Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The headline is straightforward: in September 2025, cost-per-click for the Design industry in India landed at 0.024 — extraordinarily below the global Facebook Ads benchmark for the same month, which stood near 1.09. While the global market followed a familiar arc of gradual firmness into Q4 followed by a year-end reset, India’s single reading sits far beneath that rhythm, signaling structurally lower country-specific ad costs for this industry in our dataset. September’s global softness contrasted with an outsized Q4 spike and an abrupt January reset, making India’s level look even more anomalously low in context.
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 Design in India compared to the global benchmark.
Across the global benchmark, CPC trends in 2025 started around 1.12 in January, edged higher through spring, and held a narrow band through late summer before a sharp Q4 surge and a year-end comedown. The global median reached its annual high in November at 1.316, then cooled to 1.052 in December and fell further to 0.846 in January 2026 — the lowest point in the series. Over Jan 2025–Jan 2026, the global average CPC was about 1.11, with a range of 0.47 points from trough to peak (roughly a 42% swing versus the mean). Average month-to-month movement was 0.07 points, indicating moderate volatility, with outsized dislocations concentrated in late Q4.
September — the lone month available for India’s Design industry — sat at 0.024, while the global benchmark for that month printed 1.094. That places India’s CPC about 98% below the global level in September. Relative to the broader global 2025 average of roughly 1.13, India’s snapshot remains about 98% lower; even against the global trough in January 2026 (0.846), the gap would still be roughly 97%.
Global CPC patterns were steady through H1 2025, with mild lift from January to May, a contained band across summer, and then a pronounced Q4 acceleration. November marked the clear high watermark, followed by a December cool-off and a sharper reset in January 2026. September, specifically, was a softer point globally versus the year’s average, edging in around 1.09.
The India reading, occurring in that late-summer period, lands when global costs were slightly lighter. Even so, the magnitude of difference is the story: the Design industry’s CPC in India is materially below the global median at that moment, underscoring unusually low country-specific ad costs in this category in our data.
For performance marketers tracking Facebook Ads benchmarks, this snapshot shows Design CPC trends globally rising into Q4 before resetting, while the Design industry in India posted an exceptionally low CPC in September 2025. Understanding cost-per-click benchmarks for the Design industry in India provides a clear reference for country-specific ad costs and how they compare to global CPC trends.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Facebook ad. In the Design industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. For campaigns targeting India, 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.
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October (Diwali), Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas), July–August (Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi)
CPMs might spike significantly during Diwali, especially in electronics, apparel, jewellery, and gifts. Black Friday/Cyber Monday and December could drive elevated ad competition. State-specific festivals might see regional campaign spikes. Bank closures during holidays may push online shopping to cluster in end-of-week periods.
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
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