Google Ads vs Meta ads: which should a GTA business run first?

You have one ad budget, maybe $1,000 a month, and two platforms that both promise customers. Split it in half and neither gets enough to work. Pick the wrong one and you pay for a month of clicks from people who were never going to book.

The usual advice, "Google for services, Meta for products", skips what a GTA owner needs to know: what about a clinic, a cleaning company, a restaurant or a one-night event, and what does each platform cost? Below: a decision by business type, benchmarks from named reports, and a 90-day plan. Every figure was checked against its source page on October 2, 2026.

Google Ads vs Meta ads: which should a GTA business run first? at a glance — the short version.

Search catches intent; Meta interrupts a scroll

Google Search ads are triggered by what someone types. Google's help page on keywords describes them as the words or phrases used to match an ad to what people search for. The person already wants a plumber or a dentist; you pay to be the one they see. In Canada that mostly means Google: StatCounter put its share of the Canadian search engine market at 85.3% in September 2026, with Bing at 10.06%.

Meta works the other way round. Nobody opens Instagram to find a duct cleaner; your ad appears between posts from friends. The audience is large: DataReportal's Digital 2026 report for Canada counts Facebook's ad reach in late 2025 at 24.6 million users, equal to 61.2% of the population, and Instagram's at 21.0 million.

Google collects demand that already exists. Meta creates it, by showing an offer to people who were not looking.

Which GTA businesses suit which platform

• Emergency services (plumbers, locksmiths, HVAC). Google first: the need is urgent and searched. Also check Local Services Ads, which Google runs in Canada for trades such as plumbers, electricians, locksmiths, roofers and HVAC. You pay for leads, not clicks.
• Clinics (dental, physio, medical). Google first, for treatments people search by name. Check before you plan on retargeting: Google's personalized advertising policy treats health as a sensitive category, and advertisers promoting in a sensitive category cannot use their own remarketing lists or Customer Match. Health marketing also touches privacy law, so check with a professional before you collect or reuse patient information.
• Cleaning companies. Google for one-time jobs such as move-out cleans; cleaning services is also a Local Services category. Meta for recurring home cleaning, where a before-and-after photo and an intro price can win someone who was not shopping today.
• Restaurants. Meta first: food is visual and the decision is impulsive.
• Retail and online shops. Meta first for products people do not know by name; Google when they search for the product itself. In CIRA's 2026 Canadian Internet Trends survey, 65% of online shoppers said they prefer Canadian retailers when they have the choice, so say you are local in the ad.
• Events. Meta. Nobody searches for an event they have not heard of, and the date gives you a deadline.

What the benchmarks say, and what they do not

Widely quoted numbers come from WordStream's yearly benchmark reports, whose "averages" are medians. Its 2026 search ad benchmarks, covering Google and Microsoft Ads, put the average click at US$5.42 and the average lead at US$66.69. Its 2026 Facebook ad benchmarks put a lead from a leads campaign at US$27.39. At the Bank of Canada's October 1 rate of 1.4243, that is roughly C$95 against C$39 (my conversion).

• Home and home improvement: US$90.92 a lead on search, US$42.95 on Facebook.
• Dentists: US$72.97 on search, US$61.56 on Facebook.
• Beauty and personal care: US$39.25 on search, US$50.91 on Facebook. Here search is cheaper.
• Restaurants: a click is US$2.05 on search and US$0.45 on a Facebook traffic campaign.

Three cautions. These are US campaigns: 13,474 for search but only 452 for Facebook leads, with as few as four in a category. The Facebook leads table has no restaurant or retail row. And a Facebook lead was shown an ad, while a search lead went looking, so cheaper is not automatically better.

Canadian figures are thinner, and they disagree. Consultus Digital (September 2026) lists home-services clicks at $4 to $12 in its planning ranges for Canadian accounts, and says a GTA advertiser in that trade can pay two to three times what the same business would in a mid-sized Ontario city. Creative Scope (updated April 2026) puts Toronto home-services clicks at $15 to $30, compiled from its own account data. Neither page labels the currency; both are treated here as Canadian dollars. A benchmark is not a forecast.

What must be ready before either platform works

Ads only send people somewhere. Three things decide whether the money comes back.

• A landing page. One page that matches the ad, reads well on a phone, and shows a phone number and a short form.
• Tracking. On Google, conversion measurement records purchases, sign-ups, calls from the ad and calls to a number on your website. On Meta, the Pixel is a piece of code on your site that logs what visitors do. Without both, you cannot tell which platform produced the customer.
• An offer. "Free estimate within 24 hours" or an intro price gives a stranger a reason to act.

Budget for tax too. Google adds GST/HST to ad charges on accounts with a Canadian billing address unless you add a GST/HST registration number; Meta's help centre says the same has applied to its ads since July 2021. Both add that Quebec accounts can also be charged QST. This is general information, not tax advice, so check with your accountant about how it applies to you. One cost has gone: Google's surcharge page says its 2.5% digital services tax fee stopped applying to ads served in Canada on July 1, 2025.

A first-90-days plan on one small budget

Take $1,000 a month, about $30 a day. That figure is my example, not a recommendation.

• Days 1 to 30: one platform, one campaign. On Google, expect uneven days: its spending limits let most campaigns spend up to twice the average daily budget on a busy day, but no more than 30.4 times that budget in a month, so $30 a day tops out at $912. On Meta, run one ad set. Meta's guidance, summarized by Jetfuel Agency, is that an ad set usually leaves its learning phase after about 50 results in a week and is less stable until then. At the US$27.39 benchmark, 50 leads a week is roughly US$1,370, more than this whole monthly budget. Expect a "Learning limited" label, and do not split the money across ad sets.
• Days 31 to 60: cut, do not add. On Google, read the search terms report and block irrelevant searches. On Meta, swap the weakest image or video, one change at a time, because significant edits restart learning.
• Days 61 to 90: add the second platform as support. If Google came first, add a small Meta campaign aimed at people who visited your site. If Meta came first, add a Google campaign on your two best service keywords. My rule of thumb: keep about 80% on the platform that is producing jobs.

The bottom line

If customers search for you when they need you, start with Google Search, plus Local Services Ads if your trade qualifies. If they need to see it first, start with Meta. Give one platform 60 days and proper tracking before you judge it.

At Nova Toronto, Google, Meta and Microsoft ads management is quoted per account, so we can run whichever fits; details are on our digital marketing page. If the missing piece is the landing page, our 3-page Bronze website is $900 plus applicable tax. New to AI tools? Try the free AI course for beginners. Still unsure? Book the free consultation and bring your last three months of inquiries.

Common questions

Should a local service business start with Google Ads or Facebook ads?

If people search for your service when they need it, as they do for plumbers, locksmiths, dentists and move-out cleaning, start with Google Search. If people have to see the offer first, as with restaurants, retail products and events, start with Meta. Run one platform for about 60 days before adding the second.

Are Facebook ads cheaper than Google Ads?

Per lead, usually, in published benchmarks. WordStream's 2026 reports put the average lead at US$27.39 on Facebook leads campaigns and US$66.69 on search ads. Those are US medians, not Canadian quotes, and a cheaper lead is not always a better one. Compare cost per booked job.

Can I split a small ad budget between Google and Meta?

Not at first. A Meta ad set usually needs about 50 results in a week to leave its learning phase, and at the US$27.39 benchmark lead cost a $1,000 monthly budget would not reach that even on one platform. Put the whole budget on one platform for 60 days, then add the second as support.

Do Google and Meta charge HST on ads in Canada?

Yes. Google adds GST/HST to ad charges on accounts with a Canadian billing address unless you add a GST/HST registration number, and Meta's help centre says the same has applied to its ads since July 2021. Quebec accounts can also be charged QST. This is general information, not tax advice, so check with your accountant.

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Sources: Google Ads Help: About keywords in Search Network campaigns • Google Ads Help: About spending limits • Google Ads Help: About conversion measurement • Google Ads Help: Taxes in your country • Google Ads Help: Jurisdiction-specific surcharges • Local Services Help: Getting started with Local Services Ads - Canada • Google Advertising Policies Help: Restricted targeting in Personalized advertising • WordStream: Google Ads Benchmarks 2026 • WordStream: Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2026 • StatCounter: Search Engine Market Share Canada • DataReportal: Digital 2026: Canada • CIRA: 2026 Canadian Internet Trends • Bank of Canada: Daily exchange rates • Consultus Digital: How Much Do Google Ads Cost in Canada? 2026 Guide • Creative Scope: How Much Do Google Ads Cost in Toronto in 2026? • Jetfuel Agency: Meta Ads Learning Phase: How to Exit Faster in 2026

Related reading: Our digital marketing services • Free AI course for beginners • How much should a Toronto small business spend on Google Ads?