Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
IT Services & Outsourcing in South Africa entered the period against a global market that cooled sharply after a Q4 peak, then steadied through mid‑year before lifting into November. The global Facebook Ads cost-per-click (CPC) curve shows a classic seasonal shape: elevated in late Q4 2024, a step-down into Q1, a gentle mid‑year drift lower, and a late‑Q4 rebound. Month-to-month moves were modest overall, but transitions at the edges of Q4 stood out as the clearest inflection points. 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 IT Services & Outsourcing in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
Across the global benchmark, median CPC averaged about $1.15 from November 2024 through November 2025. The period opened at a high of $1.46 in November 2024, fell to $1.28 in December, and eased further to roughly $1.13–$1.14 through Q1. Mid‑spring held in a tight band (April–May around $1.13), before costs softened to $1.07 in July and reached the cycle low of $1.04 in September. From there, CPC ticked up to $1.05 in October and rebounded to $1.21 in November 2025.
The full-year range ran from $1.04 (September low) to $1.46 (November 2024 high), a spread of $0.43—about 37% of the average level. Volatility was moderate: the average absolute monthly move was roughly $0.06, with the sharpest shifts at seasonal boundaries (−$0.18 from November to December 2024; +$0.16 from October to November 2025). From the initial November 2024 peak to October 2025, CPC fell about 28%, before a late‑year rebound lifted November 2025 back to $1.21—still 17% below the previous November high but 17% above the September trough.
Seasonality was clear in the global IT Services & Outsourcing series. Q4 2024 brought elevated CPCs, followed by a reset into Q1 where medians clustered near $1.13–$1.14. Q2 drifted lower (averaging about $1.11), and Q3 marked the softest stretch (around $1.07), culminating in September’s low. Early Q4 2025 remained restrained in October before the typical holiday auction lift appeared in November, pushing CPCs back to the $1.21 level.
For South Africa’s IT Services & Outsourcing segment, in‑market monthly medians are not available for this window in the dataset, so precise gaps to global CPCs cannot be quantified. The global curve, however, provides a directional benchmark: steadier mid‑year performance with softer costs in Q3, framed by larger movements at the start and end of the year. In this context, country-specific ad costs for South Africa can be referenced against a global average around $1.15, a late‑2024 high near $1.46, and a mid‑2025 trough close to $1.04, noting the pronounced Q4 edges and relatively calm mid‑year.
Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per click in IT Services & Outsourcing show a defined arc—Q4 pressure, Q1 reset, Q3 softness, and a November rebound. While month-by-month figures for South Africa are not available in this period, the global CPC trend offers a clear reference to evaluate industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs. Understanding CPC trends for IT Services & Outsourcing in South Africa within the context of the global benchmark helps frame performance patterns and seasonal rhythm across the year.
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 IT Services & Outsourcing industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. 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.
Improve your Facebook ad performance
• Instant performance insights – See which ads, audiences, and creatives drive results.
• Data-driven creative decisions – Spot patterns to improve ROAS.
• Effortless reporting – No spreadsheets, just clear insights.
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 (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.
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
See how much it costs to get users to install an app