Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks for Design

Design CPL vs. Global: a year of extremes

Against a steady global benchmark, the Design industry’s cost per lead (CPL) moved in dramatic waves. From a moderate start in November (93.3), Design CPL surged through winter and early spring, peaking at 528.5 in April before easing into summer, briefly rebounding in September (282.7), and then collapsing to just 5.13 in October. By contrast, the global all‑industry median CPL was remarkably stable, ranging from 33.35 to 48.29 across the same period. 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 Design across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Design opened at 93.3 in November and closed at 5.13 in October, a headline decline of 94% driven by an unusually low October. Between those bookends, the category climbed steeply: 213.2 in December, 423.1 in January, and 459.5 in March before reaching its high in April (528.5). The summer trough settled near 158 across July (176.6) and August (139.5), followed by a September lift (282.7) and the October break.

Across the 12 months, Design’s average CPL was 279.5; excluding October’s outlier, the average rises to 304.5. The high‑to‑low spread is wide (528.5 to 5.13). Month‑to‑month volatility averaged 133 points, reflecting large swings like +209.9 from December to January and −210.8 from April to May. The global benchmark, by comparison, averaged 41.0 with month‑to‑month movements of just 3.2 points.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The pattern shows a classic build into late Q1 and early Q2: November through April advanced +466% from 93.3 to 528.5. Mid‑year softened: May (317.7) and June (358.0) cooled from April’s high, with a deeper lull in July and August. September reversed that lull with a +103% jump from August, before October’s abrupt low.

Globally, CPL followed a gentler rhythm. Medians hovered near the mid‑30s in Q1 (January–March average: 36.5), crept into the low 40s by early summer, and reached a mild high in September (48.3) before easing slightly in October (45.1). This cadence aligns with typical competition patterns in digital auctions: softer early‑year costs, a gradual tightening into late summer and early fall.

Design vs. Global

Design’s CPL sat materially above market for most of the year—between 3x and 14x the global median in every month except October. The narrowest positive gap was November (+125% vs. global), while March and April marked the widest (about +1,275% to +1,278% above the benchmark). The gap compressed into summer—Q1 averaged 413 for Design versus 36.5 globally (≈11x), while Q3 averaged 200 for Design versus 45.2 globally (≈4.4x). October was the outlier in the opposite direction, with Design’s CPL 89% below the global median. Overall, the global trend rose steadily (+9% from November to October), while Design’s path was far more volatile.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per lead in the Design industry across all countries highlights a year defined by a sharp first‑half run‑up, a mid‑year cooldown, and a rare October break—consistently priced far above the global all‑industry CPL except in the final month. While this report centers on CPL, marketers often view these signals alongside CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance to contextualize country‑specific ad costs and industry ad performance against global patterns.