Facebook Ads CPM Benchmarks for Consulting

Introduction

Consulting CPMs run materially above the market and get progressively more expensive as the year advances, with a pronounced late‑year surge. The series opens near the high $30s, dips mid‑year, and then accelerates sharply through Q4, peaking in December. Volatility is elevated versus the global benchmark, with bigger month‑to‑month swings and a wider spread between highs and lows.

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 Consulting in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Across all countries, median Facebook CPM for Consulting averaged $43.66 from December 2024 to December 2025, ending at $76.35—up 104% from $37.34 a year earlier. The annual low landed in August at $30.00, while the high arrived in December at $76.35, a range of $46.35. Eight of 13 months cleared $40, underscoring a generally high-cost environment for this industry.

The path wasn’t linear. After a soft pullback from December ($37.34) to January ($36.12), costs climbed into March ($43.22), eased in April ($37.25), and held near the low $40s through June. A mid‑year dip in July ($32.92) deepened to the trough in August ($30.00), followed by a sharp rebound in September ($41.46). The Q4 run‑up was decisive: October ($49.76) to November ($57.79) to December ($76.35), with the single largest jump occurring in November→December (+$18.57). Average month‑over‑month absolute movement was $6.44, reflecting a choppy cadence with four monthly declines and eight increases.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonally, CPMs were steady in the first half and softest in midsummer, before ramping hard into year‑end. Quarterly averages illustrate the rhythm:

• Q1 (Jan–Mar): $40.36—gradual lift through the quarter.
• Q2 (Apr–Jun): $40.27—stable, hovering around the low $40s.
• Q3 (Jul–Sep): $34.79—marked dip in July–August, followed by a September rebound.
• Q4 (Oct–Dec): $61.30—clearly the costliest stretch, with a rapid ascent into December.

This seasonal contour—mid‑year softness and a decisive Q4 climb—frames Consulting CPM analysis alongside broader Facebook Ads benchmarks, where competition and budgets typically reshape country‑specific ad costs late in the year.

Country vs. Global

Compared with the global all‑industry benchmark (average $20.36), Consulting CPMs across all countries averaged 2.15× higher, a premium of about $23.30 per thousand impressions. The Consulting series was also more volatile: $6.44 average monthly movement versus $1.08 globally, or roughly six times the swing.

While the global benchmark rose a steady 24% from December to December ($20.44 → $25.45), Consulting CPMs climbed 104% ($37.34 → $76.35), indicating a faster—and choppier—uptrend. The premium over the global baseline ranged from a narrow +49% in August (Consulting $30 vs. global $20.06) to a wide +200% in December (Consulting $76.35 vs. global $25.45). Q4 widened the gap most: Consulting averaged $61.30 versus the market’s $24.10.

Closing

In sum, Facebook Ads benchmarks for CPM show the Consulting industry across all countries sustained higher‑than‑market ad costs, with mid‑year softness, elevated volatility, and a pronounced Q4 surge culminating at $76 in December. This CPM analysis provides a clear read on industry ad performance and country‑agnostic ad costs relative to global patterns.