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 main story: United States cost-per-clicks ran consistently above the global benchmark across the 13‑month window, showing punctuated spikes in November 2025 and June 2026 and a pronounced trough in January 2026. 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 the United States compared to the global benchmark.
Cost per click (CPC) in the United States started at $1.22 in June 2025 and finished at $1.51 in June 2026, a net rise of about +24% from start to finish. Across the period the US median CPC averaged roughly $1.22 (mean $1.224), with a low of $1.05 in January 2026 and a high of $1.51 in June 2026. By contrast the global baseline averaged about $1.09, ranging from $0.92 (Jan 2026) to $1.36 (Jun 2026).
Month-to-month movements capture the narrative: a flat summer (June–August ~ $1.22–$1.23), a modest dip into September, a lift into October, a pronounced spike in November 2025 (~$1.45), a pullback through December and a trough in January (~$1.05), a rebound into spring (peaking near $1.20 in March), and then a sharp jump to the period high in June 2026 ($1.51). Average absolute monthly change in the United States was about $0.10, indicating regular movement in per‑click cost.
Seasonal rhythm is visible: CPCs climbed into the late‑fall window, peaked in November, softened over December and hit a low in January, then regained momentum through spring before a fresh spike in June. The November lift (+~0.22 from October) and the June surge (+~0.33 from May) are the standout swings; the January trough is the softest single‑month reading. Overall, the cadence shows higher competition/pressure in late Q4 with a typical dip in early Q1 and variable recovery through spring into early summer.
The United States tracked above the global benchmark for every month in this series. The US premium over the baseline averaged ~+12.7% (range roughly +9% to +15% month‑to‑month). In absolute terms US CPCs were higher by about $0.14 on average ($1.22 vs $1.09). Volatility measured in dollars was also higher in the United States (average monthly absolute swing ≈ $0.10) versus the global baseline (≈ $0.092), while relative monthly volatility was comparable (roughly 8–8.5% of each mean). At its narrowest gap the US was about 9% above market (April); at its widest, about 15% (December/January window).
This data narrative frames Facebook Ads benchmarks and CPC trends and places United States, all‑industries cost‑per‑click behavior against a global CPM/CPC analysis. The numbers above outline how country‑specific ad costs and industry ad performance in the United States differed from the global baseline across the 13‑month series.
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 United States, advertisers often face higher costs due to high competition and purchasing power. 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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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 (Thanksgiving & Black Friday weekend), December (Christmas), Back-to-school (July–September), Summer travel season (Memorial Day onwards)
CPM and CPC might rise around major holidays like Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day, especially in travel and entertainment. Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend triggers massive spikes in retail ad competition. December ad demand typically peaks—retail campaigns require significantly higher budgets. Back-to-school promotions drive increased competition. Juneteenth may see regional engagement rise.
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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