Every account asks the same question eventually: do I put the incremental dollar into TikTok or Reels? The honest answer is that it depends on creative fatigue rate, not category.
CPMs aren’t the right metric
TikTok CPMs run lower in most verticals, but that gap shrinks fast once you account for creative production cost and how quickly each platform burns through an angle.
What I found across 40 accounts
Reels rewards polish and repetition; TikTok rewards novelty and speed. Accounts that ran the same asset on both platforms underperformed accounts that built platform-native creative from the start.
- TikTok: refresh creative every 5-7 days
- Reels: a strong asset can run 3-4 weeks before fatigue
- Cross-posting without edits cost an average of 22% in CPA