Compare CTR benchmarks by industry, region, and campaign type.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
South Africa’s click-through-rate (CTR) line this year tells a story of volatility and episodic lift: on average it ran above the global baseline but swung far wider month-to-month. 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 available in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
South Africa started the period at a 1.53% CTR in July 2025 and finished at 2.76% in June 2026 — a net rise of about 80% from start to finish. The 12-month median CTR averaged roughly 2.57% for South Africa, versus a global baseline average of about 2.02% across the same months — roughly a 27% advantage for the South African market. However that headline masks extreme swings: the lowest monthly CTR was 0.41% in September 2025 and the highest was an outlier 7.69% in October 2025, a range of 7.29 percentage points. At its October peak South Africa’s CTR was nearly 3.9x the global October level (7.69% vs 1.97%); at its September trough it trailed the global rate by roughly 79% (0.41% vs 1.89%).
Volatility was pronounced. South Africa’s average absolute monthly move was approximately 2.08 percentage points — more than 35 times the baseline market’s monthly swing (~0.06 points). Key month-to-month movements: a steep decline from July to September (1.53% → 0.41%), a dramatic spike in October (7.69%), a collapse in November (0.69%), and then a multi-month rebound through early 2026 with secondary peaks in February (3.24%) and May (3.92%).
The rhythm of the series is irregular rather than smoothly seasonal. The late-Q3 trough followed by an acute Q4 spike (and immediate fall) contrasts with the global pattern of small, steady month-to-month changes. After the October anomaly, engagement rebounded into Q4 end and early Q1 — December through February showing sustained lifts — then settled into moderate oscillation across spring (March–June). Performance typically softens through Q4 as competition rises, with engagement rebounding in early Q1 in many markets; South Africa’s record this period shows that pattern punctured by high-amplitude deviations.
Relative to the baseline, South Africa was on average above market but far more choppy. Where the global CTR moved modestly upward over the year (+~8% from July to June), South Africa’s trajectory was jagged and higher-amplitude (+~80% over the same window). The narrowest gap versus global occurred in November and parts of early 2026 when rates converged; the widest gap was in October when South Africa outpaced the global benchmark by nearly 290 percentage points in relative terms.
Understanding Facebook Ads click-through-rate benchmarks for all industries in South Africa helps advertisers evaluate CTR performance, compare industry ad performance, and put country-specific ad costs and CPM analysis into a broader context for South Africa.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of impressions that resulted in a click on the Facebook ad. Ad costs vary across industries because of competition, audience demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting South Africa, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. Campaign objectives affect costs because Facebook optimizes delivery for different goals. Why we use median instead of average A small share of campaigns has extremely high CTRs. Those outliers can inflate an average. The median is the midpoint across campaigns, so it better represents a typical result. 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 CTR 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.
Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas & Day of Goodwill), Mid-year retail (June Youth Day promotions)
CPM and CPC may rise during long weekends such as Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, and Heritage Day as leisure and travel media consumption increases. Retail CPMs may rise in late November–December for holiday shopping. Youth Day and National Women's Day may prompt regional campaigns. Public-holiday weekends may benefit weekend campaigns.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of people who click an ad after seeing it. Calculate it by dividing total clicks by total impressions, then multiplying by 100. A high CTR can indicate that an ad resonates with its audience and may improve relevance score, which can lower overall costs.
Average Facebook ad CTR across industries is around 0.90-1.10%. Use your industry, audience targeting, and campaign objectives when choosing a benchmark.
Low CTR can result from audience targeting, creative, or a mismatch between ad content and audience needs. Check whether the visuals draw attention, the copy addresses clear pain points, and the targeting reaches people interested in the offer.
CTR is useful in context. A high CTR can signal that creative works, but it does not guarantee conversions. Review it with metrics such as conversion rate.
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