Compare CPM benchmarks by industry, region, and campaign type.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
India’s cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) sits far below the global benchmark but shows sharper month-to-month swings and a dramatic late-period 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 India compared to the global benchmark.
Across the 13-month window (July 2025 → July 2026) India’s median CPM averaged about $1.35, starting at $1.59 in July 2025 and finishing at $5.02 in July 2026 — a net lift of roughly +215% from the first to the last month. The India series ranged from a trough of $0.36 in February 2026 to its peak of $5.02 in July 2026. By contrast, the global median CPM averaged roughly $20.59, ranging from $16.47 (July 2026) up to $24.26 (November 2025). In absolute terms the India curve is much lower, but in relative terms it is far more volatile: India’s monthly absolute changes averaged ~$0.77, while the global series averaged ~$1.92 — however those moves are ~57% of India’s mean versus ~9% of the global mean.
Notable monthly moves in India include a sharp decline from October to November 2025 (1.58 → 0.72, about −55%), a February 2026 trough at $0.36, and a dramatic jump into July 2026 (+540% month-over-month from June). The global baseline shows a clearer seasonal peak into November 2025 (highest at $24.26) and a softer summer low in July 2026.
Seasonality is visible but manifests differently across markets. Globally, CPMs climb into Q4 with a clear November high, then ease into early Q1 before modest rises through spring. India’s rhythm is less smooth: a Q4 softness in November 2025 contrasts with the global peak that month, followed by a rebound into December and early Q1, a dip in February, and an abrupt acceleration in late spring and into July 2026. These month-to-month swings produce a jagged pattern that reads more like episodic spikes and troughs than a steady seasonal curve.
Framed relatively, India’s CPMs ran roughly 90% lower than global medians on average (India ~$1.35 vs global ~$20.59). At its narrowest monthly gap (July 2026) India’s $5.02 CPM was still about 70% below the global $16.47; at its widest (February 2026) India’s $0.36 was over 98% below the global $19.85. India’s market shows higher relative volatility and episodic lifts, while the global baseline shows larger absolute dollar moves but a steadier seasonal pattern.
Understanding CPM analysis and country-specific ad costs for all industries in India — and how they compare to Facebook Ads benchmarks and broader CPM trends — clarifies how India’s ad-cost trajectory diverged from global industry ad performance over this period.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the cost advertisers pay for 1,000 impressions of their Facebook ad. Ad costs vary across industries because of competition, audience demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting India, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. Campaign objectives affect costs because Facebook optimizes delivery for different goals. The data shows median values across multiple campaigns. Results can vary with ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
A small share of campaigns has extremely high CPM values. Those outliers can inflate an average. The median is the midpoint across campaigns, so it better represents a typical result.
The data shows industry median benchmarks. Costs can vary with targeting, creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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The dataset includes over $3B in Facebook ad spend from thousands of ad accounts that use Superads to analyze and improve campaigns. Every data point is anonymized and aggregated. It does not expose an individual advertiser.
The dataset updates as new ad data is available.
October (Diwali), Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas), July–August (Raksha Bandhan, Ganesh Chaturthi)
CPMs may rise during Diwali, especially in electronics, apparel, jewellery, and gifts. Black Friday/Cyber Monday and December may increase ad competition. State-specific festivals may increase regional competition. Holiday bank closures may shift online shopping to the end of the week.
Competition, seasonality, audience size, and ad quality affect CPM. Q4 can cost more. Smaller audiences and lower relevance scores often lead to higher CPMs.
Campaign objectives, bidding strategies, and time of day can change CPM. Conversion campaigns usually have higher CPMs than traffic campaigns, while broad targeting tends to lower CPMs.
In most industries, CPMs range from $5 to $18 depending on the region and objective. Retail and e-comm campaigns often sit at the higher end. Our live data above shows a breakdown by country and industry.
Audience size and targeting both matter. Audience quality, including intent and fit with your offer, usually has more impact than size. Extremely tight audiences can raise CPM because delivery opportunities are limited.
Use CPM for awareness campaigns and CPC or CPA for performance campaigns. A high CPM can increase costs across the funnel.
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