Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
December 2024 - December 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Legal advertisers in New Zealand are operating against a global Facebook Ads CPC environment that was steady through most of 2025, softened in late Q3, and then surged in November before easing into December. While localized New Zealand Legal CPC medians are not available for this window, the global benchmark provides a reliable directional backdrop: a 2025 average of $1.13 per click, a narrow trading band for most of the year, and a pronounced Q4 spike. 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 the Legal industry in New Zealand compared to the global benchmark.
Across the global benchmark, median CPC started at $1.27 in December 2024, closed at $1.12 in December 2025, and averaged $1.13 across 2025. That’s an 12% decline from December to December, with most months clustered tightly around the mean. The lowest point arrived in September 2025 at $1.07, followed by a sharp lift to the yearly high in November at $1.32 before easing back to $1.12 in December.
Month-to-month volatility averaged about $0.06, but two moments stood out: a +$0.22 jump from October to November and a −$0.20 pullback into December. Outside of that Q4 whipsaw, movements were small: many monthly changes landed within one to two cents, underscoring the benchmark’s overall consistency.
Looking within 2025:
The rhythm echoed familiar auction seasonality: a stable Q1, a gentle cooling in spring and early summer, and a late Q3 soft spot, followed by intensified competition in Q4. The step-up into November was the clearest inflection, and the immediate December reset brought CPCs closer to the annual mean. Across the calendar, the distribution favored mid-range pricing, with only brief departures from the $1.08–$1.14 corridor.
For the Legal industry in New Zealand, the country-specific ad costs are not quantified in this period. As a result, the comparison centers on the global Facebook Ads benchmarks for CPC. The global trend line is clear: a restrained first nine months, a pronounced November surge, and a December normalization. The spread between the 2025 low ($1.07 in September) and high ($1.32 in November) was $0.26—about 23% of the annual average—indicating that while the market was generally stable, Q4 brought a meaningful premium.
With New Zealand’s Legal series unavailable here, the global CPC trend serves as the reference curve: roughly $1.13 on average in 2025, low-to-mid $1.10s for most months, and a predictable Q4 lift.
In short, Facebook Ads CPC trends in 2025 pointed to steady costs most of the year, a late-Q3 trough, and a November spike, providing a clear benchmark for Legal industry ad performance. Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-click benchmarks for the Legal industry in New Zealand—anchored to the global CPC analysis—helps contextualize country-specific ad costs and compare performance to global 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 Legal industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. For campaigns targeting New Zealand, 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–early December (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), Christmas season (Boxing Day sales), Mid‑year promotions (Matariki in June), Back-to-school (late January/early February)
CPM and CPC might rise around Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day as public events increase media consumption. Matariki is new public holiday with growing awareness—advertising may see elevated competition. Late November–December Black Friday/Cyber Monday could drive ad costs significantly. Regional anniversary holidays may cause local inventory shifts.
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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