Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks for SaaS & Cloud Platforms in South Africa

Key takeaways

• Based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks, this analysis looks at cost-per-purchase trends for SaaS & Cloud Platforms in South Africa versus the global baseline.
• On average, South Africa is below market: 46.43 vs 49.24 globally (about 5.7% lower).
• Volatility is markedly higher in South Africa: average month-to-month change of about 9.0 (18.8%); global baseline averages 2.24 (4.7%).
• Seasonality diverges: the global trend shows elevated costs from December to February, while South Africa softens through Q4, then spikes sharply in March before declining steadily into August.
• Net trend in South Africa is strongly downward from October to August (-70%); globally the same period is nearly flat (-2%).

What the South Africa time series shows

• Period covered: October 2024 to August 2025.
• Average cost-per-purchase: 46.43.
• High and low:
• High: 69.30 in March 2025.
• Low: 17.43 in August 2025.
• Range: 51.86 across the period, indicating wide swings.
• Month-to-month volatility:
• Average absolute change: 9.0 (18.8%).
• Largest moves:
• February to March: +33% (52.11 → 69.30).
• July to August: -47% (32.86 → 17.43).
• Trend and seasonality:
• Q4 softening: October starts high at 58.42, easing through November (48.22) and December (44.83).
• Q1–Q2: rebound in January–February, pronounced peak in March, then a steady decline May through August.
• First-to-last change: -70.2% from October (58.42) to August (17.43).

How South Africa compares to the global baseline

• Average level: South Africa 46.43 vs global 49.24 (about 5.7% below market).
• Extremes:
• Peak comparison: South Africa’s March high (69.30) is above the global peak (53.89 in February).
• Floor comparison: South Africa’s August low (17.43) is far below the global low (43.19 in November).
• Volatility:
• South Africa’s average month-to-month move is roughly 4x the global baseline (18.8% vs 4.7%).
• Seasonal pattern:
• Global costs are higher December–February (51.53–53.89), consistent with holiday and early Q1 inflation.
• South Africa diverges, easing through Q4 and peaking later (March), then trending down into mid-year.
• Month-by-month positioning:
• Above market in October, November, March, and April (e.g., March +31.7% vs baseline).
• Below market in December, January, February, and May–August (notably August at 61.9% below baseline).
• Overall trajectory:
• South Africa declines -70% from October to August; the global baseline is down just -2.1% over the same window.

Summary

For SaaS & Cloud Platforms in South Africa, cost-per-purchase is, on average, below the global benchmark but with substantially higher variability. The data show a Q4 softening, a March surge, and a persistent decline to August, contrasting with the global pattern of elevated costs in December–February and relatively stable month-to-month movements. Understanding cost-per-purchase benchmarks on Facebook Ads in industry SaaS & Cloud Platforms and South Africa helps advertisers make more efficient budget and creative choices.