Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
December 2024 - December 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Wine and Spirits advertisers in South Africa entered Q4 with an unusually low cost environment: October 2025 registered a median Facebook Ads CPC of 0.21, far below the global benchmark of 1.11 for the same month. Against a worldwide pattern that typically firms into Q4, South Africa’s single observed point sits at the extreme low end — roughly one-fifth of global costs — suggesting a markedly cheaper click landscape at that moment. Globally, CPCs were relatively steady through most of the year, with a brief September trough and a sharp November spike, before normalizing into December.
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 Wine and Spirits in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
South Africa’s Wine and Spirits CPC in October 2025 posts at 0.21 — a single but striking observation. Compared with the global October median of 1.11, South Africa sits 81% below market that month, and 82% below the global full-period average of 1.14.
Global CPC trends for Facebook Ads in this category display a familiar rhythm. Costs softened from late Q4 into early Q1, hovered in a narrow range through spring and summer, and reached a shallow low in September (1.07). The market then re-accelerated into Q4: October rose to 1.11, November spiked to 1.32, and December eased back toward trend at 1.12. This pattern reflects a steady baseline with a short, pronounced Q4 peak.
With only an October read in South Africa, local seasonality cannot be charted. That said, the October placement is notable: globally, October marks the turn upward into Q4, yet South Africa’s 0.21 positions the country far beneath the worldwide level at precisely that inflection point.
Overall, the global curve rose steadily into November (+20% from October to November) and then eased, while the South Africa snapshot in October sits well below market levels. Within Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends offer a clear view of country-specific ad costs and complement broader CPM analysis and CTR performance context.
Understanding Facebook Ads CPC benchmarks for Wine and Spirits in South Africa helps situate country-specific ad costs against global industry ad performance, clarifying how October’s 0.21 compares to worldwide CPC trends.
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 Wine and Spirits industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. For campaigns targeting South Africa, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. 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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Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas & Day of Goodwill), Mid-year retail (June Youth Day promotions)
CPM and CPC might rise during long weekends like Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, and Heritage Day as leisure and travel-related media consumption increases. Retail CPMs may spike in late November–December for holiday shopping. Youth Day and National Women's Day might drive regional campaigns. Weekend extensions across public holidays may benefit weekend campaigns.
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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