Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Design advertisers in the Netherlands spent most of the year paying a premium cost per click versus the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, before a sharp late-year reset. CPC climbed steadily through spring, spiked in late summer, then unwound hard in November and December. Volatility was the defining feature: big month-to-month swings that stood in contrast to a mostly steady global market.
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 the Netherlands compared to the global benchmark.
CPC for Design in the Netherlands started at 1.68 in January and ended at 0.48 in December, a 72% decline end-to-end. The annual average landed at 2.82, well above the 1.13 global average for 2025.
Highs and lows were pronounced. The peak arrived in August at 6.04, while the trough came in December at 0.48—a peak-to-trough spread of 5.57, nearly double the annual mean. The climb from January to August amounted to a 260% lift; the fall from August to December was a 92% contraction. Month-to-month volatility averaged 1.18 points, compared with just 0.06 globally—nearly 20 times more turbulent.
Key inflection points:
The rhythm for Netherlands Design CPC differed from the typical gentle Q1-to-Q4 rise often seen in country-specific ad costs. Instead, growth concentrated in Q2 and Q3, with Q2 averaging 3.60 and Q3 even higher at 4.46. August marked the clear seasonal high. Q4 reversed that momentum: October remained elevated, but November and December reset to the lowest levels of the year.
By comparison, the global CPC trend moved within a narrow band around 1.10 for most months, peaking modestly at 1.32 in November before easing to 1.05 in December. Where the global pattern suggested mild seasonality, Netherlands Design CPC displayed a surge-and-slump cycle.
The Netherlands ran above market for ten straight months. From January through October, CPCs exceeded global levels by 50% to 436% (January at +50%; August at +436%; September at +343%). The gap narrowed and then inverted late in the year: November dipped 39% below global, and December widened that discount to 55% below.
On average, the Netherlands’ 2.82 CPC was 149% higher than the 1.13 global benchmark across 2025. The global series rose gently into November (+17% from October to November) and then retraced in December, while the Netherlands experienced a choppier arc: a strong upswing through late summer followed by a rapid Q4 decline.
Taken together, these CPC trends show a year of extremes for Design advertisers in the Netherlands: elevated costs versus the global benchmark for most of the year, punctuated by an outsized late-summer spike and a sharp year-end reset. Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per click, and how Netherlands Design CPC diverged from global industry ad performance, helps frame country-specific ad costs against broader CPC trends and the steadier global pattern for 2025.
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 Netherlands, 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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Late November–early December (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas and Boxing Day sales), Spring holidays (April–June tourism)
CPM and CPC might rise during spring holiday cluster when travel and leisure ads see elevated engagement. Liberation Day (May 5) is mandatory national holiday—ad inventory might shrink. Ad competition increases in late December for holiday promotions. Few summer holidays mean more consistent campaign performance through summer.
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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