Social Ad Spend Set to Grow 16.5% in 2026
Social advertising in Australia is projected to outpace overall digital advertising growth, according to the Digital 2027 Australia report.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Advertising
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Social advertising spend in Australia is projected to grow 16.5% year-on-year in 2026, reaching US$6.15 billion (A$8.76 billion). That growth outpaces overall digital advertising growth of 5.5%, according to the Digital 2027 Australia report by We Are Social and Meltwater.
Why it matters
Social platforms are taking a growing share of Australia's digital advertising budgets, with social accounting for over 36% of digital ad expenditure. The shift reflects heavy audience time on social platforms and a steady rise in user identities across the country.
The projection is drawn from the Digital 2027 Australia report, which measures spend in US and Australian dollars. Social advertising is projected to reach US$6.15 billion (A$8.76 billion) in 2026, equal to about US$272 (A$387) per social media user identity, with 22.6 million identities in Australia.
The players
We Are Social
We Are Social is a global creative agency that publishes annual digital trend reports tracking internet and social media usage across markets.
Meltwater
Meltwater is a media intelligence and social listening company that co-produces the Digital reports with We Are Social.
The details
Australians spend an average of 16 hours and 52 minutes a week on social platforms, compared with 7 hours and 8 minutes watching linear TV. Almost three in ten internet users use ad blockers, and only one in ten Australians feels represented in the advertising they see online.
Timeline
2026: Social advertising spend projected to reach US$6.15 billion (A$8.76 billion).
Market Landscape
The projected 16.5% social ad growth continues a pattern in the annual Digital reports, which track social media's rising share of advertising. Social advertising now represents over 36% of Australia's digital ad expenditure, and its growth is running ahead of digital advertising as a whole.
For brands and marketers, the projected growth signals where budgets are heading in 2026. For everyday Australians, the findings mean more advertising on social feeds, and many users are already turning to ad blockers to manage it.
The takeaway
Social platforms are capturing a growing share of advertising attention in Australia, and both brands and audiences are adjusting to that shift. Marketers planning for 2026 should weigh the rising social share against the signs of ad fatigue reflected in the ad-blocking and representation figures.
Further reading
For more on how brands are reallocating budgets, see Advertising coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Campaign Brief.
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