A hundred dollars used to feel like a decent test budget. Just a couple of years ago, you could launch campaigns in a few GEOs, gather statistically significant data, and still have enough left for pizza.

But what is the reality of today’s digital advertising market? $100 will not take you that far anymore. Let’s break it down.

CPM is growing. And it is not only about Tier 1

In the past, $100 could buy you thousands of impressions even in Tier 1 markets. Now, with CPM rates climbing steadily, that same budget sometimes covers just a fraction of what it used to. And it is not just the US, UK, or Germany. Even Tier 3 GEOs, once known for “cheap tests,” are seeing higher minimum bids.

Advertisers have started to see more potential in Tier 3 countries. Those who already conquered markets like the US or Germany, lost their licenses, or realized that people in Tier 1 countries are running out of money, suddenly understood that there is money to be made elsewhere too.

The issue is that traffic volumes in these GEOs are much smaller compared to Tier 1. This means buyers have to constantly outbid each other to secure it.

The current picture is striking. Some Tier 3 countries, for example Bangladesh, already have an average bid of more than one dollar because top buyers are ready to pay over two. Or take India. Only a year ago inventory there cost around $0.20, and now it easily goes for $0.45 because Indian traffic is top quality, a hot pie everyone wants a slice of.

A change in Programmatic

Not long ago, those who were buying traffic through RTB XML or JSON were paying almost nothing. They were focused on cheap resell traffic where it was possible to run almost any kind of offer without checks and make easy gray money.

Times have changed. Now everyone is looking for clean premium traffic and that comes at a high price. RTB buyers must compete directly with advertisers inside SSP platforms where bids are already high. This is one of the reasons why the average bid across every ad network keeps rising. Buyers simply have no choice but to increase their bids, no matter what kind of traffic they are after.

This also means that choosing the right advertising network matters more than ever. An advertising network that provides both volume and quality can help you navigate these rising costs more effectively.

And of course, formats play a role too. Pop ads are still one of the fastest ways to scale campaigns, while popunder traffic often brings longer user sessions and higher engagement. Using pop ads side by side with popunder traffic can balance your tests and keep the data clean.

What $100 actually buys you today

Let’s be realistic.

Tier 1 GEO at $2.5 CPM gives about 40K impressions. That might have been enough for testing if you were still living in 2021. But today, even for a Tier 3 test, you should be ready with a daily budget of at least $40–50 just to get some results and start scaling. The reply is simple. $100 will not be enough for an efficient Tier 1 test.

Tier 2 GEO at $1.1 CPM gives about 91K impressions. That allows more room to play. For example, Poland, Japan, or Hungary can show you results within a week and you can start the whitelisting process almost immediately.

Tier 3 GEO at $0.8 CPM, sometimes even lower, gives around 125K impressions. Better, but still far from endless. Keep in mind that the conversion rate there can be strong, so you should be ready to add your next $100 or even $300 very soon.

Pop ads in particular deliver quick volumes and let you gather data fast. But remember that results will also depend on the ad network you choose and how you optimize campaigns within it.

So, what is the point?

Inflation in traffic costs is real. The days when $100 gave you weeks of experiments are gone. Now it is about:

Allocating budgets smartly and knowing which GEOs and formats justify the spend.
Using optimization tools like smartCPM, whitelists and blacklists, segmentation.
Thinking long term. $100 is not an investment. It is a scratch test. Treat it that way.

So think smart, pick your ad network carefully, and if in doubt, ask Trafficshop what to do.

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