Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks for Media

Introduction

The Media industry’s cost per lead (CPL) across all countries ran well below the all‑industry global benchmark for most of the year, before a dramatic mid-year surge and an equally sharp late‑year collapse. The pattern is defined by calm, bargain‑level CPLs through early 2025, a steep escalation in Q3, and a decisive reset by December. 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 Media in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Media CPL opened at $21.77 in December 2024 and finished at just $2.38 in December 2025, an 89% drop year over year. Across the 13-month window, Media averaged $33.38 per lead versus a $39.46 global all‑industry average. The series was exceptionally volatile: an average month‑to‑month swing of 18.7 points, far higher than the global benchmark’s 4.0.

The low period came early: January to May 2025 hovered between $7.23 and $17.65, with a local trough in May ($7.23). June marked a pivot upward ($26.25), then the market spiked: July ($67.87) and August ($67.63) were followed by the annual high in September at $98.89. The comedown was swift—October stepped down to $39.35, November ticked to $41.42, and December collapsed to $2.38, the series low. Peak‑to‑trough spread reached 96.5 points, compared with just 18.7 points in the global benchmark.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The rhythm split cleanly into three acts:

• Q1 2025 was soft, averaging $14.70, with March near the floor at $12.59.
• Q2 steadied, though May dipped to the year’s early low; June began a sharp climb.
• Q3 was the outlier: a high‑cost plateau averaging $78.13 as CPLs more than doubled their Q1 levels.
• Q4 reset: October and November normalized in the high‑$30s to low‑$40s before December’s extraordinary trough at $2.38.

While all‑industry CPLs often rise into Q4, the Media series diverged—after peaking in September, it cooled through October and November and then fell dramatically in December.

Country vs. Global

Relative to the global all‑industry benchmark, Media CPL across all countries averaged 15% lower over the period. It trailed the global level in 10 of 13 months, with the gap narrowest in November (about 8% below). The widest underperformance came in December 2025 (about 92% below global). The only sustained stretch above market was Q3: Media CPLs were roughly 80% higher than global levels on average from July to September, peaking in September at 109% above the benchmark. By half-year, H1 2025 for Media averaged $15.78 versus a higher H1 global baseline; H2 swung the other way—Media averaged $52.92, about 26% above global, solely due to the Q3 spike.

The shape of the year also differed. The global benchmark climbed steadily into October and eased into December, while Media’s path was choppier: deep value in H1, a sudden surge in Q3, and a pronounced end‑of‑year retrenchment.

Closing

Overall, Facebook Ads benchmarks show that cost per lead for the Media industry across all countries was lower than the global all‑industry average for most months, punctuated by a Q3 cost surge and a December low. These CPL trends sit alongside CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance to help contextualize country‑aggregated ad costs and industry ad performance at a global level. Understanding Facebook Ads cost‑per‑lead benchmarks for the Media industry across all countries helps teams evaluate how Media engagement and acquisition costs moved versus the broader market.