Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for Public Safety

Introduction

The main story: cost-per-purchase for Public Safety campaigns ran noticeably above the global benchmark for most of the period, with sharp month-to-month swings and one brief alignment in early autumn. 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 across all countries in our dataset compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

From July 2025 to March 2026, Public Safety cost-per-purchase began at about $102 in July, peaked at roughly $107 in August, then plunged to a low near $52 in September before settling at about $69 in March 2026. The nine-month median for Public Safety was approximately $77 per purchase (rounded), with a high of $107 (Aug 2025) and a low of $52 (Sep 2025). Over the same months the global baseline averaged about $51 per purchase.

Absolute gap: Public Safety averaged roughly $26 higher per purchase versus the global benchmark — about a 51% premium. Month-to-month movement was pronounced: the largest single-month decline was the Aug→Sep drop of roughly 51% (‑$55), while the biggest one-month rebound was Sep→Oct (+$30). Overall, monthly absolute swings averaged about $23 for Public Safety — large relative to the mean.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The series shows momentum: a high-cost summer (July–August), a sharp autumn correction in September, then a series of rebounds and pullbacks through Q4 and into early 2026. December and January show elevated medians again ($87 and $78 respectively), punctuated by softer February ($57) and a partial recovery in March ($69). This creates a rhythm of spike → correction → recovery rather than a steady climb or decline, producing a jagged seasonal pattern across Q3–Q1.

Baseline movement was far flatter across the same months: global medians held in the low $50s with only modest monthly shifts, so the Public Safety series reads as spikier and less steady.

Country vs. Global

Compared to the global benchmark, Public Safety was above market for most months — often substantially so. In July and August 2025 Public Safety costs were roughly 105–108% higher than the global medians (more than double). September was the narrowest gap: Public Safety sat about 1% below the global median that month. Across the sample the premium ranged from roughly −1% (Sep) to +106% (Aug). Volatility comparison underscores the contrast: Public Safety monthly swings averaged about $23 (≈30% of its mean), while the global baseline moved only about $2.5 month-to-month (≈5% of its mean), indicating Public Safety was markedly more volatile.

Closing

Understanding cost-per-purchase benchmarks for Public Safety across all countries in our dataset — and how they diverge from broader Facebook Ads benchmarks and country-specific ad costs — highlights a pattern of summer peaks, a sharp autumn correction, and a bumpy recovery into early 2026 that sets Public Safety apart from the steadier global CPM/CPC trends and CTR performance observed over the same period.