Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Finance advertisers in the Netherlands spent the year navigating two very different CPC realities: a dramatic early spike followed by a long, measured climb that closed the year near parity with the world. Across 2025, the country’s median Facebook Ads CPC averaged 1.07, slightly below the 1.13 global benchmark, but with much sharper swings and standout months that defined the narrative. 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 Finance in the Netherlands compared to the global benchmark.
The year opened cost-efficiently at 0.56 in January and 0.60 in February before a sudden escalation: CPC jumped to 2.84 in March (the yearly high) and eased to 2.41 in April. By May, costs reset to the annual low of 0.46, then settled into a sub-1.00 band through September (0.56–0.76). Momentum rebuilt into Q4: 0.93 in October, 1.20 in November, and 1.23 in December, ending the year 119% higher than January.
Two months tower over the rest: March (+2.24 points versus February) and April (still 2.41). The swift correction in May (−1.96 points from April) reset the market, after which CPC climbed in six consecutive monthly steps from June to December.
The rhythm splits into three phases:
Globally, CPCs were comparatively steady for most of the year, with a noticeable November peak (1.32) followed by a December cooldown (1.05).
Relative to Facebook Ads benchmarks, Finance in the Netherlands ran below the market for most of the year—nine of twelve months. The gap was widest in May (−60% vs. global) and narrowed steadily through H2. By November, the Netherlands sat just 9% below global CPCs; in December, it flipped modestly above (+17%). The only other above-market months were March (+149%) and April (+113%), underscoring how concentrated the over-market moments were.
While the global trend was broadly stable across 2025 (−6% from January to December), the Netherlands posted a more pronounced arc: low start, outsized March–April, mid-year trough, then a persistent late-year climb. The higher local volatility (0.50 average monthly movement vs. 0.06 globally) is the defining contrast.
In sum, Facebook Ads CPC benchmarks for the Finance industry in the Netherlands show a year marked by early spikes and a late-year rise, averaging slightly below global costs but with far more pronounced movement. Understanding these CPC trends and country-specific ad costs helps contextualize industry ad performance in the Netherlands against worldwide 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 Finance industry, Facebook ad costs can be typically higher due to high competition and valuable conversions. 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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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), 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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