Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
June 2025 - June 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The broad story: cost-per-clicks for the Marketing & Advertising category across All countries available ran materially higher and much choppier than the global median over the past 12 months. 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 Marketing & Advertising in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
CPCs for Marketing & Advertising averaged about $2.04 over June 2025–May 2026, starting at $2.10 in June 2025 and finishing at $1.89 in May 2026 — a net decline of roughly 10% from start to end. The series peaked at $2.73 in March 2026 and troughed at $1.57 in April 2026, giving a high-to-low range of about $1.16.
By contrast the global benchmark median ran near $1.06 over the same months (June 2025–May 2026). On average the Marketing & Advertising CPCs were roughly 92% above the global median. The month-to-month rhythm showed pronounced swings: a sharp rise into November 2025 (to $2.61), a steep fall into December ($1.71, ~‑35% from November), a rebound into March 2026 (to the $2.73 high, ~+60% vs December), and then a deep drop into April 2026 (~‑42% from March).
Volatility was notable: the average absolute month-to-month move was about $0.45 (roughly 22% of the category mean), compared with only about $0.07 month-to-month for the global benchmark — more than six times the baseline’s typical monthly variability.
Seasonality shows clustered peaks and troughs rather than smooth seasonal slopes. Late‑Q3 to Q4 (September–November 2025) saw an upward momentum, culminating in the November spike ($2.61). The usual year-end dip appeared in December, followed by a recovery that reached the year’s high in March 2026. April acted as an abrupt reset month, producing the lowest CPC and compressing the gap to the global median. The pattern reads as punctuated momentum — short, sharp lifts and declines — rather than steady seasonal drift.
Relative to the baseline, Marketing & Advertising CPCs in All countries available were consistently above market. The gap narrowed in April 2026 (selected $1.57 vs baseline $1.06 — ~48% above global) and widened at the March peak (selected $2.73 vs baseline $1.07 — about 156% above global). Where the global trend was comparatively flat year-over-year, the Marketing & Advertising series showed steeper spikes and deeper troughs, making it both higher-cost and more volatile than the overall benchmark.
Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-click benchmarks for Marketing & Advertising across All countries available gives a clear view of CPC trends, CPC volatility, and how industry ad performance compares to country-specific ad costs and global CPC norms.
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 Marketing & Advertising industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs based on market competition and user engagement in different regions. 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.
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
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