Facebook ad benchmarks that tell you what to fix first in 2026

Ever look at your results and think, is this good or just average? Here is a faster way to answer that and take the right next step.

Here’s What You Need to Know

Benchmarks give your results market context. They show if your CTR, CPC, CVR, CPM, ROAS, and frequency are healthy for your category and goal.

Once you know where you sit, you can choose the single lever that will likely move results the most and test it first. That is how you stop tinkering and start compounding gains.

Why This Actually Matters

Costs and competition keep shifting, but the math stays simple. If your CPC is near 0.70 and your conversion rate is around 9 percent, you are in a good zone for efficiency. If CPM climbs toward 12 and CTR dips below 1 percent, your reach is getting pricey and your creative is not pulling its weight.

Market context is the why behind your priorities. It turns random changes into model guided decisions you can repeat quarter after quarter.

How to Make This Work for You

1. Get your baseline in one view. Pull the last 30 days by objective and include CTR, CPC, CVR, CPM, ROAS, frequency, engagement, and video view rate. Keep the key reference points handy:
   • CTR good range 0.90 to 1.60 percent. Video traffic ads average 1.57 percent. Food and beverage median 0.96 percent.
   • CPC traffic campaigns average 0.70 dollars. Overall average across industries 1.72 dollars. June 2025 on Meta 0.68 dollars.
   • CVR average 8.95 percent. Historical Meta average 9.21 percent. Fitness around 14.29 percent.
   • CPM June 2025 average 8.17 dollars. Earlier median 5.61 dollars. Can reach 12.74 dollars in some cases.
   • ROAS median in April 2025 2.19x. 2024 average 2.98x. Retargeting often around 3.61x.
   • Frequency B2B 2.51 and B2C 2.43. Crossing 3 to 4 risks fatigue.
   • Video view rate reasonable at 15 percent. Average view through 29 percent. Videos under 15 seconds show 53.7 percent completion vs 29.4 percent for longer.
2. Choose one lever with a simple decision rule.
   • Low CTR below 0.9 percent or low view rate under 15 percent. Fix creative first. New first frame, clearer benefit, tighter hook, stronger social proof.
   • CTR is fine and CPC is fine, but CVR is under 8 percent. Fix the funnel. Speed up the page, cut form fields, clarify the offer and CTA, reduce friction.
   • CTR is fine but CPM is above 10 dollars and rising. Fix reach quality. Check audience size and overlap, placements, and format mix. Consider fresher creative to protect relevance.
   • CVR is healthy near 9 to 15 percent, but ROAS sits under 2x. Fix value. Test pricing, bundles, guarantees, or push more spend to higher intent audiences and retargeting.
3. Design one clean test per lever.
   • Creative test. Change only the opening visual or headline. Keep audience and budget steady for a clean read.
   • Audience test. Duplicate your best ad and try broad with exclusions, a new lookalike, or one high intent interest group.
   • Funnel test. Ship one improvement at a time. Page load, hero copy, proof, form length, checkout clarity.
   • Budget test. Reallocate from the bottom 20 percent of ad sets to the top performer. Avoid big jumps. Watch frequency as you scale.
4. Measure with the right yardstick.
   • Creative tests live or die by CTR and video view rate.
   • Audience tests show up in CPC and CPM first, then CVR.
   • Funnel tests are judged by CVR and eventual ROAS.
   • Scaling tests show in ROAS and frequency within a few days.
5. Lock the win and iterate. When a variant beats your benchmark by a clear margin, make it the new control. Then pick the next lever. That is your improvement loop.

What to Watch For

CTR

Target 0.90 to 1.60 percent as a healthy zone. If you are under 1 percent, your message or visual is likely off for the audience. Video traffic ads average 1.57 percent which is a useful anchor.

CPC

Traffic campaigns average 0.70 dollars and the broader average is 1.72 dollars. If you are paying well above that, tighten relevance and audience fit before adding budget.

Conversion rate

The cross industry average is 8.95 percent and historical Meta sits near 9.21 percent. Some categories like fitness can clear 14 percent. If you are below 8 percent with solid CTR, fix the landing experience and offer clarity.

CPM

June 2025 averaged 8.17 dollars on Meta with a prior median near 5.61 dollars. If you drift toward 12 dollars while CTR slides, refresh creative and revisit audience shape.

ROAS

Medians around 2.19x to 2.98x are common. Retargeting can reach about 3.61x. If you are below 2x for prospecting, move spend to the top performers and test a stronger value prop.

Frequency

B2B 2.51 and B2C 2.43 are typical. Pushing past 3 to 4 quickly invites fatigue. Rotate creative or expand reach before that happens.

Engagement

Averages vary by method. You will see around 1.3 percent from some sources and a median near 0.063 percent from others. Use a consistent formula inside your account and watch direction, not just the number.

Video view rate

Reasonable at 15 percent with an average view through near 29 percent. Short videos under 15 seconds tend to finish at 53.7 percent which is great for recall and remarketing pools.

Your Next Move

Create a one page Benchmarks to Actions sheet for your account. Circle the single metric farthest from the reference range, pick the matching lever above, and ship one clean test this week.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you want a faster path to context and priorities, AdBuddy can surface live market benchmarks for your category, flag the lever most likely to move your goal, and hand you a ready to use playbook for the next test. Use it to keep the loop simple. Measure, pick the lever, test, then repeat.