Understand how your CPC compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
June 2025 - June 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The headline: Australia’s cost-per-click (CPC) ran a touch cheaper on average than the global benchmark but with much sharper month-to-month swings — a story of punctuated spikes and a pronounced trough in early spring. 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 Australia compared to the global benchmark.
Across June 2025–May 2026 Australia’s median cost per click averaged roughly $0.98, starting at $0.91 in June and ending near $0.98 in May — an overall lift of about 7.7% from the opening month. The Australian series reached a high of roughly $1.53 in November 2025 and a low of $0.71 in April 2026. Those extremes drive the narrative: a dramatic November spike (+71.8% month-to-month) and a deep April trough (about 24% decline from March), interspersed with smaller seasonal moves. Monthly volatility was notable — average absolute month-to-month moves were roughly 20.7%, and the series’ standard deviation sat near $0.19, underscoring the uneven rhythm of CPCs in Australia over the year.
Patterns show typical year-end compression followed by early-year easing, but with Australian idiosyncrasies. After steady midsummer levels (June–August averaging around $0.95–$1.05), CPCs dipped into late September and October, then surged in November to the year’s peak. December cooled back toward $1.08, and early 2026 saw moderation (January–March largely sub-$0.93) before the April nadir at $0.71 and a rebound into May. From a seasonality lens, the cadence includes a Q4 spike and Q1 softening, with a sharper-than-average swing in April unlike the smoother baseline pattern.
Compared with the global baseline for the same period (average CPC about $1.06), Australia ran roughly 8% below market on average. Month-by-month gaps vary: Australia was as little as ~4% below global levels in August and as much as ~34% below in April. Notably, November flips the script: Australia’s $1.53 peak was about 19% above the global November median ($1.29). Overall, the global benchmark moved more steadily (average absolute monthly change ≈ 6.7%), while Australia’s CPCs were markedly more volatile (≈ 20.7% monthly moves), making Australia “more volatile” and generally “below average” for most months, with a few pronounced exceptions.
Understanding Facebook Ads cost-per-click benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis and country-specific ad costs for all industries in Australia frames how industry ad performance here diverged from global patterns over the 12-month window.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Cost Per Click (CPC) is the amount advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their Facebook ad. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting Australia, advertisers typically see good engagement rates despite moderate costs. 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 December (Christmas and Boxing Day), Early December (Cyber Monday), January (Back-to-school), May (Mother's Day)
Ad costs could spike around major holidays, especially Easter, Anzac Day, and Christmas. Increased budgets and earlier scheduling may be necessary. Retailers should consider planning promotions around back-to-school and Mother's Day to maximize campaign effectiveness.
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.
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
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