Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for Design

Introduction

Design advertisers faced a year of elevated acquisition costs that swung sharply month to month, then eased dramatically into year-end. Across all countries, Cost per Purchase (CPP) for the Design industry averaged 211 in 2025—about four times the global median—and moved in a pronounced sawtooth pattern with three distinct spikes before a steep Q4 slide. Volatility was the defining feature, yet the year closed with the narrowest gap to the broader market.

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 in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Design CPP opened at 249 in January and finished at 88 in December, a 65% decline from start to finish. The year’s high came in July at 270, while the low landed in December at 88—an overall peak-to-trough drop of 67%. The monthly median averaged 210.6, but the path was choppy: notable surges to 268 in April, 270 in July, and 262 in September were followed by abrupt declines.

Volatility was elevated. Average absolute month-over-month movement was 48.6 points, with some of the sharpest swings around midyear: April to May (−78), July to August (−80), August to September (+73), and September to October (−72). The back half of the year trended lower overall: H1 averaged 234, while H2 averaged 187 (−20%).

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The year organized into four distinct phases:

• Q1 stayed elevated but receding: 242 average, slipping gradually from January’s 249 to March’s 233.
• Q2 pivoted sharply: a spike to 268 in April was followed by a 29% drop to 190 in May, then a partial rebound to 223 in June.
• Q3 was the most volatile stretch, bookended by July’s high of 270 and September’s 262, with a deep August trough at 189.
• Q4 broke from typical holiday-season cost pressure seen in broader CPC trends and CPM analysis. Instead, Design CPP fell each month—190 in October to 122 in November and 88 in December—producing the lowest readings of the year.

Country vs. Global

Compared with the global Facebook Ads benchmarks across all industries, Design’s CPP sat consistently “above market.” The Design average (211) was roughly 4.1x the 2025 global median (51.7). Month by month, the premium ranged from 1.85x in December—the narrowest gap of the year—to 5.48x in July, the widest.

While the global benchmark drifted modestly lower across 2025 (−10% from January to December) with minimal volatility (average monthly change of 1.6 points), Design’s trend was both higher and far more turbulent. The gap to global levels narrowed sharply late in the year as Design CPP fell to 88 in December versus the global 47.6, reducing the premium to +85% after being +448% at the July peak.

Closing

Facebook Ads benchmarks underscore that Cost per Purchase for the Design industry across all countries remained well above global averages in 2025, with sharp midyear spikes and a pronounced Q4 comedown. Understanding cost-per-purchase trends for Design in all countries—and how they diverge from global patterns—helps contextualize performance against market-level acquisition costs.