Threads reached 400 million monthly active users and opened ads to every advertiser globally on January 27, 2026. CPMs on the platform currently run 15–40% below Instagram Feed benchmarks. That gap is open now — and it won't stay open.
In this post:
- What the Threads ad rollout actually means for your media mix
- CPM benchmarks vs. Facebook Feed and Instagram Reels
- Ad formats and what creative works on the platform
- How to enable Threads and test without overcommitting budget
- Why the early-mover window closes as more advertisers enter the auction
In this post
The State of Threads Ads in 2026
Meta began testing Threads ads with select advertisers in January 2025, expanded to all eligible advertisers globally in April 2025, added carousel and Advantage+ catalog formats in September 2025, and then opened the full 400 million user base to advertisers on January 27, 2026. Any account running Advantage+ placements was opted in by default.
That means most accounts are already running ads on Threads — whether they know it or not.
The platform's growth justifies the attention. Threads now surpasses X in daily mobile users globally, with 115–150 million daily active users and 127.8% year-over-year DAU growth as of mid-2025. Seventy percent of U.S. daily Threads users are also active on Facebook. This is not a new audience — it's existing Meta users spending time in a different context.
CPM Benchmarks: What You're Actually Paying
Average Threads CPMs land in the $5–$10 range, running 15–40% below Instagram Feed depending on vertical and targeting. CPCs track cheaper too — roughly $0.50–$1.20 on Threads versus $0.80–$2.00 on Instagram Feed.
| Placement | Average CPM | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Threads Feed | $5–$10 | Q1 2026 data |
| Facebook Feed | $7–$18 | Mature placement |
| Instagram Feed | $6–$25 | Varies by vertical |
| Instagram Reels | $4–$8 | High inventory volume |
By vertical, Threads CPMs vary: Media/Publishing around $5.90, Education $6.80, E-commerce $7.20, B2B/SaaS $8.50, and Finance $12.40.
Meta's own data suggests Advantage+ campaigns that include Threads achieve an average 11.7% lower CPA versus campaigns without the placement. Early case data backs this up directionally: one DTC skincare brand with a $90,000/month Meta budget saw CPA drop from $31 to $29 and ROAS improve from 2.9 to 3.1 after adding Threads to its Advantage+ Sales campaign.
One honest caveat: early data shows Threads skews toward warm audiences for conversion campaigns. Cold-audience CPA tends to run higher than Instagram Feed in initial tests.
Ad Formats and Creative Rules
Four formats are live on Threads: single image, single video, carousel (image only, 2–10 cards), and Advantage+ catalog ads. Ads appear in the Threads home feed only — there are no Stories, Reels, or Shopping surfaces.
The creative rules differ from every other Meta placement.
Threads is text-native. Users come to read and participate in conversations, not scroll past visuals. Creative that treats Threads like Instagram underperforms. Creative that honors the context wins.
What works:
- Text-first copy with a strong written hook. Image or video supports the words — it doesn't replace them.
- Conversational tone. Opinion-driven, direct copy consistently outperforms broadcast-style messaging.
- Short text. The primary text sweet spot is 200–400 characters. Under 150 characters achieves the highest engagement in multiple early campaign cohorts.
- Authentic visuals. UGC-style imagery and real-person photography significantly outperform polished stock.
What fails: repurposed Instagram creative. If you built it for a scroll-stop visual experience, it won't land in a reading-first feed.
Image ads have outperformed video in early 2026 Threads campaigns — a direct reversal of the Reels pattern. Keep video to 15–30 seconds maximum and always include captions; the feed is frequently viewed without audio.
The audience profile skews useful for certain verticals: 58% ages 25–44, 67% college educated, 54% with household income above $75K, and 31% B2B decision-makers. B2B and SaaS advertisers are reporting particularly strong early results.
How to Add Threads to Your Campaigns
If you run Advantage+ placements, Threads Feed is already active in your campaigns as of January 27, 2026. To confirm: open Ads Manager, view an ad set's placement settings, and check that Threads Feed is listed.
To run Threads manually or in isolation:
- Create or edit an ad set in Ads Manager
- Under Placements, select "Manual placements"
- Check "Threads Feed" under Meta platforms
- Leave only Threads Feed checked to run an isolation test
One reporting gap to close: Google Analytics 4 often attributes Threads ad clicks as direct traffic. Add UTM parameters to every Threads placement —
utm_source=threadsBrand safety controls are in place. DoubleVerify, IAS, Scope3, and Zefr all partner with Meta for content verification on Threads, with more than 99% of ad-adjacent content classified as brand safe by independent measurement.
How to Test Without Burning Budget
The right entry point is not a dedicated Threads campaign — it's adding Threads to an existing Advantage+ campaign and letting the algorithm allocate spend.
Start with a campaign that already has established signals: a retargeting or warm-audience setup with conversion data. This surfaces Threads performance data in your reporting without requiring a separate budget allocation or creative development cycle.
After 7–14 days, compare Threads CPM and CPA against your other placements in the same campaign. If Threads CPA is competitive, gradually isolate budget to test cold audiences. If it skews expensive on cold, keep it in Advantage+ for warm-audience coverage and let Meta optimize the allocation.
Running proper A/B tests on Meta requires clean test design — don't change creative variables and placement variables at the same time. Threads creative behaves differently from Instagram creative, so test them separately. bulk can run the full test cycle here: designing the experiment, building the ad sets, monitoring results, and surfacing winners — so you're not doing this manually across every account.
GA4 misattributes Threads clicks as direct by default. Set UTM parameters before launch — not after you notice the reporting gap. Retroactive tracking fixes nothing.
The Early-Mover Window
Every major Meta ad surface has followed the same adoption curve. Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels — each launched with low advertiser competition, favorable CPMs, and a window for early adopters to build audience data before costs normalized.
Instagram Reels advertising opened broadly in mid-2022. CPMs started low, rose sharply as advertiser adoption grew, then settled at a higher floor. The cohort that moved early built algorithm signals and brand recognition before the auction got competitive.
Threads is in that phase right now. Analysts project a 15–25% CPM increase over the next 6–12 months as more advertisers enter. The window is specific: low competition in the auction, accessible CPMs, and a growing user base that isn't yet ad-saturated.
The practical takeaway: enable Threads on your Advantage+ campaigns today, lock in UTM tracking, and allocate dedicated creative testing resources in Q3 2026. By Q4, the auction will be more crowded. Meta's broader Advantage+ expansion is pushing more budget into automated placement optimization — Threads is now part of that system, and the algorithm will route spend to it when it outperforms.
This isn't a reason to shift budget dramatically or overhaul your creative approach. It's a reason to start collecting data now, while the cost of learning is still low.
bulk handles the execution layer for this kind of campaign expansion — adding placements, monitoring performance across ad sets, and adjusting budgets as the data comes in. See how it works →