How much do Instagram ads cost in Pakistan?

The gap between the two apps is inventory, not magic. Facebook has far more Pakistani users and therefore far more places to put an ad, so its prices are softer. Instagram's audience skews to F-sectors, DHA, Bahria and the university crowd, and the brands chasing that audience — clothing, jewellery, skincare, food, wedding services — all bid against each other for the same feed. If you sell to that group, paying more per impression is fine, because the people you reach are the people who buy. If you sell water tanks in Tarnol, spend the money on Facebook.

Where the ad sits changes the price sharply. Reels placements are the cheapest way to buy attention right now and they reward a vertical video that opens with a face or a price, not a poster with your logo on it. Story ads are cheaper still per impression and shallower — good for a one-day offer, weak for anything that needs explaining. Feed carries the highest cost and the most patience. Let Advantage+ placements run at first, then look at the breakdown after a week and cut whatever is spending without producing conversations.

One habit costs Pakistani businesses more than anything else: the blue Boost button. Boosting from the app gives you almost no control over objective, placement or audience, and it optimises for the engagement that makes a post look busy rather than the message that makes a sale. Run everything through Ads Manager instead. And remember checkout inside Instagram is not available here — orders arrive as DMs, so optimise for Messages, and have someone who actually replies within the hour. In wedding season, November to February, that hour matters more than the ad did.