Facebook Ads Cost Per Purchase Benchmarks in South Africa

Introduction

South Africa’s cost per purchase showed a year defined by extremes: a dramatic December spike far above the market, followed by long stretches priced far below the global benchmark. The pattern suggests sharp swings rather than a steady climb or decline, with the period ultimately ending near where it began. 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 all industries in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Starting from November 2024 at just 0.13, South Africa’s cost per purchase vaulted to a peak of 305.77 in December—the clear outlier of the year—before normalizing to 29.08 in January 2025. It then climbed to 49.19 in February and 61.33 in March, dipped sharply to 4.89 in May (April not observed), rebounded to 23.02 in June, and slid to ultra-low levels in July (0.12) and August (0.18). The period closed essentially where it started, despite violent interim moves.

Across the nine observed months, South Africa averaged 52.63, though the single December surge pulls that figure upward; the median month sat at a much lower 23.02. The market’s high was 305.77 (December) and the low was 0.12 (July), yielding a broad range of 305.66. Month-to-month movements were steep: −90% from December to January, +69% January to February, +25% February to March, then −92% into May, +371% into June, −99.5% into July, and +55% into August. On average, absolute monthly moves were about 89 points—exceptionally volatile for a cost metric.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality showed up most forcefully in Q4: December was the year’s cost crest in South Africa, consistent with heightened holiday competition in many markets. Early Q1 (January) reset to more moderate levels, with momentum building into February–March. The Q2 picture was mixed, with a sharp reset by May and a partial recovery in June. Q3 opened soft, with July and August printing unusually low costs. Overall, the rhythm was not a smooth seasonal curve but a series of spikes and collapses.

Country vs. Global

Compared with the global baseline, South Africa was highly uneven. Globally, cost per purchase averaged 49.9 from November 2024 through August 2025, ranging mostly in the mid‑40s to low‑50s, with relatively modest month-to-month changes averaging 2.4 points. South Africa matched the market average on paper (52.6 vs. 49.9) but typically ran below it: seven of nine observed months were cheaper than global, often by 40% to 100%. The narrowest gap occurred in February (−9% vs. global), while the widest deficits were in July and August (about −100%). The only months above market were March (+17%) and the outsized December (+513%).

In short, the global line rose into February and hovered around the low‑50s, while South Africa’s path was far choppier—defined by a December spike and repeated troughs that pulled most months well below global levels.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per purchase across all industries in South Africa highlights a market with extreme volatility, punctuated by a December surge and prolonged periods of below‑market pricing. These country-specific ad costs provide context to compare industry ad performance against steadier global patterns, alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance indicators.