A fast-growing DTC brand ran Google, Meta, and Performance CTV side by side. The TV screen didn't just keep up with the brand's bottom-funnel channels. It out-returned them.

• $20.32 cost per order, on par with Google and less than half of Meta's blended $47
• 5.90x ROAS, higher than Google (5.07x) and 2.6x Meta's (2.25x)
• Beat Meta at every stage, with a lower CPA and higher ROAS in both prospecting and retargeting
• ROAS more than doubled as the channel scaled, climbing from 2.5x to 5.9x, its strongest month on record

For a DTC brand, every channel comes down to one question: does it return more than it costs? For this organic wine brand, Performance CTV answered emphatically.

In April 2026, Performance CTV delivered a $20.32 cost per order at a 5.90x return on ad spend, edging out Google on both metrics and leaving the brand's Meta program far behind. Meta's blended cost per order was $47.14 at a 2.25x ROAS, which means Performance CTV acquired customers at less than half the cost and more than double the return.

The advantage held at every stage of the funnel. In cold prospecting, Performance CTV ran a $45.47 CPA at 2.60x ROAS versus Meta prospecting's $56.76 and 1.84x, a 20% cheaper acquisition and 41% better return. In retargeting, CTV came in at $12.99 and 9.22x against Meta's $16.77 and 6.61x. Wherever the two channels competed head-to-head, CTV won on both cost and return.

And it's still climbing. As the channel scaled, cost per order fell from a ramp-up high of $43 to $20, while ROAS rose from 2.5x to 5.9x, the channel's best month yet.

The takeaway: Performance CTV isn't a reach play that trades efficiency for impressions. For this brand it performed like a bottom-funnel workhorse, out-returning Search and out-converting Social on a fraction of the budget.