CPC is what you pay for each click on an ad. The formula is CPC = spend / clicks, so $5,000 for 500 clicks is a $10.00 CPC. Enter any two of spend, clicks and CPC below and the calculator works out the third, then adds your cost per lead, the CPM you are paying in effect and how you compare with 2025 B2B medians for LinkedIn, Google and Meta.
2025 B2B CPC medians (Metadata, 153 B2B advertisers)
What is the CPC formula?
Cost per click is total spend divided by total clicks. Turn the formula around to plan a budget or forecast traffic:
| To find | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| CPC | Spend / Clicks | $5,000 / 500 = $10.00 |
| Spend (budget) | CPC x Clicks | $9.39 x 800 = $7,512 |
| Clicks | Spend / CPC | $10,000 / $9.39 = 1,065 |
| Cost per lead | CPC / click-to-lead rate | $10.00 / 4% = $250 |
| Implied CPM | CPC x CTR x 1,000 | $10.00 x 0.67% x 1,000 = $67.00 |
When you combine campaigns, add the spend and add the clicks before you divide. Averaging the CPCs of a cheap campaign and an expensive one overstates the cost of the cheap one's traffic. For the definition and how bids set CPC on Google and LinkedIn, see our glossary entry on cost per click.
What is a good CPC for B2B ads in 2025?
The largest public B2B dataset we found is Metadata's 2026 B2B Paid Media Benchmark: $57.6 million of 2025 ad spend across 153 B2B advertisers, reported as medians across advertisers so a few big accounts do not set the number.
| Channel | Median CPC | Median CTR | Median cost per lead | Advertisers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Ads | $9.76 | 6.33% | $524 | 56 |
| $9.39 | 0.67% | $202 | 138 | |
| $2.82 | 0.65% | $138 | 49 | |
| $1.95 | 0.79% | $145 | 71 |
Source: Metadata, "What LinkedIn Ads Cost in 2025", medians across advertisers for 2025 campaigns, re-checked on 30 October 2026.
Google and LinkedIn cost about the same per click for B2B, and both cost three to five times what Meta does. The lead cost column tells a different story: Google's median cost per lead is more than twice LinkedIn's in this dataset. A cheap click is worth what it converts into, so read CPC next to the last column.
Does the LinkedIn ad format change CPC?
Yes. Kiin's LinkedIn benchmark (2,563 thought leader ad campaigns across 464 accounts in a $31 million panel of US-weighted B2B tech advertisers, 8 September 2025 to 7 September 2026) measured cost per landing page click by format:
| LinkedIn format and objective | Median cost per landing page click |
|---|---|
| Single-image company page ad, website visits objective | $11.75 |
| Company page video, website visits objective | $12.01 |
| Thought leader ad (single image) | $13.51 |
| Thought leader ad, all campaigns measured | $14.71 |
| Thought leader ad (video) | $32.34 |
Source: Kiin, LinkedIn CPM benchmarks, medians in USD, LinkedIn Audience Network excluded, re-checked on 30 October 2026.
Kiin divides spend by landing page clicks only, so its figures are a stricter count than a CPC built on every click type an ad platform reports. Before you compare your CPC with any benchmark, check which clicks your report divides by. Our guide to LinkedIn ads pricing covers how bid types decide whether you pay per click or per impression.
How do you use CPC to plan a B2B budget?
Illustrative, not a benchmark. Brightquay, a fictional payroll software company, wants 40 demo requests a quarter from LinkedIn and Google. Its landing page converts 3% of ad clicks into demo requests.
| Step | Math | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Clicks needed | 40 / 3% | 1,334 clicks |
| Budget at the LinkedIn median CPC ($9.39) | 1,334 x $9.39 | $12,526 a quarter |
| Budget at the Google Ads median CPC ($9.76) | 1,334 x $9.76 | $13,020 a quarter |
| Cost per demo request at $9.39 | $9.39 / 3% | $313 |
The budget barely changes between the two channels. What changes the plan is the conversion rate: if Brightquay lifts its landing page from 3% to 4%, the same 40 demos need 1,000 clicks and $9,390 on LinkedIn, a quarter less spend. In this plan, the landing page moves cost per demo more than the choice of channel does.
How do CPC, CPM and cost per lead connect?
CPC = CPM / (CTR x 1,000). If your CPC rises, either impressions got more expensive or fewer people clicked, and the fix differs: a higher CPM points to audience or competition, a lower CTR points to tired creative. The implied CPM in the calculator shows which one moved.
- Start from impressions with our CPM calculator when you plan reach for a fixed account list.
- Check what the leads are worth with the ROAS calculator, which turns pipeline from the same spend into a break-even target.
- Add sales costs in the CAC calculator to see what a customer costs in full.
If you would rather hand the campaigns off, our paid ads service runs Google and LinkedIn campaigns with a landing page for each, reads results in your CRM each week and moves spend to the campaigns that book calls.
Frequently asked
How do you calculate CPC?
Divide total ad spend by total clicks. CPC = spend / clicks. A campaign that spent $5,000 and got 500 clicks has a $10.00 CPC. Use the spend and clicks from the same campaigns and the same dates, as reported by the ad platform.
How do you calculate average CPC across several campaigns?
Add up the spend of all campaigns, add up their clicks, then divide the first total by the second. Do not average the CPCs. Two campaigns at $2 CPC (1,000 clicks) and $20 CPC (100 clicks) have an average CPC of $3.64 ($4,000 / 1,100), not $11.
What is a good CPC for LinkedIn ads?
Metadata's benchmark of 2025 B2B campaigns puts the median LinkedIn CPC at $9.39 across 138 advertisers, against $1.95 on Facebook and $2.82 on Instagram. Kiin measured $11.75 per landing page click for single-image company page ads on the website visits objective. A good CPC is one where your cost per lead and cost per opportunity still work, so judge it next to those.
How many clicks will my budget buy?
Clicks = budget / CPC. $10,000 at a $9.39 CPC buys about 1,065 clicks. Choose "Clicks" in the solve-for menu above and enter your budget and expected CPC.
What is the formula for cost per lead?
Cost per lead = spend / leads, which is the same as CPC / click-to-lead rate. At a $9.39 CPC and a 4% click-to-lead rate, each lead costs about $235. Cost per acquisition (CPA) uses the same division with customers or another goal in place of leads.
How are CPC and CPM related?
CPC = CPM / (CTR x 1,000), and CPM = CPC x CTR x 1,000. At a $9.39 CPC and a 0.67% click-through rate, you are paying the equivalent of about a $62.91 CPM. Enter your CTR in the calculator to see the implied CPM, or use our CPM calculator to start from impressions.
