Facebook Ads Benchmarks for 2025 by Industry and Format with actions you can use now

What if you knew exactly which metric to fix this week to cut your CPA or lift ROAS? That is the power of using benchmarks with market context.

Heres What You Need to Know

Benchmarks tell you if a 1.2 percent CTR is strong or if a 2.50 dollar CPC needs work. They vary by industry, format, and funnel stage, so the right comparison matters more than the global average.

Use them as guardrails, not gospel. Measure, pick the lever that is furthest off the mark, run one focused test, then read and iterate.

2025 benchmarks at a glance

• CTR across all industries is around 1.57 percent based on WordStream. Restaurants and food see about 2.19 percent, real estate about 2.60 percent, finance and insurance closer to 0.85 percent.
• CPC across all industries is about 1.72 dollars. Finance and insurance often reach 3.77 dollars. Apparel and travel can sit under 0.70 dollars.
• CPM that is generally healthy sits between 8 and 15 dollars, with many categories over 12 dollars in current reports from Triple Whale. Art and baby products can rise above 18 to 20 dollars, and seasonal peaks in apparel and food and beverage saw increases of 50 to 80 percent.

Industry averages for CTR, CPC, and CVR

• Legal 1.61 percent CTR, 1.32 dollars CPC, 5.60 percent CVR
• Retail 1.59 percent CTR, 0.70 dollars CPC, 3.26 percent CVR
• Apparel 1.24 percent CTR, 0.45 dollars CPC, 4.11 percent CVR
• Beauty 1.16 percent CTR, 1.81 dollars CPC, 7.10 percent CVR
• Technology 1.04 percent CTR, 1.27 dollars CPC, 2.31 percent CVR
• Fitness 1.01 percent CTR, 1.90 dollars CPC, 14.29 percent CVR
• Real estate 0.99 percent CTR, 1.81 dollars CPC, 10.68 percent CVR
• Healthcare 0.83 percent CTR, 1.32 dollars CPC, 11.00 percent CVR

Sources include WordStream, Triple Whale, and AgencyAnalytics reports from late 2024 and early 2025.

Format performance in 2025

• Video around 0.98 percent CTR per Lebesgue, strong for awareness. A case study found video thumbnails drove 23.3 to 61.3 percent higher CTR versus static images.
• Carousel about 0.90 percent CTR, often the lowest customer acquisition cost a little over 15 dollars and the highest ROAS across formats in many verticals.
• Image around 0.88 percent CTR, low CPM near 1.56 dollars but an average customer acquisition cost near 28 dollars.
• Reels campaigns using 9:16 video with audio saw 12 percent higher conversions per dollar in Meta analysis across more than 12 million ad sets.

Why This Actually Matters

Here is the thing. CPM sets your cost to reach people, CTR turns reach into clicks, and CVR turns clicks into revenue. Those three levers decide your CPA and ROAS.

Market conditions shift. Seasonal demand pushes CPM up. Some industries click more but buy less and others click less but convert hard. The smartest move is to compare your numbers to the right peers, then work on the lever that is most off trend.

AdBuddy helps by putting your metrics in market context, then suggesting the single lever with the highest expected lift. You get priorities, not noise.

How to Make This Work for You

1. Choose the right benchmark for your goal
   • Match by industry and format. If you run Reels to cold traffic, compare against Reels and top of funnel peers, not a mix of feed and retargeting.
   • Set simple guardrails. CTR under 1 percent is a creative or audience signal. CPM above the 8 to 15 dollar range without a CVR lift deserves a closer look.
2. Diagnose with a simple model

   Think of CPA as a function of CPM, CTR, and CVR. If CTR lags, fix what people see. If CPC is high with healthy CTR, placement and audience costs may be the driver. If CVR is weak, focus on landing experience.

3. Run a focused creative test
   • Keep the offer constant. Test three hooks or visual angles: benefit first, urgency based, social proof.
   • Example shifts: 100 percent waterproof becomes Never worry about spills again. Only 12 left in stock adds urgency. Over 10,000 sold adds proof.
   • Aim to make the first three seconds do the heavy lifting for video and Reels.
4. Match format to intent
   • Video and Reels for attention and education.
   • Carousels for product depth, bundles, or step by step stories.
   • Images for quick promos or retargeting where context is already set.
5. Fix the post click path
   • Message match. If the ad says 20 percent off running shoes, land them on the relevant sale page.
   • Speed. If mobile load takes more than 3 seconds, expect drop off. Use PageSpeed Insights or WebPageTest to find and fix heavy images or scripts.
   • Remove friction. Try guest checkout, autofill, or native lead forms for short paths to action.

What to Watch For

• CTR

  Below 1 percent usually means the audience or the creative is not resonating. Doubling CTR often reduces CPC when CPM is steady.

• CPC

  Track alongside CTR and CVR. High CPC with strong CTR hints at expensive placements or audiences. High CPC with weak CTR points to creative quality.

• CPM

  Watch seasonality. If CPM climbs while CTR and CVR stay flat, shift spend to stronger placements or refresh creative before costs stack up.

• CVR

  Compare to your industry range. Low CVR with decent CTR often points to landing page speed, content match, or form friction.

• CPA and ROAS

  Use both. Many campaigns sit in the 2.5x to 4x ROAS range across industries. Ecommerce often targets 3x to 5x. If CPA is stable but ROAS slips, check average order value and promo quality.

Your Next Move

This week, pull your last 30 days by campaign and format. Compare CTR, CPC, CPM, and CVR to the 2025 benchmarks above. Pick the single biggest gap.

Run a simple test: two new hooks and one format swap for that campaign. Define success up front, for example reach 100 clicks or run 7 days and then make a call. Shift budget to the winner and repeat.

Want to Go Deeper?

If you want help with market context and priorities, AdBuddy can benchmark your account against peers, point to the lever with the highest expected lift, and give you playbooks for creative, placement, and landing page fixes. Use it to shorten the loop from insight to action.