Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Across all countries, Facebook Ads CPC for the Hardware and Networking industry ran consistently below the global, all‑industry benchmark throughout 2025, with sharper month‑to‑month swings and a pronounced late‑year reset. Costs peaked around mid‑year, dipped hard in October, rebounded in November, and then fell sharply entering January 2026 — a more dramatic arc than the steadier global pattern. 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 Hardware and Networking across all countries compared to the global benchmark.
CPC trends for Hardware and Networking started 2025 at $0.82 in January and ended the year near the same level at $0.81 in December, averaging $0.82 across 2025 (range: $0.66–$0.94). The year’s high came in May at $0.94 (with another near‑peak in August at $0.93), while the low printed in October at $0.66 before a rebound to $0.85 in November and a mild step down to $0.81 in December. The most abrupt move arrived after year‑end: January 2026 fell to $0.37, a 54% drop from December.
Monthly movements were choppy. Through 2025, average absolute month‑to‑month volatility was $0.11, with alternating lifts and dips in a ±12–18% band around the mid‑year period: +13% in March, −14% in April, +26% in May, −12% in June, +14% in August, −18% in September, and −15% in October before a +30% November rebound. The 2025 range ($0.29 wide) equaled roughly 35% of the annual average, underscoring a market that moved more than the headline stability from January to December might suggest.
Seasonally, the pattern favored mid‑year efficiency for Hardware and Networking. CPCs firmed across Q2 and Q3 (averaging about $0.84 in both), with May and August standing out as the strongest months. Q4 softened overall (average $0.77), led by an October trough — an atypical dip just ahead of the typical holiday surge — followed by a November rebound and a modest December ease. The new year reset was sharper than usual: January 2026 landed materially below late‑2025 levels, marking the period’s most significant one‑month swing.
Relative to the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, Hardware and Networking CPCs were consistently below market. In 2025, Hardware and Networking averaged $0.82 versus a $1.13 global median — about 28% lower on the year. The gap narrowed to its tightest in May and August (about 17–18% below global levels) and widened most in October (around 42% below). November’s holiday pressure lifted both series, but the industry remained 35% under the global CPC. Trendwise, the global benchmark eased −6% from January to December 2025, while Hardware and Networking finished essentially flat (−1%). Volatility was the bigger differentiator: $0.11 average monthly moves for Hardware and Networking versus $0.06 globally — almost twice as choppy — with the sharpest divergence appearing at the turn of the year (January 2026 at $0.37 industry vs. $0.85 global).
In short, Facebook Ads CPC trends for Hardware and Networking across all countries showed mid‑year strength, a pronounced October trough, a November rebound, and a sharp January reset — all while running 17–42% below the global benchmark for most of 2025. Understanding Facebook Ads CPC benchmarks for the Hardware and Networking industry across all countries helps compare industry ad performance to overall market CPC trends and situate country‑agnostic ad costs within the broader global pattern.
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 Hardware and Networking 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.
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