Understand how your CPM compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
December 2024 - December 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
Across all industries in South Africa, CPMs sat far below the global benchmark and moved with sharper swings. The year opened with a steep reset in January, lifted into a March high, then faded through late Q3 before an abrupt October trough and a sharp November rebound. By contrast, the global market climbed steadily into Q4. 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 South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
South Africa’s CPMs began at 2.99 in December 2024 and ended at 2.42 in November 2025, a 19% decline over the period. The average sat at 2.53, with a clear high at 5.07 in March and a low at 0.35 in October.
Momentum shifted quickly month to month:
Volatility averaged a 1.45-point absolute swing month to month, indicating choppier movement than the global baseline’s 1.20.
The year’s rhythm showed a classic early-year lift after a soft January, with March as the high-water mark. Q2 was relatively stable, with CPMs holding in a narrow band from April through June. Q3 softened materially, starting with a July reset and drifting through August before a modest September rebound. Q4 diverged from typical global patterns: South Africa plunged to its lowest point in October before recovering in November, whereas global CPMs usually firm through the holiday build.
Against the global benchmark, South Africa ran at a substantial discount throughout. Average CPMs were 2.53 in South Africa versus 19.82 globally—about 87% lower. The gap narrowed at its best in March, when South Africa reached 26% of global CPMs (still 74% below market), and widened most in October, when it fell to just 1.6% of global levels (98% below). While the global trend climbed from 20.35 in December to 25.08 in November (+23%), South Africa moved in the opposite direction (−19%). On volatility, South Africa’s month-to-month movement (1.45 points) was higher than the global average (1.20), underscoring more abrupt local swings.
Overall, this CPM analysis shows that Facebook Ads benchmarks across all industries in South Africa are persistently below the global average, with a pronounced March peak, a deep October trough, and stronger volatility than the market. Understanding country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance helps anchor expectations around CPM trends for all industries in South Africa relative to the global benchmark.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the cost advertisers pay for 1,000 impressions of their Facebook ad. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. 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.
Improve your Facebook ad performance
• Instant performance insights – See which ads, audiences, and creatives drive results.
• Data-driven creative decisions – Spot patterns to improve ROAS.
• Effortless reporting – No spreadsheets, just clear insights.
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.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
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.
CPMs are heavily influenced by competition, seasonality (e.g., Q4 costs more), audience size, and ad quality. Smaller audiences and lower relevance scores often lead to higher CPMs.
Different campaign objectives, bidding strategies, and even time of day can change your CPM. For example, conversion campaigns usually have higher CPMs than traffic ones. Also, broad targeting tends to drive 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.
Both matter, but audience quality (intent + match with your offer) usually has more impact than pure size. However, extremely tight audiences often lead to expensive CPMs due to limited delivery opportunities.
Depends on your goal. For awareness, CPM is more relevant. For performance campaigns, CPC and CPA matter more. But all are connected—inefficient CPMs can inflate your entire funnel.
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
See how much it costs to get users to install an app