meta-benchmark-database

Benchmark Database

Overview

This skill provides an extensive database of Meta Ads benchmarks by industry, funnel stage, and campaign type, so you can assess how your metrics perform relative to market standards.

Benchmark Disclaimer

IMPORTANT CONTEXT

These benchmarks are based on:
├── Sovran "Meta Ads CPM by Industry 2026" (Q1 2026, updated quarterly)
├── Databox peer benchmarks "Facebook Ads CTR/CPC/CPM" (Feb 2026)
├── Tinuiti "Digital Ads Benchmark Report Q4 2025" (Jan 2026)
├── Primarily focused on Western markets
├── Attribution: 7d click + 1d view (Meta default since Jan 2026 — 28d view removed)
└── Subject to seasonal fluctuations
Note: AdEspresso stopped publishing benchmarks after 2022 — removed as source.

Benchmarks are GUIDELINES, not absolute truths:
├── Your specific niche may differ significantly
├── Product pricing strongly influences metrics
├── Audience quality determines a lot
└── Always compare with your own historical data

Benchmarks by Industry

E-commerce

E-COMMERCE BENCHMARKS
=====================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR (All)       │ <1.0%   │ 1.0-2.0%│ 2.0-3.0%│ >3.0%
CTR (Link)      │ <1.2%   │ 1.2-2.0%│ 2.0-3.0%│ >3.0%
CPC             │ >$1.50  │ $0.80-1.50│ $0.40-0.80│ <$0.40
CPM             │ >$18    │ $10-18  │ $5-10   │ <$5
CPA (Purchase)  │ >$50    │ $25-50  │ $15-25  │ <$15
ROAS            │ <1.5x   │ 1.5-2.5x│ 2.5-4x  │ >4x
Add to Cart Rate│ <3%     │ 3-6%    │ 6-10%   │ >10%
Conversion Rate │ <1%     │ 1-2%    │ 2-4%    │ >4%

SUBCATEGORIES:
├── Fashion: CPA $20-40, ROAS 2.5-4x
├── Beauty: CPA $15-30, ROAS 3-5x
├── Electronics: CPA $30-60, ROAS 2-3x
├── Home & Garden: CPA $25-45, ROAS 2.5-4x
└── Food & Beverage: CPA $10-25, ROAS 3-6x

SaaS / Software

SAAS BENCHMARKS
===============

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <0.4%   │ 0.4-0.8%│ 0.8-1.5%│ >1.5%
CPC             │ >$3.00  │ $1.50-3 │ $0.80-1.50│ <$0.80
CPM             │ >$20    │ $12-20  │ $6-12   │ <$6
CPL (Lead)      │ >$80    │ $40-80  │ $20-40  │ <$20
CPA (Trial)     │ >$150   │ $80-150 │ $40-80  │ <$40
CPA (Paid)      │ >$300   │ $150-300│ $80-150 │ <$80
Trial to Paid   │ <5%     │ 5-15%   │ 15-25%  │ >25%

NOTES:
├── B2B SaaS: Higher CPA acceptable (LTV!)
├── Freemium: Focus on trial signups
└── Enterprise: CPA can be $500+ (high LTV)

Lead Generation / Services

LEAD GEN BENCHMARKS
===================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <0.5%   │ 0.5-1%  │ 1-2%    │ >2%
CPC             │ >$2.50  │ $1-2.50 │ $0.50-1 │ <$0.50
CPM             │ >$18    │ $10-18  │ $5-10   │ <$5
CPL             │ >$50    │ $20-50  │ $10-20  │ <$10
Form Fill Rate  │ <10%    │ 10-20%  │ 20-35%  │ >35%
Lead Quality    │ <5% SQL │ 5-15%   │ 15-30%  │ >30%

INDUSTRY SPECIFIC:
├── Real Estate: CPL $30-80
├── Finance/Insurance: CPL $40-100
├── Legal: CPL $50-150
├── Healthcare: CPL $25-60
├── Education: CPL $15-40
└── B2B Services: CPL $50-200

Local Business

LOCAL BUSINESS BENCHMARKS
=========================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <0.6%   │ 0.6-1.2%│ 1.2-2%  │ >2%
CPC             │ >$1.50  │ $0.70-1.50│$0.30-0.70│ <$0.30
CPM             │ >$12    │ $6-12   │ $3-6    │ <$3
Cost per Store Visit │ >$15│ $8-15  │ $4-8    │ <$4
Cost per Call   │ >$20    │ $10-20  │ $5-10   │ <$5
Cost per Direction│>$8    │ $4-8    │ $2-4    │ <$2

NOTES:
├── Radius targeting: Tight radius = higher CPM
├── Store visits: Not available for all locations
└── Calls: Most trackable local metric

Benchmarks by Funnel Stage

TOFU (Top of Funnel)

TOFU BENCHMARKS - AWARENESS
===========================

Objective: Reach / Brand Awareness / Video Views

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CPM             │ >$10    │ $5-10   │ $3-5    │ <$3
Reach (per $)   │ <100    │ 100-200 │ 200-350 │ >350
Frequency/week  │ >4      │ 2.5-4   │ 1.5-2.5 │ 1-1.5
Video Views     │ <20%    │ 20-40%  │ 40-60%  │ >60%
ThruPlay Rate   │ <10%    │ 10-20%  │ 20-35%  │ >35%
Cost/ThruPlay   │ >$0.10  │ $0.05-0.10│$0.02-0.05│<$0.02
3-sec View Rate │ <30%    │ 30-50%  │ 50-70%  │ >70%

MOFU (Middle of Funnel)

MOFU BENCHMARKS - CONSIDERATION
===============================

Objective: Traffic / Engagement / Lead Gen

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <0.8%   │ 0.8-1.5%│ 1.5-2.5%│ >2.5%
CPC             │ >$1.50  │ $0.80-1.50│$0.40-0.80│<$0.40
Landing Page View Rate│<60%│60-75%  │ 75-85%  │ >85%
Bounce Rate     │ >70%    │ 50-70%  │ 30-50%  │ <30%
Time on Site    │ <30s    │ 30-60s  │ 60-120s │ >120s
Content Eng.    │ <2%     │ 2-5%    │ 5-10%   │ >10%
Email Signup    │ <1%     │ 1-3%    │ 3-6%    │ >6%

BOFU (Bottom of Funnel)

BOFU BENCHMARKS - CONVERSION
============================

Objective: Conversions / Catalog Sales

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <1%     │ 1-2%    │ 2-3.5%  │ >3.5%
CPC             │ >$1.20  │ $0.60-1.20│$0.30-0.60│<$0.30
Conv. Rate      │ <2%     │ 2-4%    │ 4-8%    │ >8%
CPA             │ varies by industry (see above)
ROAS            │ varies by industry (see above)
Cart Abandon    │ >80%    │ 70-80%  │ 60-70%  │ <60%
Checkout Comp.  │ <30%    │ 30-50%  │ 50-70%  │ >70%

Benchmarks by Ad Format

Static Image Ads

STATIC IMAGE BENCHMARKS
=======================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <0.8%   │ 0.8-1.5%│ 1.5-2.5%│ >2.5%
Engagement Rate │ <1%     │ 1-2%    │ 2-4%    │ >4%
Save Rate       │ <0.1%   │ 0.1-0.5%│ 0.5-1%  │ >1%
Share Rate      │ <0.05%  │ 0.05-0.2%│0.2-0.5% │ >0.5%

Video Ads

VIDEO AD BENCHMARKS
===================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
3-sec View Rate │ <25%    │ 25-40%  │ 40-60%  │ >60%
ThruPlay Rate   │ <8%     │ 8-15%   │ 15-25%  │ >25%
Avg Watch Time  │ <3s     │ 3-6s    │ 6-10s   │ >10s
Video Complete  │ <5%     │ 5-12%   │ 12-20%  │ >20%
CTR (post-view) │ <0.5%   │ 0.5-1%  │ 1-2%    │ >2%
Cost/ThruPlay   │ >$0.12  │ $0.06-0.12│$0.03-0.06│<$0.03

Carousel Ads

CAROUSEL AD BENCHMARKS
======================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
CTR             │ <1%     │ 1-1.8%  │ 1.8-3%  │ >3%
Cards Viewed    │ <2      │ 2-3     │ 3-4     │ >4
Swipe Rate      │ <30%    │ 30-50%  │ 50-70%  │ >70%
Exit Card       │ Card 1-2│ Card 3-4│ Card 5+ │ Last card

Collection/Instant Experience

COLLECTION AD BENCHMARKS
========================

Metric          │ Poor    │ Average │ Good    │ Excellent
────────────────┼─────────┼─────────┼─────────┼──────────
Click to Open   │ <3%     │ 3-6%    │ 6-10%   │ >10%
Time in IE      │ <15s    │ 15-30s  │ 30-60s  │ >60s
Outbound CTR    │ <2%     │ 2-5%    │ 5-10%   │ >10%
Product Views   │ <3      │ 3-6     │ 6-10    │ >10

Seasonal Adjustment Factors

SEASONAL VARIATIONS
====================

MONTH           │ CPM Factor │ CPA Factor │ Notes
────────────────┼────────────┼────────────┼───────────────
January         │   0.85     │   0.90     │ Low competition
February        │   0.90     │   0.95     │ Valentine's spike
March           │   0.95     │   1.00     │ Baseline
April           │   0.95     │   1.00     │ Baseline
May             │   1.00     │   1.00     │ Baseline
June            │   0.95     │   0.98     │ Summer start
July            │   0.90     │   0.95     │ Summer lull
August          │   0.88     │   0.92     │ Summer lull
September       │   1.00     │   1.00     │ Back to school
October         │   1.10     │   1.05     │ Q4 start
November        │   1.35     │   1.20     │ Black Friday
December        │   1.40     │   1.25     │ Holiday peak

Usage: Benchmark x Factor = Seasonally Adjusted Benchmark

Benchmark Comparison Template

When user asks to evaluate metrics:

METRIC EVALUATION - [ACCOUNT]
============================

YOUR METRICS vs BENCHMARKS

Metric      │ Your Value  │ Benchmark │ Difference │ Status
────────────┼─────────────┼───────────┼────────────┼────────
CTR         │   [X]%      │   [Y]%    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]
CPC         │   $[X]      │   $[Y]    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]
CPM         │   $[X]      │   $[Y]    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]
CPA         │   $[X]      │   $[Y]    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]
ROAS        │   [X]x      │   [Y]x    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]
Conv Rate   │   [X]%      │   [Y]%    │  [+/-Z%]   │ [green/yellow/red]

INTERPRETATION:
Green: Above benchmark (>10% better)
Yellow: At benchmark (+/-10%)
Red: Below benchmark (>10% worse)

RECOMMENDATIONS:
├── [Focus area 1]
├── [Focus area 2]
└── [Focus area 3]

MCP Tool Integration

Pulling Real Data for Benchmark Comparison

Never benchmark against user-provided numbers alone — always pull live account data first:

1. Get current metrics (last 30 days):
→ meta_get_insights(account_id="...", level="campaign", date_preset="last_30d", fields=["spend","ctr","cpc","cpm","cost_per_action_type","impressions"])

2. Drill into ad set level for audience-specific benchmarks:
→ meta_get_insights(account_id="...", level="adset", date_preset="last_30d", fields=["ctr","cpc","cost_per_action_type","frequency"])

Then compare the returned metrics against the benchmark tables above, applying seasonal adjustment factors if relevant.

Example Interaction

User: "My e-commerce fashion campaign has a CTR of 1.2%, CPA of $35 and ROAS of 2.8x. Is that good?"

Claude response:

"Let me compare your metrics against e-commerce fashion benchmarks:

---

BENCHMARK COMPARISON - Fashion E-commerce:

Metric	Your Value	Benchmark Range	Status
CTR	1.2%	1-2% (average-good)	Good
CPA	$35	$20-40 (average)	OK
ROAS	2.8x	2.5-4x (average-good)	Good

---

INTERPRETATION:

CTR (1.2%) - You're in the 'good' range. Your creatives are grabbing attention.

CPA ($35) - Average for fashion. There's room for improvement.

ROAS (2.8x) - Healthy. Above breakeven, room to scale.

---

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Lowering CPA is your biggest opportunity

   • Test more creatives (UGC is often cheaper)
   • Optimize landing page conversion
   • Check audience overlap

2. Scale potential: With 2.8x ROAS you can increase budget if CPA stays stable

Would you like specific benchmarks for another metric or a comparison with last period?"