Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
July 2025 - July 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The main story: cost-per-click for Media across All countries available ran consistently below the global benchmark for most of the 13-month window, then accelerated sharply in mid‑2026 to finish above 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 Media in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Starting in July 2025, Media CPC (cost per click) was about $0.66 and closed in July 2026 at $1.27 — roughly a 91% lift from start to finish. Across the period the median CPC for Media averaged about $0.72, with a low of $0.53 in November 2025 and a peak of $1.27 in July 2026. By contrast, the global baseline averaged roughly $1.05 over the same months.
Month-to-month movement shows a relatively stable sub-$0.70 range through late 2025, a gradual rise into spring 2026, and two pronounced jumps: April 2026 (+50% from March) and June–July 2026 (June at $1.08, July at $1.27). The total swing from trough to peak was big — roughly +141% from November 2025’s $0.53 to July 2026’s $1.27. Volatility measured as average absolute monthly change was about $0.11 for Media CPC, slightly higher than the baseline’s $0.10.
A soft period runs through late Q4 2025, with the lowest median CPC in November at about $0.53 and a muted December near $0.53–$0.55. Early Q1 2026 shows incremental gains (January–March around $0.55–$0.61), then a sharp lift beginning in April. The spring-to-summer rhythm is pronounced: April’s jump breaks the earlier range, May dips a bit to $0.80, and June–July push to new highs above $1.00. The baseline displays its own dynamics — a November 2025 spike and a baseline dip into July 2026 that contrasts with Media’s late surge.
Across nearly all months (12 of 13), Media CPC trailed the global benchmark — on average about 31% below the baseline. The gap was widest in November 2025 when Media was roughly 59% below the global median (Media $0.53 vs baseline $1.29). At the narrowest point Media approached baseline levels in April–June 2026, and then inverted in July 2026 when Media CPC exceeded the baseline by roughly 65% (Media $1.27 vs baseline $0.77). Overall, Media’s trajectory was choppier but ended with stronger momentum relative to a baseline that trended lower across the same window.
Understanding COST_PER_CLICK benchmarks for the Media industry in All countries available — and how they compare to global CPC trends — clarifies shifting country-specific ad costs and broader Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance context for industry ad performance.
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 Media 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