A study released late last year by Nanigans has revealed that mobile Facebook ads on iOS generate up to 1,790% higher ROI than similar ads run on Android!

Nanigans is one of the biggest buyers of Facebook ads, and this conclusion was reached based on a study of more than 200 billion mobile Facebook ads.

The study looked at both desktop as well as mobile advertising, and focused on retailers. On the desktop, during 2013 clickthroughs were up by 375%, and the overall ROI was 152%.

In the world of mobile, the numbers are quite different and vary greatly according to which type of phone the ad is served to.

According to the report, “Retailers are realizing significantly greater return from audiences on iOS than audiences on Android. For the first three quarters of 2013, RPC [revenue per click] on iOS averaged 6.1 times higher than Android and ROI [return on investment] on iOS averaged 17.9 times higher than Android.”

According to Nanigans’ SVP Dan Slagen, “Audiences cost more on iPhone, and the reason is that it’s worth it. Typically, we’re not looking to acquire one-time customers, we’re looking to invest over time … so we pay more up front for better long-term results.”

The difference in ROI is truly amazing, with the data showing in fact a negative return for Facebook ads run on Android!

The company does point out however that these numbers are focused on the retail sector, and results for other sectors are different. For example, the gaming and e-commerce markets did not have the large disparity between iOS and Android.

Seeing this data, the natural question would be how are retailers allocating their budgets between the two platforms. The study reveals that the portion allocated to iOS has in fact been growing quite rapidly, from below 20% at the beginning of 2013 to over 60% by the end of Q3.

The full report has much more information. To download a complete copy, go to the Nanigans website.