Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks for Finance

Introduction

Finance advertisers running across all countries saw a markedly cheaper cost to acquire leads than the global all-industry average, but with sharper swings and a decisive Q4 climb. The year opened moderate, drifted to a spring trough, and then accelerated into a December peak before easing in January. 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 Finance across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Finance cost per lead (CPL) started 2025 at $25.94 and ended January 2026 at $32.03, a 24% lift across the period. The average CPL for Finance was $24.82, spanning a wide range from a low of $13.33 in April to a high of $37.81 in December. Month-to-month volatility averaged $4.94, with the sharpest jump in September (+$9.52 vs. August) and the steepest pullback from December to January (−$5.78).

The cadence was pronounced:

• Early softening: CPL fell from $25.94 in January to $13.33 by April.
• Spring-to-summer recovery: costs rebounded to $25.60 in June and held in the mid‑20s through July.
• Late-Q3 surge: a notable step-up from $21.32 in August to $30.84 in September.
• Q4 escalation: costs remained elevated—$26.95 in October, $29.24 in November—and peaked at $37.81 in December before easing to $32.03 in January 2026.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality was clear. Finance CPL softened through late Q1 into April, then rebuilt through summer and accelerated in late Q3. The strongest costs clustered in Q4, culminating in December’s yearly high and followed by a January normalization. This rhythm mirrors broader auction pressure patterns typical of year‑end demand. The amplitude, however, was outsized for Finance: the April-to-December run more than doubled CPL, underscoring how lead-gen pricing tightened into peak season.

Country vs. Global

Against the global Facebook Ads benchmarks (all industries across all countries), Finance CPL ran structurally lower but more volatile:

• Averages: Finance at $24.82 vs. global $40.99—about 40% below the benchmark.
• Range: Finance spanned $13.33–$37.81 (a $24.49 spread), while the global benchmark ranged $33.43–$48.83 (a $15.40 spread).
• Volatility: average monthly move of $4.94 for Finance vs. $3.52 globally—roughly 40% more choppy.

Gaps to global narrowed meaningfully as the year progressed. Finance trailed by 48–64% through the February–April trough (April was the widest gap at −64%). The deficit tightened through peak season: −36% in September, −45% in October, −40% in November, and just −10% in December. By January 2026, the distance was at its narrowest—Finance ran only 7% below the global CPL as the benchmark fell to $34.46 while Finance held at $32.03. Broadly, the global trend climbed steadily into an October high ($48.83) before dropping in December and January, while Finance’s path was choppier with a deeper Q2 trough and a sharper Q4 ascent.

Closing

These Facebook Ads benchmarks show Finance CPL across all countries averaging $24.82 and rising into a Q4 peak, consistently below but more volatile than the global all‑industry baseline of $40.99. Understanding cost-per-lead trends for Finance across all countries—alongside CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance—helps benchmark country-specific ad costs and compare industry ad performance to global patterns.