Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
June 2025 - June 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The headline: Entertainment click costs ran materially below the global benchmark across the year but showed a distinct Q4 peak and a volatile post-holiday slide. 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 Entertainment in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Entertainment cost-per-click (CPC) averaged about $0.39 between June 2025 and June 2026, starting at $0.28 in June 2025 and ending at $0.30 in June 2026 — a modest +5.3% year-over-year move from the opening month. The low point was $0.28 (June 2025) and the high was $0.55 (December 2025), a near-doubling from trough to peak (+96% from the lowest value). Monthly momentum shows a steady climb from summer into Q4 (June → Dec +96%), with the largest month-to-month increases in July→August (+26.5%) and October→November (+19.9%). The biggest single drop came in December→January (−23.0%), reversing a portion of the holiday lift.
Measured volatility: the standard deviation of Entertainment CPCs was roughly $0.088 (about 23% of the Entertainment mean). Average absolute monthly movement was around 11.2%, indicating regular swings rather than a flat series.
Rhythm in the series is clear. CPCs rose through summer and into the holiday quarter, peaking in December at $0.55. The pattern shows classic Q4 pressure with elevated costs, followed by a sharp January correction and a spring decline through March–April, where CPCs settled near $0.31. May and June remained subdued relative to the Q4 peak, producing a softer late-spring rhythm. The December-to-January drop (−23%) and the March trough (around $0.33) punctuate the seasonal cycle.
Compared with the baseline (global) CPC, Entertainment CPCs were consistently below market. The global benchmark averaged about $1.07 over the same 13 months, meaning Entertainment CPCs ran at roughly 36–37% of the global level on average (about 64% lower). The gap narrowed in December 2025 — Entertainment was ~55% of global (≈45% below) — and widened to its largest spread in June 2026, when Entertainment was roughly 28% of global (≈72% below). In absolute terms, Entertainment and global series showed similar dollar-level swings (std devs ≈ $0.09), but Entertainment was far more volatile in relative terms (≈23% vs ≈8% coefficient of variation).
Understanding Facebook Ads CPC trends and broader Facebook Ads benchmarks for Entertainment in All countries available shows a pronounced Q4 lift, notable post-holiday retracement, and a persistent gap versus global CPM analysis and CTR performance baselines for industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs.
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 Entertainment industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs based on market competition and user engagement in different regions. 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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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:
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