Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Healthcare advertisers in South Africa saw a year defined by two clear acts: a high-cost start followed by an extraordinary slide to penny-level clicks. Compared to the global benchmark, South Africa’s CPC trends were dramatically lower for most of the period and far more volatile early on, with a sharp drop after November and a long, subdued stretch through late 2025. 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 Healthcare in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
CPC for Healthcare in South Africa started at $0.87 in November 2024 and finished at $0.009 in October 2025 — a 99% decline end to end. The period averaged $0.24, with a high of $0.87 (November) and a low of $0.0069 (September). December fell to $0.03 (−97% month over month), then the market rebounded through Q1: January–March settled into a mid-cost band between $0.37 and $0.51, with March ($0.51) the second-highest month of the year. April held at $0.41 before a decisive step-down in May to $0.01.
From there, the market flattened at extreme lows: June printed $0.15, then July through October hovered around one cent. September set the trough at $0.0069, with a modest uptick to $0.0092 in October. Volatility was pronounced early and then faded: the average absolute month-to-month move was $0.21, driven by the whiplash around year-end. By contrast, the global series moved just $0.05 per month on average.
The rhythm of the year breaks cleanly:
While global CPCs typically firm into late-year due to competition, South Africa’s Healthcare CPCs decoupled from that pattern, remaining at sub-cent levels through the end of the observed period.
Against the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, South Africa’s Healthcare CPC averaged $0.24 versus a global average of $1.14 — about 79% below market for the period. The gap fluctuated widely: it was narrowest in November 2024 (South Africa $0.87 vs. global $1.46, roughly 41% below) and widest in September 2025 (South Africa $0.0069 vs. global $1.04, about 99% below).
The global curve eased from $1.46 in November 2024 to $1.05 in October 2025 (−28%), with relatively smooth month-to-month changes. South Africa’s trajectory fell much harder (−99% from start to end) and was four to five times more volatile on a monthly basis ($0.21 average absolute change vs. $0.05 globally), before settling into a minimal-cost floor in Q3–Q4.
Overall, Facebook Ads benchmarks show Healthcare CPC in South Africa running well below the global baseline, with a pronounced early-year surge and a long glide down to near-zero costs. Understanding cost-per-click trends for Healthcare in South Africa helps advertisers contextualize country-specific ad costs against global CPC performance.
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 Healthcare industry, Facebook ad costs can be higher than average due to specialized audience targeting and compliance requirements. For campaigns targeting South Africa, 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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Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas & Day of Goodwill), Mid-year retail (June Youth Day promotions)
CPM and CPC might rise during long weekends like Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, and Heritage Day as leisure and travel-related media consumption increases. Retail CPMs may spike in late November–December for holiday shopping. Youth Day and National Women's Day might drive regional campaigns. Weekend extensions across public holidays may benefit weekend campaigns.
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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