are anonymized.
How Much Spend Goes to Static vs. Video?
| Static | Video | |
|---|---|---|
| Share of spend (all accounts combined) | 32% | 68% |
| Share of spend (median account) | 37% | 63% |
| Share of top-50 ads | 40% (340 ads) | 60% (508 ads) |
| Share of top-10 ads | 43% (73 ads) | 57% (97 ads) |
- Statics were a real part of almost every account. 14 of 17 accounts had at least one static in their top 10 ads, and in 13 of 17 statics took at least a quarter of spend.
- The mix varies a lot by account. Two accounts spent almost nothing on statics (1–2% of spend), while six spent more on statics than on video. In one, statics took 76% of spend.
- Top-10 ads were just as likely to be static as the top 50 overall. Statics weren't just filler at the bottom of the account. They showed up among the biggest ads at about the same rate.
Static vs. Video Performance
Comparing statics and video inside the same account (median across accounts):
| Metric | Static vs. video | Statics did better in... |
|---|---|---|
| CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) | 15% lower | 13 of 17 accounts |
| Link click-through rate | 13% lower | 4 of 17 accounts |
| Cost per click | 8% higher | 6 of 17 accounts |
| Conversion rate (click to purchase) | About the same | 6 of 12 accounts |
| Cost per purchase | 4% lower | 8 of 12 accounts |
Cost per purchase and conversion rate only include the 12 accounts where both formats drove at least 20 purchases.
The pattern is consistent: statics are cheaper to show but get fewer clicks, and the two roughly cancel out. By the time you get to cost per purchase, the formats are close, and in 8 of 12 accounts statics came out slightly ahead.
What This Means for Your Account
- Run both. Statics and video reach people differently and cost about the same per result. An account that's all video is leaving a cheap, fast format on the table, and vice versa.
- Use statics to test angles fast. Statics are quicker and cheaper to make than video, and they convert at a similar cost. That makes them a great way to test new messages before investing in a full video. See our static ad examples for patterns that work.
- Use video for the story. Video still gets most of the spend, and it's better for demos, testimonials and anything that needs more than one frame. Our hook rate benchmarks cover what to measure there.
- Don't judge statics on CTR alone. Statics usually get fewer clicks, but those clicks convert at about the same rate and cost less to buy. Judge them on cost per result.
- Format is part of creative diversity. Mixing formats gives Meta more ways to reach different people. More on that in what creative diversity means on Meta.
FAQ
Do static ads still work on Facebook and Instagram?
Yes. In our data, statics made up 40% of the top-spending ads and took about a third of spend. 14 of 17 accounts had a static among their top 10 ads, and statics' cost per purchase was about the same as video's.
Are video ads better than static ads on Meta?
Not clearly. Video gets more of the budget and a higher click-through rate, but statics cost about 15% less per 1,000 impressions. By cost per purchase, the two were within 4% of each other in the median account.
What percentage of Meta ad spend should go to statics?
There's no fixed rule. In the median account in our data, statics took 37% of spend, and most accounts landed between about 20% and 60%. Let performance decide, but make sure you're testing both.
Why do static ads have a lower CPM?
Statics likely deliver more in lower-cost placements where video doesn't autoplay as well. The tradeoff is a lower click-through rate, which is why cost per purchase ends up close to video's.
Where does this data come from?
The top 50 ads by spend from 17 US Meta ad accounts we have visibility into, June–August 2026: 848 ads and $14.9M in spend. Brand names are anonymized. See also our Meta ads benchmarks and creative fatigue data.
Get Both, Built to Scale
Biddyco is a creative agency for Meta ads for brands spending $100K–$5M+/month. Our in-house team makes statics, motion, UGC and hybrid ads on a flat monthly retainer, so your account always has the right mix of formats.
