Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks

Introduction

Cost per lead rose steadily across the year, with a clear late‑summer lift and an early‑Q4 peak before easing into November. The selected view—all industries across all countries—matches the global benchmark exactly, so the story below reflects market‑wide Facebook Ads benchmarks rather than a single region’s deviation. Volatility was moderate, punctuated by a pronounced Q1 trough and a sharp climb into September–October.

This analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks. This analysis explores ad performance trends for all industries across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Across the 12 months from December 2024 to November 2025, median CPL averaged $40.46, ranging from a low of $33.01 in March to a high of $48.12 in October—a $15.11 spread (about 37% of the average). The period began at $37.65 in December, dipped to $34.79 in January, and reached the year’s trough in March ($33.01). From there, CPL advanced almost uninterrupted to $47.36 in September and peaked at $48.12 in October before easing to $44.62 in November. From December to November, CPL rose by roughly 19%; from the March trough to the October peak, it climbed about 46%.

Month‑over‑month changes averaged $2.96 (~7% of the overall average), reflecting moderate volatility. The sharpest single move was the February‑to‑March drop (−$6.43), followed by strong rebounds in April (+$4.24), February (+$4.65), and September (+$4.58). Eight of the eleven month‑to‑month shifts were increases, underscoring a broadly rising cost environment through mid‑ to late‑year.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality is visible. Q1 was the softest stretch, with an average CPL of $35.75 (January–March) culminating in March’s low. Q2 stabilized and lifted to an average of $38.93 (April–June), followed by a firmer Q3 at $43.68 (July–September). Early Q4 was the costliest period: October and November together averaged $46.37, with October setting the annual high. Comparing halves, the first six months (December–May) averaged $36.87, while the latter six (June–November) averaged $44.04—a 19% step‑up that aligns with typical marketplace competition intensifying into late Q3 and Q4.

Country vs. Global

Because the selected view aggregates all industries across all countries, it is identical to the global baseline. The average CPL ($40.46), the peak ($48.12 in October), the trough ($33.01 in March), and the average monthly swing ($2.96) match the global benchmark exactly. There were no periods of outperformance or underperformance versus the market; the curve, gaps, and volatility mirror the global reference throughout the year.

Closing

In summary, Facebook Ads cost‑per‑lead benchmarks for all industries across all countries show a clear Q1 dip, steady mid‑year climb, and an early‑Q4 peak before a mild November cooldown. This global CPL trendline offers a cohesive view of industry ad performance and country‑agnostic ad costs that marketers can use to contextualize acquisition efficiency alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance.