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 Design industry in New Zealand saw a year of sharp swings in Facebook Ads cost-per-click (CPC), toggling between brief surges and prolonged softness. Against a steadier global benchmark, New Zealand’s CPC trend started near parity, spiked dramatically in April, then reset lower through midyear with a brief September rebound before falling again into November. Volatility was the defining feature, with standout highs and unusually deep lows compressing the annual average.
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 New Zealand compared to the global benchmark.
New Zealand’s Design CPC opened 2025 at $1.04 and closed November at $0.29, a 72% slide from start to end. The year’s high landed in April at $2.30, while the low came in July at $0.26 — roughly a 9x swing between the extremes. Across the observed months, CPC averaged $1.01.
Momentum was choppy:
Volatility was pronounced. The average month-to-month absolute change was $0.74, a large move relative to the $1.01 average level, signaling frequent step-changes rather than glide paths.
The early-year build culminated in an April spike, followed by a steep correction through the early part of Q3. July marked the softest point of the year, with CPCs near a quarter-dollar. A September lift broke the slump, but the recovery didn’t hold: by November, CPCs returned to sub-$0.30 levels. This rhythm contrasts with typical Q4 patterns where competition often pushes costs up; here, November was among the lowest points of the year in New Zealand’s Design category.
Looking at halves, H1 (Jan–Jun) averaged $1.17, while the available H2 months (Jul, Sep, Nov) averaged $0.67 — indicating a clear downshift in the back half despite a September blip.
Compared to the global benchmark, New Zealand’s Design CPC was lower on average: $1.01 vs. $1.14 across the same months (−12%). Four of nine months ran above market — notably April at $2.30, more than double the global $1.13 (+102%), and September at $1.47 vs. $1.09 (+35%). Five months tracked below market, with some wide gaps: May (−67%), June (−58%), July (−77%), and November (−78%) compared to the global levels for those months.
Trend shape also diverged. Globally, CPCs were steady to slightly higher, with an average month-to-month move of just $0.04 and a year-to-date climb from January ($1.12) to November ($1.32) of about +18%. New Zealand moved in larger steps — an average monthly swing 18x bigger than global — and ended the period well below both its January starting point and the global November level.
Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost-per-click show a volatile year for the Design industry in New Zealand: a powerful April spike, a midyear reset, a short September rebound, and a low-cost November. Understanding CPC trends and country-specific ad costs for Design in New Zealand helps contextualize industry ad performance relative to global patterns.
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 New Zealand, 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.
Late November–early December (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), Christmas season (Boxing Day sales), Mid‑year promotions (Matariki in June), Back-to-school (late January/early February)
CPM and CPC might rise around Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day as public events increase media consumption. Matariki is new public holiday with growing awareness—advertising may see elevated competition. Late November–December Black Friday/Cyber Monday could drive ad costs significantly. Regional anniversary holidays may cause local inventory shifts.
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