Facebook Ads Cost Per Lead Benchmarks for Public Safety

Introduction

Public Safety advertisers across all countries experienced an unusually turbulent year for Cost per Lead (CPL): a steady climb from late 2024, a dramatic surge through mid‑2025, and then an abrupt reset in October. While the global benchmark for CPL stayed broadly stable in the low‑to‑mid $40s, Public Safety’s CPL spiked to an extraordinary peak in August before collapsing below $1 two months later—an extreme swing that far outpaced market movements. 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 Public Safety in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

The period opens at $33.31 in November 2024 and ends at just $0.94 in October 2025—a 97% decline from start to finish. The path between those bookends was anything but linear. CPL rose from $54.38 in December to $91.84 in February, then leapt to $228.24 in March. After a pause in reporting for spring, it accelerated again in July ($414.68) and culminated in a striking August high of $693.23, before falling sharply to $142.29 in September and then collapsing to $0.94 in October.

Across the eight observed months, Public Safety’s CPL averaged $207 (median $117), ranging from a $0.94 low in October to a $693 high in August. Monthly step-changes averaged $193, reflecting very sharp swings. For context, the global benchmark’s average step-change over the same month-to-month sequence was roughly $3.8—placing Public Safety’s volatility at about 50 times the broader market. The August spike materially skewed the average; the median of $117 underscores that while costs were often elevated, one outsized month shaped the topline.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Late 2024 looked relatively normal: November and December hovered near market levels. Early 2025 marked a steady lift, with February and March establishing a higher-cost regime. The most dramatic movement came in Q3 2025. July and August delivered the year’s highest CPLs—Q3 averaged about $417—before the series retraced in September and effectively reset in October.

By contrast, the global benchmark moved within a narrow band. From November 2024 through October 2025, global CPL ranged mostly between $33 and $48, with a gentle lift into late summer and early fall and no outsized spikes.

Country vs. Global

Relative to the global benchmark (average $41.7 across overlapping months), Public Safety across all countries averaged roughly $207—about 5x higher. The gap widened and narrowed materially over time:

• Narrowest gap: November 2024, when Public Safety sat 20% below the global level ($33.31 vs. $41.51).
• Widening divergence: February was +128% above market; March was +586%.
• Peak separation: August reached ~16x the benchmark ($693 vs. $44).
• Reversal: October plunged 98% below the market ($0.94 vs. $45.08).

Trend-wise, the global series edged up about 9% from November to October, while Public Safety fell 97% over the same endpoints after a mid‑year surge, making it markedly more volatile than the global pattern.

Closing

Taken together, these Facebook Ads benchmarks show that Cost per Lead for the Public Safety industry across all countries was unusually elevated and highly variable in 2025, especially in Q3, compared to a steady global baseline. Understanding CPL dynamics alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance helps frame country-specific ad costs within industry ad performance norms for Public Safety across all countries.