Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
February 2025 - February 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Legal advertising in the United States ran hot on cost-per-click throughout the year, sitting well above the global benchmark and tracing a classic two-act storyline: a steady climb into late spring, then a long cool-down through the holidays and into January. Peaks clustered in May, while the steepest drops landed mid-year and again in late Q4. 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 Legal in the United States compared to the global benchmark.
CPC for Legal in the United States opened at $2.38 in January 2025 and closed at $1.53 in January 2026, a 36% decline across the period. The year built rapidly: February ($2.95), March ($2.97), April ($3.26), peaking in May at $3.60 — up 52% versus January. From there, costs eased: June ($3.43), a sharp correction in July ($2.79, down 19% MoM), a brief August rebound ($3.20), then a steady glide lower through September ($2.94), October ($2.75), November ($2.12), and December ($1.79), before landing at the cycle low in January 2026 ($1.53).
Across the 13 months, U.S. Legal CPC averaged $2.75, ranging from a $3.60 high to a $1.53 low — a peak-to-trough swing of 58%. Month-to-month volatility averaged 0.34 points, or roughly 12% of the mean, with the largest moves in July (-$0.64) and November (-$0.63). The calmest stretch was late Q1 (February to March, +$0.03).
The rhythm is clear: Q2 was the costliest period (average $3.43), with sustained elevation from April to June. Q3 moderated (average $2.97) and was choppy — a mid-summer pullback followed by a brief August lift. Q4 was decisively softer (average $2.22), continuing into January 2026 ($1.53). While many categories see Q4 competition tighten auctions, this series shows CPC easing into the holidays, with the lightest levels arriving in early Q1.
Against the global Facebook Ads benchmark, U.S. Legal CPCs were consistently above market — about 2.5x on average ($2.75 vs. $1.11). The gap was widest in May–June (around 3.1x, or 211–213% above global) and narrowest in November (61% above) when global CPCs spiked. Globally, CPC held near $1.11 through most of the year, surged in November ($1.32), dropped in December ($1.05), and hit a low in January 2026 ($0.85), ending 25% below January 2025. The U.S. Legal series fell further from peak to trough and was more volatile month to month: 0.34 points on average vs. 0.07 globally — about five times the absolute swing, and roughly double relative to each market’s mean (12% vs. 6%).
Taken together, these Facebook Ads benchmarks highlight CPC trends for the Legal industry in the United States: elevated country-specific ad costs, a mid-year high, and a prolonged late-year deceleration compared with steadier global levels. Understanding cost-per-click benchmarks for Legal in the United States helps frame industry ad performance against 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 United States, advertisers often face higher costs due to high competition and purchasing power. 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.
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Late November (Thanksgiving & Black Friday weekend), December (Christmas), Back-to-school (July–September), Summer travel season (Memorial Day onwards)
CPM and CPC might rise around major holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, especially in travel and entertainment. Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend triggers massive spikes in retail ad competition. December ad demand typically peaks—retail campaigns require significantly higher budgets. Back-to-school promotions drive increased competition. Juneteenth may see regional engagement rise.
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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