Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for Recreation and Travel

Introduction

The headline: Recreation and Travel paid the price for peaks and troughs — cost per purchase ran well above the global baseline and swung sharply month to month. 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 Recreation and Travel in All countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

From June 2025 to June 2026 the Recreation and Travel cost per purchase (COST_PER_PURCHASE) averaged about $115 per conversion, starting at $87.00 in June 2025 and finishing essentially flat at $87.15 in June 2026. The series hit a low of $62.25 in March 2026 and a high of $196.59 in December 2025 — more than a threefold swing between trough and peak. By contrast the global baseline averaged roughly $48 over the same period.

Month-to-month momentum was dramatic: steady climbs through late summer and autumn (July → October rose from ~$89 to ~$150), a pronounced spike into December (+~63% November→December to ~$197), then a steep retrenchment across Q1 2026 (December→March fell by nearly 68%), with a modest rebound into spring and early summer. Over the full window Recreation and Travel cost per purchase ran roughly 2.4x the global median — about +139% above baseline on average.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality shows two clear rhythms. Late-summer to Q4 built sustained pressure on cost per purchase: August→October displayed consistent lifts (+about 16–24% month-to-month), culminating in a December apex. December was a standout month, the highest-cost point at ~$197, likely reflecting intensified competition and larger basket/value dynamics in the holiday period. Q1 moved the opposite direction: January–March saw a cooling that culminated in March’s trough near $62, a dramatic swing from December.

Spring (April–June) displayed a measured recovery, with costs settling back into the high-$70s to mid-$80s range. Overall, the Recreation and Travel series carries a seasonality of strong Q3–Q4 pressure and Q1 relief, but with pronounced volatility that amplifies those seasonal patterns.

Country vs. Global

Relative to the global baseline, Recreation and Travel was consistently above market. The gap ranged widely: at its narrowest (March 2026) Recreation and Travel was about 12% above the global level ($62 vs $55.5), while at its widest (December 2025) it was nearly 296% higher than baseline ($196.6 vs $49.7). Average monthly absolute movement for Recreation and Travel was roughly 24% — nearly three times the baseline’s average monthly swing of about 9% — signaling a more volatile, higher-cost profile versus the broader market.

Across the year Recreation and Travel’s cost-per-purchase narrative is one of amplified seasonality and elevated cost: pronounced autumnal build, a December surge, a sharp Q1 contraction, and a spring rebalancing — consistently running above global medians throughout the cycle.

Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-purchase benchmarks for Recreation and Travel across All countries helps advertisers evaluate purchase-cost trends and compare performance to global patterns.