Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
July 2025 - July 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Marketplaces’ cost per click (CPC) followed a lower-but-erratic path versus the global benchmark across the 13-month window. Overall, Marketplace CPCs ran materially below the global median for most months, showed pronounced Q4 lift and a late-July spike, and displayed greater month-to-month swings than the baseline. 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 Marketplaces in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Marketplaces began the period at about $0.38 CPC in July 2025 and finished at $1.05 in July 2026 — a large net rise (+179% vs July-to-July). Across the 13 months the Marketplaces median CPC averaged roughly $0.55, ranging from a low of about $0.34 (August 2025) to a high of $1.05 (July 2026). By contrast, the global baseline averaged about $1.05 over the same months, with its own low of $0.77 (July 2026) and peak of $1.29 (November 2025). That puts Marketplaces roughly 47% below the global average across the period, although the gap swings month to month.
Key monthly movements: Marketplaces rose from late‑summer lows (Aug 2025 ~$0.34) into holiday-season pressure with peaks in October and December 2025 (~$0.65). After a steady mid‑winter band (~$0.51–$0.56 through Mar–May 2026) and a dip in June (~$0.42), CPCs surged in July 2026 to ~$1.05 — the largest single-month jump (about +151% month-over-month from June).
Volatility measured as average absolute monthly change sat near $0.12 for Marketplaces, versus roughly $0.10 for the global baseline — indicating slightly sharper swings in this industry’s CPC trends.
Seasonal rhythm shows familiar Q4 lift: the baseline climbed into November 2025 (a global high) while Marketplaces registered elevated CPCs in October and December as well. The Marketplaces pattern reads as a sequence of lower summer levels, holiday upticks, a stable Q1–Q2 band, and a dramatic late-July surge. The baseline’s most notable rhythm is the November 2025 spike and a softening into July 2026.
Month-to-month, Marketplaces had several moderate rebounds (Sept→Oct, Nov→Dec, Feb→Mar) and two sharp swings (May→Jun drop; Jun→Jul spike), producing an irregular cadence compared to the steadier baseline.
Compared to the global benchmark, Marketplaces CPCs were below average for most of the year — at the widest gap Marketplaces were about 68% below the global benchmark (Aug 2025). At the narrowest gap, Marketplaces exceeded the benchmark by roughly 36% (Jul 2026) when that late spike pushed CPCs above the baseline. In aggregate the Marketplaces series was more volatile and generally lower-cost, except for the closing month when it flipped to above-market levels.
Understanding cost per click (CPC) benchmarks for Marketplaces in All countries available — within broader Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends and country-specific ad costs — gives a clear picture of industry ad performance and how CPM analysis and CTR performance narratives can diverge between sector and global medians.
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 Marketplaces 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.
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.
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