Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
December 2024 - December 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
E-commerce CPC in Australia spent the year below the global market, but the path wasn’t quiet. Costs eased after the December peak, rallied mid-winter, and then fell sharply into early spring before a strong November rebound. The standout moves came in September–October, when CPC hit the yearly floor, and in November, when costs snapped back to near December levels. 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 E-commerce in Australia compared to the global benchmark.
Across the observed period, Australia’s E-commerce CPC averaged about $0.84, ranging from a low of $0.67 in October (and $0.67 in September) to a high of $1.00 in December 2024. The period began at $1.00 in December and ended at $0.99 in November—essentially flat (−1%) overall, but with pronounced swings in between.
Momentum was choppy:
Month-to-month volatility averaged 0.13 points in Australia—meaningfully more turbulent than the global benchmark’s 0.05. The AU range spanned 0.34 points across the year, versus the global range of 0.25.
The pattern reflects a familiar post-holiday cool-down from December into Q1, followed by a mid-year wobble and a clear late-Q3 softness. Winter (July–August) was a relative bright spot, running about 10% above the annual Australian average. The market then hit bottom in September–October (roughly 21% below the AU average), before a pronounced Q4 lift in November. Globally, CPCs were steadier through most of the year, with a characteristic spike in November.
Compared with the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, Australia’s E-commerce CPCs ran consistently below market every month. Australia’s annual average (~$0.84) sat about 26% under the global average (~$1.14). The narrowest gap appeared in July (Australia ~15% below global), while the widest gap came in October (about 39% below). Month by month, the global series moved in a tighter band and rose modestly overall (+3% from December to November), while Australia’s trajectory was flatter (−1%) but far more volatile—roughly 2.6 times the month-to-month movement of the global benchmark. Globally, November was the high at ~$1.31; Australia’s November recovery reached ~$0.99 but remained below the market level.
These Facebook Ads benchmarks highlight CPC trends for E-commerce in Australia: consistently below global levels, more volatile month to month, and marked by a steep September–October dip followed by a strong November rebound. Understanding country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance helps contextualize CPC analysis and compare local dynamics with global patterns for E-commerce in Australia.
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 E-commerce industry, Facebook ad costs can be varied, with peaks during holiday seasons and competitive product categories. For campaigns targeting Australia, advertisers typically see good engagement rates despite moderate costs. 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 December (Christmas and Boxing Day), Early December (Cyber Monday), January (Back-to-school), May (Mother's Day)
Ad costs could spike around major holidays, especially Easter, Anzac Day, and Christmas. Increased budgets and earlier scheduling may be necessary. Retailers should consider planning promotions around back-to-school and Mother's Day to maximize campaign effectiveness.
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