Snapchat continues to evolve as a must-have platform for performance advertisers, offering new tools to drive real business outcomes. One of the biggest opportunities in 2025 and beyond? Leveraging Snapchat's enhanced Target Cost Per Action (tCPA) bidding strategy — and doing it faster, smarter, and more efficiently through Smartly.

Here’s what performance marketers need to know to level up their Snapchat campaigns and achieve better, more scalable results.

What is Snapchat’s Updated Target Cost Bidding Strategy?

Snapchat’s updated Target Cost bidding strategy (aka tCPA) is designed to help advertisers consistently deliver around a set cost-per-action (CPA) target. Rather than simply maximizing spend (as with Auto-Bid) or capping spend (as with Max Bid), Target Cost aims to balance outcome volume and cost efficiency even as market conditions fluctuate.

This strategic bidding approach gives advertisers more predictable results while scaling budgets effectively — a crucial advantage for brands that must stick to strict CPA goals while growing reach. Early adopters have already seen strong results, with internal data showing advertisers switching to Target Cost achieving up to 60% improvements in CPA depending on their vertical according to internal data. Target Cost offers a smarter way to navigate a competitive ad auction landscape on Snap.

How Smartly Enhances Snapchat Campaigns with Target Cost

While Snapchat's Target Cost feature provides a strong foundation, Smartly amplifies its effectiveness through advanced campaign management, optimization, and automation.

Smartly makes it possible to shift hundreds of ad sets to Target Cost bidding strategies in just a few clicks. This minimizes manual work and allows marketers to move faster and focus more energy on strategy and creative performance.

By streamlining workflows and layering in predictive optimization, Smartly gives advertisers the tools they need to not just activate tCPA, but to optimize and scale it faster and more successfully than ever.

Real Results: Smartly + Snapchat Target Cost (tCPA) in Action

Across industries like e-commerce, entertainment, and travel, advertisers running tCPA through Smartly have seen exceptional results. One major entertainment advertiser using Smartly's integrated platform achieved a 70% increase in conversions while improving cost efficiency by nearly 50%. Another eCommerce brand scaled daily spend by 4x while maintaining or improving CPA benchmarks by using Target Cost through Smartly.

Advertisers consistently report that Smartly’s automation features, combined with Snapchat’s tCPA engine, allow them to move faster from testing to scaling — ultimately driving better reach, stronger ROAS, and more predictable results in highly competitive auction environments.

Moreover, for advertisers focused on upper-funnel campaigns, Snap is launching the test of a new Target Cost per Mille (tCPM) feature — designed specifically for impression-based objectives and built on the same framework as tCPA.

If you're interested in being among the first to test this feature, please reach out to your Smartly CSM to request allowlisting.

Tips for Getting Started with tCPA on Snapchat

Thinking about testing Target Cost for the first time? Setting up for success is key.

Start by consolidating your ad sets where possible. Fewer, larger ad sets provide Snap’s algorithm with better learning signals, enabling it to optimize delivery more efficiently. If stable CPAs are the priority over consistent full budget delivery, we recommend updating existing Auto-Bid ad sets to Target Cost for testing—starting with those that have smaller budgets. This approach preserves historical learnings and speeds up optimization.

Setting the right Target Cost bid is also important. If you have historical performance data, base your bid on your average cost per acquisition (CPA). If you prioritize maximizing volume, consider setting your initial Target Cost bid slightly higher (about 20% above your historical CPA) to encourage spend and scaling.

When budgeting, aim to set daily budgets at least 20x your Target Cost bid or your recent CPA average. This ensures the system has enough flexibility to deliver strong results without getting artificially constrained.

Finally, allow your campaigns to run for at least two weeks before making major adjustments or introducing a tCPA ad set to PBA. tCPA strategies typically need a short learning phase before delivering consistent results, but advertisers who allow sufficient ramp-up time often see the strongest performance gains.

The Future of Smartly’s Partnership with Snapchat

As Snapchat continues investing in new ad formats and optimization capabilities, Smartly is committed to supporting even broader functionality. While today's focus is on maximizing the potential of Target Cost bidding, Smartly is working closely with Snapchat to expand optimization and automation features to other media types, throughout 2025.

Performance advertisers who build their foundation with tCPA today will be among the first to benefit from the next wave of innovation across Snap’s growing suite of advertising solutions.

Ready to maximize your Snapchat performance with smarter, faster optimization? Request a demo today and see how Smartly can take your social advertising to the next level.

Are you looking to drive incremental sales? Get activated on Snap!