Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for Design in South Africa

Introduction

Design advertisers in South Africa ran well below the global Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per purchase throughout 2025. Costs lifted sharply in February, unwound into an April trough, stabilized mid‑year, and softened again into November — a tight absolute range, but pronounced percentage swings month to month. The standout moments were a February peak and a November low, with a steady gap versus the global market that rarely narrowed.

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 the Design industry in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Cost per purchase for Design in South Africa averaged 1.57 across the observed period (January–November 2025), ranging from a high of 2.26 in February to a low of 0.75 in November. The year opened at 1.17 in January, surged to 2.26 in February (+94%), and then retraced to 0.82 by April (−64% from the February high). A mid‑year rebound followed: 1.81 in May, 1.60 in June, and 2.05 in July, before softening into the 0.75 November low.

Volatility averaged 0.78 points per interval, reflecting sharper percentage swings than the modest absolute values imply. The biggest moves were a two‑month drop from February to April (−1.44 points) and a late‑period slide from July to November (−1.30 points). Across the year, the range spanned 1.51 points, nearly the size of the average — a compact band in dollars but an active market in relative terms.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The pattern suggests an early‑Q1 lift culminating in February, a Q2 trough in April, and a steadier mid‑year plateau through July. Performance typically softens through Q4 as competition rises, with engagement rebounding in early Q1; in this dataset, November marked the lowest month of the year for South Africa’s Design cost per purchase. The rhythm is consistent with broader advertising seasonality: early‑year recalibration, mid‑year stability, and year‑end pressure.

Country vs. Global

Against the global benchmark, South Africa’s Design cost per purchase remained far below market levels. Globally, cost per purchase averaged about 52.02 from January to November 2025, moving within a 47–55 band for most of the year, before a sharp reset to 25.15 in January 2026. South Africa averaged 1.57 over the same period — roughly 97% below the global average. The gap was narrowest in February (2.26 vs. 54.77, about 96% below) and widest in April and November (0.82–0.75 vs. 52.38–47.32, about 98% below).

Momentum also diverged. South Africa declined 36% from January to November, a steeper slide than the global −11% over the same window. In absolute terms, global volatility averaged about 1.6 points per month across 2025 (spiking into January 2026), while South Africa’s average move was roughly half that at 0.78 points — relatively calmer in dollars, though proportionally more dramatic.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-purchase benchmarks for the Design industry in South Africa — and how they compare to global industry ad performance — helps contextualize country-specific ad costs alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance. This benchmark read shows a structurally lower South African cost base, a February high, and a November low, set against a globally elevated but easing 2025 backdrop.