Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Cost per click for the Legal industry in the United States ran well above the global benchmark throughout the period, tracking at roughly 2x the worldwide median most months, then spiking sharply in August before settling back toward early-year levels in September. The year’s story is one of elevated costs, a steady first-half climb, a May cooldown, and a late-summer jolt that briefly reset the range. 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.
U.S. Legal CPC opened at $2.01 in November 2024 and closed at $2.06 in September 2025, a modest +3% finish-to-start change despite sizable mid-period movement. The monthly median averaged $2.46 across the window; excluding August’s outlier, the average settles at $2.22. The low came in July at $1.99, followed by the standout high in August at $4.91 before a swift reversion.
Momentum illustrates the rhythm: a gentle lift from November ($2.01) to December ($2.11), then a push through Q1 into February ($2.51) and March ($2.48). April edged higher again ($2.53) before a clear correction in May ($2.04, down 19% from April). June recovered to $2.16, July softened to the cycle low ($1.99), then August surged by +146% month over month, with September retracing −58% to $2.06.
Volatility averaged 0.71 points per month when including August’s spike and September’s snapback. Stripping those two swings, the underlying month-to-month movement averaged a steadier 0.17 points—elevated but controlled relative to the late-summer shock.
The pattern shows a mild Q4 lift into December, then a firm Q1 with February marking the early pinnacle. Spring levels were elevated but stable, with April representing the first-half high and May producing the clearest reset of the year. Summer split into two movements: July’s trough hinted at softer auction pressure, followed by August’s singular peak that punctuated an otherwise contained trend. By September, CPCs returned to a range consistent with late 2024 and early Q2, effectively resetting the series after the August overshoot. This aligns with typical CPC trends where competition can cluster around key moments, even as the broader arc remains bounded.
Against the worldwide median, U.S. Legal CPCs were consistently above market. The U.S. averaged $2.46 versus a $1.14 global average—about 117% higher. The gap was narrowest in November (+36% vs. global) and widest in August (+365%). Six months (January, February, March, April, June, September) ran at 2x or more the global level. While the global index eased −35% from November to September (from $1.47 to $0.95), the U.S. Legal series finished nearly flat, reflecting higher and more persistent country-specific ad costs for this industry.
Volatility differed markedly: global CPCs moved by an average of just 0.06 points month to month, compared with 0.71 for U.S. Legal across the full window—or 0.17 when excluding the August shock. In short, the global benchmark drifted lower in a smooth glide path, while the United States Legal category experienced a firmer first half, a midyear dip, and one dramatic late-summer spike before returning to baseline.
These Facebook Ads benchmarks underscore that cost-per-click for the Legal industry in the United States remained structurally higher than the global market, with a pronounced August peak and a near-flat finish into September. Understanding CPC trends and country-specific ad costs helps contextualize industry ad performance in the United States 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.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
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.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
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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
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