Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
July 2025 - July 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Great Britain’s cost-per-click (CPC) ran consistently above the global benchmark across most months, showing choppy momentum with a pronounced Q4 spike. 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 All industries in Great Britain compared to the global benchmark.
Over the 13-month window (Jul 2025–Jul 2026) Great Britain’s median CPC averaged roughly £1.18, starting at £1.25 in July 2025 and ending at £1.14 in July 2026 — a modest decline of about 9% from start to finish. The high-water mark arrived in December 2025 at £1.49, while the low came in October 2025 at £1.02, giving a range of about £0.47. Monthly moves were material at times: the sequence shows sharp lifts into September and again into December, a steep decline into October, and a rebound in late Q4 into early Q1.
Baseline (global) CPC averaged about £1.05 across the same months. On average Great Britain ran ~13% above that global level. The single biggest gap occurred in December 2025 (GB £1.49 vs global £1.01) — roughly a 48% premium — and again in July 2026 when baseline dipped to ~£0.77 while GB held at £1.14 (~48% above baseline).
Volatility was notable: month-to-month absolute movement in Great Britain averaged ~£0.15, compared with ~£0.10 for the global baseline, indicating GB was roughly 50% more volatile in cost-per-click swings.
Seasonal rhythm is visible. Autumn showed a sharp oscillation: a rise into September, a drop in October, and then a strong lift into December. December 2025 stands out as a pronounced peak for GB CPC. The post-holiday period softened into early Q1 but remained higher in GB than global averages. The global benchmark itself shows a large dip in July 2026 that accentuated the apparent premium for Great Britain in that month.
Across the year the pattern reads as periodic lifts (late Q3, late Q4) followed by pulls back in early Q4 and early Q1 — a heartbeat consistent with competitive spikes and seasonal spend cycles in multi-industry advertising.
Relative to the global benchmark, Great Britain was persistently above market levels: most months showed a premium of 2–36%, with two months (Dec 2025 and Jul 2026) near +48%. There were brief months where GB ran slightly below global (October and March, by single-digit percentages), but the overall slope is above average. The global trend fell more sharply from July 2025 to July 2026 (~−29%) than Great Britain (~−9%), creating a widening gap late in the window.
Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-click (CPC) benchmarks and country-specific ad costs for All industries in Great Britain offers a clear picture of industry ad performance and CPC trends relative to 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. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting United Kingdom, advertisers experience moderate to high costs with strong performance in urban areas. 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 (Black Friday/Cyber Monday surge), Late December (Christmas & Boxing Day promotions), Early May holiday weekend promotions
CPM and CPC might increase around early May and late August bank holidays as people engage in leisure travel or retail browsing. During Black Friday/Cyber Monday, retail CPMs could spike sharply in fashion, electronics, and online shopping. Late December typically sees peak CPMs, with e‑commerce budgets needing early ramp-up.
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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