Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
June 2025 - June 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Gaming CPCs moved very differently from the global baseline over the 13-month window, tracing a choppy but accelerating path from a modest start to a steep finish. 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 Gaming in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Median cost‑per‑click (CPC) for Gaming began at roughly $1.12 in June 2025 and finished at $2.66 in June 2026 — a full-year lift of about +138%. The monthly median across the period was about $1.56. The low point was July 2025 at $0.61; the high point was June 2026 at $2.66. By contrast the global baseline averaged about $1.09 (start ~$1.07 → end ~$1.36, a +27% rise).
Month-to-month moves were pronounced: a sharp decline into July (to $0.61), a swift rebound into August ($1.83), a relatively steady autumn and winter (roughly $1.31–$1.50), then a renewed ramp from February into a late‑spring and early‑summer spike (May $1.91 → June $2.66). Volatility — measured as average absolute month-over-month change — ran about $0.33 for Gaming, versus roughly $0.09 for the global baseline, or nearly 3.6× more volatile.
On a relative basis Gaming CPCs averaged roughly 44% above the baseline across the year, but that gap swung widely: Gaming trailed the global benchmark by roughly 43% in July 2025, and by June 2026 it was about 95% above the baseline.
Patterns show a distinct mid‑summer trough followed by a back-to-school/late‑summer rebound: July’s trough gave way to August’s spike, then a calmer Q4 with small oscillations through December. January registered a modest pullback, and the market gathered momentum from February onward. The clearest rhythm is a low mid‑year pocket, consolidation in autumn/winter, and a strong ramp into late spring culminating in a June peak.
The baseline series is steadier, with a modest November uptick and a smaller June rise; Gaming’s cadence is more choppy and amplified around those same seasonal inflection points.
Across All countries available, Gaming CPCs were consistently more volatile and on average higher than the global benchmark. The global trend rose steadily (~+27% start→end), while Gaming’s trend was much steeper (+138%) and punctuated by sharper swings. At its narrowest gap Gaming sat a few percent above baseline (June 2025); at its widest, Gaming CPCs approached double the baseline (June 2026).
This contrast — amplified month-to-month swings in Gaming versus the calmer baseline — is visible across the period and underscores pronounced differences in industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs aggregation.
Understanding cost-per-click benchmarks for Gaming across All countries available and how they compare to Facebook Ads benchmarks and broader CPC trends offers a clear read on industry ad performance and the shape of country-specific ad costs in this dataset.
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 Gaming 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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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.
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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