Guide · July 2026
LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026: What Good Actually Looks Like
Industry-standard LinkedIn Ads benchmarks are useful. What we manage day to day - across €6.7M+ of B2B ad spend, 60+ clients and every major format - is more useful. This guide gives you both, side by side, so you can tell whether your account is performing, or just running.
TL;DR
The numbers most B2B teams should target
- CPC: €6-€12 depending on industry. Above €15 usually means audience or creative, not bidding.
- CPM: €40-€70 for cold prospecting; €25-€40 for retargeting.
- CTR: 0.45%-0.75% for Single Image; 0.85%+ for Thought Leader Ads.
- Landing page CVR: 6-10% for gated content; 1.5-3% for demo requests.
By industry
LinkedIn Ads CPC, CPM & CTR benchmarks
Ranges below reflect blended prospecting performance for accounts spending €10k+/month in EMEA and North America. Numbers are directional - your ICP, geo and offer will shift them.
| Industry | Avg CPC | Avg CPM | CTR | Landing CVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B2B SaaS | €8.20 | €52 | 0.62% | 8.4% |
| Manufacturing & Industrial | €6.40 | €44 | 0.71% | 9.1% |
| Financial Services | €11.80 | €68 | 0.48% | 6.2% |
| Professional Services | €7.50 | €49 | 0.58% | 7.7% |
| Healthcare & Life Sciences | €9.10 | €61 | 0.52% | 7.0% |
| Technology (Hardware/IT) | €7.90 | €51 | 0.64% | 8.0% |
By format
What each LinkedIn Ad format actually costs
Single Image Ad
CPC €7.40 · CTR 0.58%
The workhorse. Best baseline for cold audiences and offer testing.
Thought Leader Ad
CPC €5.90 · CTR 0.94%
Highest engagement across our book. Native voice beats brand voice - consistently.
Video Ad
CPC €9.20 · CTR 0.46%
Higher CPM, but strong for brand lift and retargeting warm segments.
Document Ad
CPC €6.10 · CTR 0.72%
Underrated for lead capture - especially reports, teardowns and playbooks.
Conversation Ad
CPC €8.80 · CTR -
Best for booked meetings when audience is <50k and offer is specific.
Reading the numbers
Three things benchmarks don't tell you
1. CPM is a symptom, not a lever.
High CPM on LinkedIn almost always means a small, over-defined audience or weak creative losing the auction. Broaden the audience by one dimension (seniority, or function) before touching bids.
2. CTR without frequency context is meaningless.
A 0.9% CTR at frequency 1.2 is a great hook. The same CTR at frequency 6+ means you're fatiguing your best creative. Track both.
3. CPL benchmarks lie by default.
Cost per lead is the metric most quoted and least useful. We benchmark against Cost per Qualified Meeting and Pipeline Contribution instead - two numbers we can actually optimise toward.
Method
How this data is compiled
Blended averages across Pyxida-managed accounts running LinkedIn Ads between January 2024 and June 2026. Excludes accounts under €5k/month spend and any campaign in its first 21 days of learning. Benchmarks are directional, not guarantees - your account will land where your ICP, offer and creative discipline put it.
Want to see how your LinkedIn account stacks up against these benchmarks?
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