$
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CPC = Ad Spend ÷ Total Clicks
$1.33
Cost per click
$2,000
Ad spend
1,500
Clicks
$1.33
CPC
$0.80-2.20
Channel benchmark
Within benchmark — your CPC is healthy.
From spend & clicks (basic), or from CPM × CTR (derived). With 2026 channel benchmarks built in.
CPC is the cost you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Most marketers obsess over CPC, but it's a downstream metric — driven by CPM and CTR. A cheap CPC with a 4× landing-page bounce rate is worse than an expensive CPC that converts at 6%.
| Channel | Cold | Retargeting | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Feed | $0.80–$2.20 | $0.40–$1.20 | DTC; B2B is 2-3x |
| Meta Reels | $0.40–$1.10 | $0.25–$0.75 | Lower intent |
| Google Search | $1.20–$6.00 | $0.80–$4.00 | Varies wildly by vertical |
| Google Display | $0.30–$1.20 | $0.20–$0.80 | Cheap but low quality |
| YouTube | $0.10–$0.50 | $0.08–$0.30 | Low CTR baseline |
| TikTok | $0.50–$1.80 | $0.30–$1.10 | Younger audiences |
| $5.00–$15.00 | $3.00–$8.00 | B2B premium | |
| $0.40–$1.50 | $0.25–$0.90 | Niche communities | |
| $0.50–$1.80 | $0.30–$1.10 | Female-skewed |
The exact formula: CPC = CPM ÷ (CTR × 10). A $20 CPM at 1% CTR = $2.00 CPC. To lower CPC, you can either lower CPM (broaden targeting, better placements, refresh creative) or raise CTR (better hook, better thumbnail, better promise). Most marketers chase lower CPMs when raising CTR is the higher-leverage fix.
The right way to read CPC: in context with conversion rate. CPL (cost per lead) is the better unit-economics metric for lead gen; CPA (cost per action) for ecommerce. Use ROAS Calculator →