Understand how your CPM compares. Dive into benchmark data by industry, region, and campaign type
June 2025 - June 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The main story: Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) in the United Arab Emirates moved lower on average than the global benchmark but showed much sharper month-to-month swings. 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 the United Arab Emirates compared to the global benchmark.
UAE CPMs started at about 11.54 in June 2025 and finished the period at roughly 9.56 in May 2026 — a net decline of about 17% from start to finish. Across the 12-month span the median CPM for All industries in the United Arab Emirates averaged roughly 16.8, with a high of ~24.2 (November 2025) and a low of ~9.56 (May 2026). By contrast, the global baseline over the same months averaged about 20.7.
Measured volatility in the UAE is notable: the standard deviation of UAE monthly CPMs is about 5.6 points versus roughly 1.9 points for the global benchmark — nearly three times the global variability. Month-to-month movement included sharp rises and drops: the jump from August to September 2025 was about +11.7 points, and the fall from February to March 2026 was about −11.1 points. There were also rapid reversals such as the November→December drop of ~9.0 points.
Rhythm in the data reveals pulses rather than a smooth seasonal curve. CPMs climbed into late Q3 and peaked across September–November 2025 (24.2 in November), then softened into December before another run-up in January–February 2026 (22.8 and 21.5 respectively). Late winter and spring brought the lowest medians — March through May were the softest, with May 2026 hitting the year low near 9.6. The pattern shows pronounced spikes around traditional high-competition windows and sharp retrenchments afterward, producing a choppy seasonal profile.
Relative phrasing: the United Arab Emirates trailed the global CPM average for most of the year. UAE CPMs were below global levels in roughly eight of the twelve months, above global in four months (notably Sep–Oct and Jan–Feb), and essentially level with the global median in November. The gap ranged widely: at its narrowest the UAE matched the global level (November ~24.2), while at its widest UAE CPMs were roughly 58% below the global median (May 2026). On average the UAE ran about 19% below the worldwide CPM for this period, but with substantially more volatility than the baseline.
Understanding these Cost per Thousand Impressions (CPM) dynamics for All industries in the United Arab Emirates adds a country-specific view to Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPM analysis, CPC trends and CTR performance discussions and contributes to broader comparisons of country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance.
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 United Arab Emirates, 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.
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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.
Ramadan + Eid (Mar–Apr), End of November–December (UAE National Day, Christmas, New Year), Dubai Shopping Festival (mid-Dec through Jan)
CPMs may rise sharply during Ramadan and Eid, especially in e‑commerce, gifting, F&B, and beauty sectors. UAE National Day campaigns could lead to high local bidding activity in travel, banking, and luxury retail. Dubai Shopping Festival drives elevated CPMs from mid-December to mid-January. Islamic holidays shift each year, affecting year-over-year comparisons.
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:
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Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
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Cost per lead across different markets
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