Paid adsUpdated October 2026Data Jan 2025 – Sep 2026
GHL Paid Ads Benchmarks 2026: Every Number Explained
From January to September 2026, the median ad account across Facebook and Google paid $40 per lead, $2.13 per click and $35 per 1,000 impressions, and spent $3,650 a month.
Measured inside GoHighLevel instead, as all ad spend divided by every new contact, the most common cost per lead is $20–$35.
Every number, both platforms
The median ad account for each metric, 2026 against 2025. Select a figure for its full page: the spread, the trend by month and how it's measured.
| Metric | Facebook Ads | Google Ads | Both |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost per leadper lead | $372025: $53 | $852025: $66 | $402025: $56 |
| Cost per clickper click | $2.132025: $2.23 | $2.322025: $2.62 | $2.132025: $2.26 |
| CPMper 1,000 impressions | $372025: $34 | $322025: $48 | $352025: $34 |
| Ad spenda month | $3,8992025: $4,079 | $2,9752025: $3,807 | $3,6502025: $4,012 |
Facebook clicks are link clicks; each platform counts leads its own way. “Both” pools every Facebook and Google ad account.
16% lower
Median business, CRM-verified cost per lead vs the Meta-reported figure for the same spend
HelloConversions customers see a cost per lead 16% lower than Ads Manager reports
Same ad spend, more of the real leads counted. Meta's pixel misses leads that iOS privacy settings, blocked cookies and in-app browsers hide from it; the CRM still records them. The free report shows the comparison business by business.
How these benchmarks are built
- What's measured
- Spend, impressions, clicks and leads per ad account, from the Meta Marketing API and the Google Ads API. Facebook clicks are link clicks; Facebook leads are the leads Meta reports, Google leads the conversions Google Ads reports.
- Who's included
- Meta and Google ad accounts connected to HelloConversions, Jan 2025 – Sep 2026, pulled from the ad platform's own API rather than a survey. Each ad account counts once per year, unweighted, so a large account counts the same as a small one. We don't publish names or how many accounts there are, so every chart shows shares.
- Minimums
- An ad account counts toward a year with at least $1,000 in spend and 10,000 impressions, and toward a month with $250. A month with fewer than 5 qualifying ad accounts is left blank rather than shown from a handful.
- Both
- Every Meta and Google ad account pooled into one distribution, each counting once per year.
- A smaller Google sample
- Fewer of these businesses advertise on Google than on Meta, so read the Google figures as directional.
- Updated monthly
- Complete months only, refreshed early each month; this page uses data through September 2026. Year-over-year changes on the monthly charts compare the same months of 2026 and 2025.
Questions
What are good paid ads benchmarks for 2026?
From January to September 2026, the median ad account across Facebook and Google paid $40 per lead, $2.13 per click and $35 per 1,000 impressions, and spent $3,650 a month. Each platform's page breaks those down, with the full spread and the trend by month.
Is Facebook or Google cheaper for leads?
For the median ad account, Facebook Ads cost $37 per lead and Google Ads $85 in 2026, and $2.13 against $2.32 per click. Each platform counts leads its own way, so compare them as close cousins rather than the same measure.
What is a normal cost per lead inside GoHighLevel?
$20–$35 is the most common range, counting all Meta and Google spend against every new GoHighLevel contact, with bulk imports left out. Because it counts every new contact, not only the ones an ad platform claims, it isn't the same measure as the platforms' own cost per lead.
Why is the cost per lead in Ads Manager different from my CRM?
Ads Manager can only count the leads Meta's pixel and attribution rules see. iOS privacy settings, blocked cookies and in-app browsers hide real leads from it, while the CRM records every contact. For HelloConversions customers, the cost per lead counted in the CRM came out 16% lower than Ads Manager's figure for the median business, on the same spend.
Where does this data come from?
From Meta and Google ad accounts connected to HelloConversions, pulled straight from the ad platform's API, and from the GoHighLevel CRMs they feed. It's measured data, not a survey. We don't publish names or how many accounts there are, so every chart shows the share of ad accounts rather than counts.
How often are these benchmarks updated?
Every month, as soon as the month is complete. The numbers here run through September 2026.
See where your numbers land
The full report adds what the ad platforms can't see: cost per lead and CAC measured in GoHighLevel, the Ads Manager vs CRM gap, and email. Free, and it opens as soon as you submit.