Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Nonprofit CPC trends in the United States traced a clear upward arc through 2025, starting near the $0.30 mark and closing the year above $0.62 before easing slightly in January 2026. Against the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, United States nonprofit CPCs remained structurally lower throughout the period, but the gap narrowed as the year progressed. The rhythm was seasonal: a steady climb from Q1 into late Q3, a pronounced lift in November, and a modest cooldown into January — with relatively contained month-to-month volatility.
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 Nonprofit in the United States compared to the global benchmark.
The pattern followed familiar country-specific ad costs seasonality. CPCs were softer in Q1 (average $0.32), built progressively through Q2 ($0.39) and Q3 ($0.50), and reached their strongest levels in Q4 ($0.58). The brief October correction gave way to a pronounced November surge — consistent with peak competition — with December staying elevated and a typical early‑Q1 cooldown in January 2026. The cadence suggests a market that firmed steadily through the year, with late‑year auction pressure pulling CPCs to their highs before easing.
Compared to the global CPC baseline (all industries, all countries), the United States nonprofit segment ran well below market levels on price but with different momentum:
In short, Facebook Ads benchmarks show nonprofit CPCs in the United States remained well below global levels but climbed steadily through 2025, peaking in November and holding elevated into January 2026. Understanding CPC trends and country-specific ad costs for the Nonprofit industry in the United States helps teams gauge how local performance aligns with global market dynamics.
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 Nonprofit 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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