Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
December 2024 - December 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
CPC trends for all industries in the United Arab Emirates chart a year of sharp swings and a decisive Q4 surge, ultimately finishing well above the global Facebook Ads benchmarks. The story opens with softer costs through early 2025, a summer trough, and then a steep climb into the holiday period—ending with December’s peak as the most expensive month of the year. Against a relatively steady global backdrop, the UAE proved far more volatile, with larger month-to-month moves and wider seasonal spreads.
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 the United Arab Emirates compared to the global benchmark.
The UAE’s median CPC started at $0.83 in December 2024 and closed at $2.73 in December 2025, a rise of roughly 229%. Across the full period, CPC averaged $1.31, with a low of $0.65 in August and a high in December ($2.73). Movement was choppy: after a flat January ($0.83 to $0.83), costs lifted in February ($1.15), softened in March ($1.05), and hovered near the $1.06–$1.28 range through June. July slid to $0.92 and August fell further to the annual low. From there, the market flipped—September jumped to $1.58, October settled at $1.87, November held near $1.86, and December spiked again to $2.73.
Volatility stood out. Average month-to-month movement in the UAE was about $0.28, roughly four times the global benchmark’s $0.07. The largest single-month lifts came in August to September (+$0.92) and November to December (+$0.87), underscoring the late-year acceleration.
The first half of 2025 read as stable-to-firm: January through June averaged about $1.09, with modest oscillation. Seasonality turned negative into midsummer, culminating in August’s trough ($0.65). A pronounced Q4 pattern then took hold, with CPCs climbing each month and consolidating at elevated levels. Performance typically softens through Q3 and intensifies in Q4; the UAE followed that rhythm, but with sharper amplitude than the global market. By Q4, median CPC averaged $2.15—marking the strongest quarter of the year.
The global median CPC averaged $1.13 over the same months, trending slightly down from $1.28 (Dec 2024) to $1.05 (Dec 2025). In contrast, the UAE’s average of $1.31 came in about 16% above the global level, driven largely by Q4. H1 2025 in the UAE ($1.09) sat just below the global H1 baseline ($1.12), while Q3 was near parity. The breakout arrived in Q4: the UAE’s $2.15 quarterly average ran roughly 87% above the global $1.15.
Gaps swung month to month: the UAE trailed the world by 26–41% in January and August, hovered near parity in February and June (±1–2%), then moved decisively above market from September onward—up 48% in September, 70% in October, 43% in November, and 159% in December.
As a read on country-specific ad costs, these Facebook Ads benchmarks highlight how all-industry CPC in the United Arab Emirates dipped through summer before surging in Q4, ultimately finishing far above the global trend. Understanding CPC trends—and how they diverge from global industry ad performance—helps contextualize CPM analysis and CTR performance across the United Arab Emirates.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Facebook ad. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting United Arab Emirates, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
Improve your Facebook ad performance
• Instant performance insights – See which ads, audiences, and creatives drive results.
• Data-driven creative decisions – Spot patterns to improve ROAS.
• Effortless reporting – No spreadsheets, just clear insights.
All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
Ramadan + Eid (Mar–Apr), End of November–December (UAE National Day, Christmas, New Year), Dubai Shopping Festival (mid-Dec through Jan)
CPMs may rise sharply during Ramadan and Eid, especially in e‑commerce, gifting, F&B, and beauty sectors. UAE National Day campaigns could lead to high local bidding activity in travel, banking, and luxury retail. Dubai Shopping Festival drives elevated CPMs from mid-December to mid-January. Islamic holidays shift each year, affecting year-over-year comparisons.
CPC (Cost Per Click) is what you pay each time someone clicks on your ad, on any Facebook Ads placement. It's calculated by dividing your total spend by the number of clicks received. Facebook Ads lists Clicks, Link Clicks and Outbound Clicks separately. The former is the sum of all types of clicks (including, for example, clicks to your profile page, to a link or to a comment).
The truth is that varies, so play with our tool to get some benchmarks that are relevant to you. CPC values are highly dependent on the region, industry and campaign objective. The US is one of the most expensive markets.
Several factors affect CPC: your audience targeting, competition in your industry, ad relevance score, and creative performance. If your ad isn't getting engagement or relevance is low, CPC tends to spike.
CPC spikes usually happen because of increased competition in your target audience, seasonal trends (like holidays), poor ad relevance scores, or algorithm changes. Check if your audience targeting has become too narrow or if your creative is showing fatigue.
Yes, there's a noticeable difference between platforms. Mobile CPCs often run lower than desktop. How many times do check Instagram on your phone and how often do you open it in your computer? There's simply much more mobile inventory. Tip: segment your performance data by placement to understand where your clicks are coming from. Spoiler: it's likely all mobile.
For most businesses, optimizing for conversions will deliver much better ROI than focusing purely on CPC. A low CPC is meaningless if those clicks don't convert. However, if you're running awareness campaigns or some kind content promotion, CPC optimization might potentially make sense, although most experts have switched to conversion optimization by now.
Your specific audience targeting, creative quality, bidding strategy, and account history all influence your CPC. Industry averages provide a reference point, but your historical performance is a more reliable benchmark for setting expectations and measuring improvement.
Instagram CPCs are generally slightly higher due to stronger purchase intent and higher competition among advertisers. But it depends on the audience and creative.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
Average cost per click benchmarks across industries
Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
Average cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
See how much it costs to get users to install an app