It is the question I hear most often on a first call, and it is also the wrong question if it is framed as an either/or choice. Google Ads and Meta Ads do not compete for the same goal: they do two different jobs.
The difference that really matters: existing demand versus created demand
On Google, people type a search because they already have a problem or a desire: "plumber near me", "women's running shoes", "restaurant management software". You capture that demand at the exact moment it exists, with an ad that answers a search that has already been formulated.
On Meta, nobody is looking for you while they scroll the feed. You are interrupting a moment of leisure with an offer the user did not ask for. This changes everything: the message, the format, the criteria you use to judge whether a campaign works.
When Google Ads works best
Google Ads performs well when there is already measurable search demand for what you sell: sectors with clear purchase intent, local services, products with a recognizable name, emergency or urgent situations. If your ideal customer already knows what they want and searches for it, Google is the first place to be present.
The limit is volume: if your product is new, niche or rarely searched, search volume may be too low to generate meaningful results with a small budget.
When Meta Ads works best
Meta performs well when the product is sold with an image, a video or a story rather than with a rational search. It works to build awareness of something the audience does not know yet, to reach a wide audience at a low cost per contact, and to retarget people who have visited the site without converting.
The limit is that you pay for attention, not for intent: if the message or the creative is not up to standard, the traffic you generate converts much less than Google traffic.
Why the right answer is often "both"
In practice, the two channels reinforce each other. A person sees an ad on Meta, does not buy right away, but a few days later searches for your brand on Google: if you are not present there too, you risk losing the conversion to a competitor who shows up in your place. Likewise, retargeting on Meta works better when the starting traffic comes from a Google search with high intent.
With limited budgets, the most common mistake is splitting the money in half between the two channels from day one. It is better to start with one, bring it to a level of readable data, and add the second when the first is already producing stable results.
A common mistake: applying the same logic to two different channels
I often see Meta campaigns set up as if they were Google campaigns, with copy that explains technical features instead of telling a benefit, and Google campaigns with social-style creatives instead of directly answering the typed search. They are two different languages, because they speak to two different states of mind in the person seeing them.