How much does it cost to reach 100,000 people on Facebook ads?

Reaching 100k people on Facebook costs $500-$3,000 depending on how picky you are about who sees it. Broad "anyone in the US" targeting? $500-1,000. Laser "tech founders, 25-40, in major metros interested in SaaS"? $2,000-$3,000. CPM (cost per thousand impressions) ranges $5-30 nationally, Vietnam-equivalent $3-15. Math: 100k people, $5-30 CPM, you're looking at $500-$3,000 spend.

Here's the cost breakdown by audience size. Broad targeting (no filters) hits CPM $3-8 because Meta serves to anyone, anywhere. Small cost per impression, massive reach. Narrow targeting (specific interests, behaviors, demographics) pushes CPM $15-30 because fewer people match, auction competition intensifies. Regional restrictions (major metros only) split difference—$10-20 CPM.

Industry matters massive. E-commerce targeting? $10-15 CPM standard. Finance targeting? $25-35 CPM because high-value audience, brands pay premium. Tech/SaaS $12-20. Entertainment/lifestyle $5-12. B2B (web dev, consulting) $8-18. Your niche determines floor.

Geographic arbitrage: reaching 100k people in rural Midwest costs $300-600 (CPM $3-6). Same reach in San Francisco, LA, NYC costs $1,200-$2,000 (CPM $12-20). Tier-two metros (Austin, Denver, Portland) mid-range $700-$1,200. Choose geography strategically.

Device targeting adds cost. Reaching 100k iOS users (Apple ecosystem) costs 20-30% more than Android because iOS folks convert higher, advertisers bid more. Exclude iOS, costs drop but quality suffers.

Audience size matters counter-intuitively. Super-broad (100M+ audience) CPM drops because supply's huge. Hyper-specific (10k audience) CPM spikes because scarcity. Sweet spot? 500k-5M audience—CPM $8-15, volume solid, targeting crisp.

Seasonality swings costs. January-February cheap ($3-8 CPM), everyone's budget depleted. March-May moderate ($8-15 CPM), business spending resumes. June-September variable. October-December premium ($12-25 CPM), holiday spending surge. Q4 reaching 100k costs 2-3x Q1.

Video vs. image: video campaigns cost 15-25% less per impression because Meta favors video, pushes cheaper inventory. Reach 100k with video? $400-$1,500. Same 100k images? $600-$2,000. Video efficiency advantage real.

Placements affect cost. Feed ads cheapest ($5-12 CPM), stories mid ($6-15 CPM), reels lowest ($3-10 CPM, heavily promoted). Reach 100k Instagram feed? $500-$1,500. Reels? $300-$1,000. Stories? $600-$1,500. Placement strategy saves $200-$500 hitting same 100k.

Objective choice: reach objective (pure impressions) cheapest. Traffic objective (clicks) pricier. Conversions priciest. Want 100k impressions for awareness? $500-$1,200. Want 100k clicks? $1,000-$2,500 (depends conversion rate). Want 100k people seeing it then some converting? $2,000-$4,000.

Real example: web agency targeting "marketing directors, 35-55, in US companies 50-500 employees interested in web design" to reach 100k. Narrow audience, $2,500 spend (CPM $25). Same agency targeting "anyone interested in web design" reaches 100k for $800 (CPM $8). Second option wastes reach on unqualified folks, but math's cheaper per impression.

Conversion quality inverse: cheap reach = low-quality audience. Pay $500 reaching 100k random people, convert 10 (0.01% conversion). Pay $2,000 reaching 100k qualified people, convert 500 (0.5% conversion). Second option costs more reaching, but converts 50x better. Which is worth it? Depends your offer's value.

Budget allocation: if you want 100k reach, don't spend it all at once. Spread $2,000 over 2 weeks ($1,000/week, $140/day). Frequency cap 2-3 means same person sees ad 2-3x. Meta optimization learns faster with distributed spend. Burst spending all $2,000 in 3 days? CPM inflates because scarcity, frequency fatigue kicks in.

Test smaller: before committing $2,000 to reach 100k, test $200 hitting 20k people (same CPM ratio). 7 days, analyze CTR, engagement, conversion intent. Scale winner, kill flop.

Lookalike audiences: your existing customers form seed audience. Reach similar 100k people? Costs 20-30% less than cold because Meta's algorithmic similarity makes them higher-value. Spend $1,500 instead of $2,000 on lookalikes.

Retargeting: 100k warmth (website visitors, past engagers) cost $200-$500 (CPM $2-5) because they're hot leads. Reach 100k cold strangers? $500-$2,000. Retargeting efficiency undeniable.

Frequency optimization: if 100k people see your ad 3x average (300k impressions), you paid for bulk. If 100k people see it once (100k impressions), efficiency peaks but message lighter. Test 1.5-2.0 frequency (sweet spot) versus over-frequencing.

2026 cost trends: AI optimization driving CPM down 10-15% for quality advertisers (high relevance scores, good landing pages). Sloppy campaigns costs stay high. Invest in creative, landing pages—Meta rewards efficiency.

Pitch strategy: reach 100k web agencies? Target by job title (Ads Manager, CTO, founder), size (10-50 employee agencies), interest (web design, dev tools). Spend $1,500-$2,000, expect 200-400 qualified clicks, 20-40 leads, 2-5 sales. $1,800 spend = $50k revenue realistic if offer's solid.

Verdict: $500-$3,000 reaches 100k depending on audience quality. Broad cheap, targeted expensive. Awareness campaigns prioritize reach (cheap); conversion campaigns prioritize quality (expensive). Test broad first ($500-$1,000), measure conversion value, layer targeting if needed. Scale after proving model. 100k reach sounds big but only meaningful if conversions follow. Bad ad reaching 100k wastes every penny. Good ad reaching 10k tight audience converts better. Choose quality over quantity, reach follows.