Ads charge you for attention, mostly from people who aren't looking to buy. It's CPM or CPC with worsening returns.
On VIA you only pay to answer buyers who have already declared an intent to purchase what you can supply.
Choose your market and what you currently spend for comparison.
Average cost per order: fashion & apparel
Ad figures are industry averages. VIA assumes 2% of pitches turn into an order. That isn't measured yet, so try other rates below.
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VIA orders
VIA cost per order
Buyers reached
Matches best ad at
What the same budget gets you
Channel
You pay for
Buyers reached
Conversion
Cost / order
Orders
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Ad channel benchmarks used
US: Meta $0.75 per click, 1.5% of clicks buy · Google Shopping $0.80 per click, 2.5% buy · ChatGPT ads ~$3 per click, 2.3% buy (early ecommerce results run $1.70 to $4.40 per click, and every published head-to-head shows ChatGPT converting below Google).
Europe: average of UK, DE, FR, IT, ES and NL. Meta $0.60 per click, 1.4% buy (CPMs run about half US levels) · Google Shopping $0.60 per click, 2.1% buy · ChatGPT ads ~$2 per click, 2% buy. Projected: live in the UK since June and 31 European markets since 24 August, contextual targeting only in the EEA, early EU ecommerce clicks reported at €0.44 to €2.70.
SE Asia: simple average of SG, MY, TH, PH, ID and VN. Meta $0.20 per click, 1% buy · Google $0.30 per click, 2% buy · ChatGPT ~$1 per click, 1.8% buy. ChatGPT ads went live in all six markets in late September 2026; no click or conversion data is published yet, so those are projections.
Directional fashion/apparel averages, checked 1 November 2026. Meta conversion follows Triple Whale's ecommerce median (1.53%, Aug 2025 to Jul 2026), scaled for Europe and SE Asia. A merchant's own site conversion rate will move every ad row.
VIA assumptions & sources
VIA pricing: $0.005 to read a buyer brief, $0.01 to submit a pitch. Same price in every market.
Conversion is measured against submissions, the pitches actually put in front of a buyer.
Orders only. Order value, margin and profit are left to each merchant.