What Is a Good Cost Per Lead on Facebook in 2026?
By
Izzy Gregorio
·
4 minute read
Paid Media · Benchmarks
What Is a Good Cost Per Lead on Facebook and Instagram in 2026?
A good cost per lead is one your business can afford. Industry averages give you context. Your close rate and customer value decide whether a lead is cheap.
By Izzy Gregorio · Updated August 2026 · 7 min read
In short
In WordStream and LocaliQ's most recent Facebook benchmarks, the average lead campaign cost $27.66 per lead, with a 2.59 percent click-through rate, $1.92 cost per click, and a 7.72 percent lead conversion rate. Those averages are context. The number that matters is what your own close rate and customer value let you afford.
The numbers
The benchmark table
Know the window before you plan against it. This dataset covers 1,180 US campaigns running from April 2024 to June 2025, published September 2025.
| Metric | Traffic campaigns | Lead campaigns |
|---|---|---|
| Average CTR | 1.71%, up from 1.57% | 2.59%, flat year over year |
| Average CPC | $0.70, down 6.7% | $1.92 |
| Average cost per lead | — | $27.66, up 21% |
| Lead conversion rate | — | 7.72% |
WordStream and LocaliQ, Facebook Ads Benchmarks, published September 15, 2025. 1,180 US campaigns, April 2024 to June 2025.
For comparison: the average Google search lead in the same benchmark data cost $70.11. The average Facebook lead cost less than half of that, even after the 21 percent increase.
The spread
Why your industry matters more than the average
The same dataset shows gaps wide enough that the blended figure describes almost nobody.
| Industry | Cost per click | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Dentists | About $9.78 | Lead campaigns |
| Finance and insurance | About $1.22 | Traffic campaigns. Lowest traffic CTR at 0.98% |
| Shopping and gifts | About $0.34 | Traffic campaigns |
Cost per thousand views varies just as much, and the published figures do not agree. Vendor datasets range from roughly $7.47 to $11.54, and $14 or more in ecommerce. That spread is not error. Each dataset measures a different slice of the market, which is why none of them is wrong and none of them is yours.
A blended average hides all of that. Compare yourself to your own vertical and spend level, and above all to your own history.
The number that matters
Find the cost per lead you can afford
This calculation matters more than any benchmark on the page above. Three inputs, all of which you already have.
Affordable cost per lead = customer value × close rate × acquisition share
- 1
Customer value. What is a new customer worth to you in gross profit over the first year?
- 2
Close rate. Out of 10 leads, how many become customers?
- 3
Acquisition share. How much of that first-year profit are you willing to spend to win the customer?
| Input | Illustrative example |
|---|---|
| First-year gross profit per customer | $3,000 |
| Close rate | 1 in 10, or 0.10 |
| Acquisition share | 30%, or 0.30 |
| Affordable cost per lead | $90 |
At those numbers, a $40 lead is a bargain and the $27.66 average is comfortable.
And a $15 lead that never closes costs more than it looks.
If you also run LinkedIn
Expect higher costs, and possibly higher value
There is no single primary dataset for LinkedIn, so the ranges below are estimated composites drawn from multiple vendor sources. Treat them as orientation rather than benchmarks.
Cost per click: about $5.26 to $6.50, and $9 to $15 in tech and finance.
Cost per lead: about $94.
Sponsored Content CTR: about 0.44 to 0.65 percent.
A LinkedIn lead costs more, and it can still be worth more. Run the same calculation with a higher customer value and see where it lands.
Keep going
Benchmarks, before they are quoted at you.
New platform data, what the sample actually covers, and which figures are safe to plan against. Most of what circulates as a benchmark is vendor guidance with no disclosed method. One email a month, sourced and dated.
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Four levers
How to lower your cost per lead
Improve the hook. A stronger opening raises CTR, which lowers cost per lead directly.
Match the page to the ad. When the landing page repeats the ad's promise, conversion rate goes up.
Test more distinct ideas. You find winners faster when you give the system more real options.
Feed better signal. Send Meta the leads that actually booked, so it can find more people like them.
The fourth lever is the one most accounts skip, and it changes what the system optimizes toward rather than just what it shows.
Common questions
Cost per lead, answered
What is a good cost per lead on Facebook?
The average was $27.66 in WordStream and LocaliQ's benchmarks covering 1,180 US campaigns from April 2024 to June 2025. A good cost per lead for you is whatever your customer value, close rate, and acquisition share allow. Multiply first-year gross profit by close rate by the share of profit you will spend to win a customer.
Is a $50 lead too expensive?
It depends on your math rather than on the average. If your affordable cost per lead works out to $90, a $50 lead is healthy. If it works out to $30, you have a leak to find. The benchmark tells you what others pay, not what you can afford.
What is a good CTR for Facebook ads in 2026?
The most recent WordStream and LocaliQ benchmarks put average CTR at 2.59 percent for lead campaigns and 1.71 percent for traffic campaigns. Industry variance is wide enough that your own vertical and your own history are better comparisons than the blended figure.
Are Instagram benchmarks different from Facebook?
Both run through Meta's ad system, and most published benchmarks report them together. Measure each placement in your own account before assuming they differ, since placement performance varies more by creative format than by platform.
How does LinkedIn cost per lead compare?
Substantially higher, at roughly $94 per lead against $27.66 on Facebook, though LinkedIn figures come from vendor composites rather than a single primary dataset. A higher cost per lead is not automatically worse if the customer value behind it is higher. Run the same affordability calculation for each channel.
Sources
WordStream and LocaliQ, Facebook Ads Benchmarks, published September 15, 2025, drawn from 1,180 US campaigns running April 2024 to June 2025. LocaliQ Search Advertising Benchmarks, June 2026. CPM figures compiled from vendor composites including WebFX, Revealbot and Databox, and Triple Whale, presented as estimated ranges because each dataset covers a different slice of the market. LinkedIn figures compiled from vendor composites including Stackmatix, Ryze, Benly, and Digital Applied, presented as estimated ranges rather than benchmarks.
Start here
The leads you are not paying for
Every lead above has a price attached. A buyer who asks an AI engine for a recommendation and hears your name does not. The AI visibility audit from Conspicuouz Creative Group shows how ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity currently describe your business, and where the gaps are. Free, and you keep the prompt set.