What Still Works? PPC Benchmarks from 16K Firms 2025

Mastering Digital Advertising

Get the 2025 PPC benchmarks. This guide covers average CPC by industry and helps you set a daily PPC budget that gets real results.

Why do some PPC campaigns thrive while others burn through cash with nothing to show for it? Often, the answer lies in budgeting and benchmarks. In a world of rising ad costs and AI-driven bidding, understanding the typical PPC benchmarks is crucial for success. Without them, you’re flying blind. 

Drawing on insights from a dataset of 16,000 businesses, this guide cuts through the noise. We’ll explore the key advertising trends and provide the latest data to answer the ultimate question for marketers: what daily PPC budget drives results in 2025? 

Part 1: The 2025 Benchmark Landscape 

1. Key PPC Trends You Cannot Ignore 

First, it’s essential to understand the landscape. In 2025, three major trends are impacting budgets. Firstly, ad cost inflation continues, meaning you’re paying more for the same clicks. Secondly, AI-driven bidding in platforms like Google Ads and Performance Max has become the norm, requiring a different approach to management. Ultimately, platform diversification is crucial; relying solely on Google is no longer sufficient for most businesses. 

2. Average Daily PPC Budgets & CPC by Industry 

Next, let’s look at the numbers. While every account is different, these Google Ads industry benchmarks for 2025 provide a crucial starting point. Here’s a breakdown of the average daily budgets and the average CPC you can expect. 

A chart of the 2025 PPC Benchmarks by Industry, showing average daily budget and CPC. 

Industry Avg Daily Budget Avg. CPC ROI Trend 
E-commerce        75–75–75– 
      250 		       1.50–1.50–1.50– 
      3.00 		⬆️ 
Local Services        25–25–25– 
      100 		       2.00–2.00–2.00– 
      5.00 		↔️ 
B2B SaaS        100–100–100– 
      500+ 		       4.00–4.00–4.00– 
      8.00 		⬆️ 
Health & Wellness        50–50–50– 
      150 		       1.00–1.00–1.00– 
      2.50 		⬆️ 

Part 2: Analysis and Platform Specifics 

3. What Budget Ranges Are Still Profitable? 

The data shows that a “one-size-fits-all” budget doesn’t exist. For small businesses in local services, a daily PPC budget under $100 can still be highly effective and profitable. However, for a competitive B2B SaaS company, a budget under $100 per day may not generate enough data for the AI bidding to work properly. The key is aligning your spend with your industry’s impression and click costs to determine if Google Ads is profitable for you. 

4. A Look at Platform-Specific Benchmarks 

Furthermore, your budget needs to adapt to the platform. The average CTR for Google Ads tends to be higher than on other platforms due to user intent. On Meta Ads, success often hinges on a larger daily spend to generate enough data for ROAS bidding. And on LinkedIn Ads, a higher minimum effective spend is required to reach its premium B2B audience. 

A comparison of platform-specific benchmarks for Google, Meta, and LinkedIn Ads. 

Part 3: How to Set Your Budget and Win 

5. A Simple Formula to Set Your PPC Budget 

Stop guessing your budget. Use a simple formula: Target Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) × Desired Number of Leads per Day = Your Daily Budget. For example, if your target CPA is $50 and you want 2 leads per day, you need a starting budget of $100. This data-driven approach is one of the most effective PPC best practices. 

6. Avoid These Common Budgeting Mistakes 

Finally, many campaigns fail due to simple errors. The most common mistake is setting a daily budget that is too low for your niche, which prevents the algorithm from ever exiting the “learning” phase. Another is failing to adjust your budget in response to performance or competitive changes. And a third is overlooking the power of smaller, highly efficient retargeting campaigns. 

A graphic showing three common PPC budget mistakes that marketers should avoid. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) 

  • What is a good daily PPC budget in 2025? 
    For most small to medium-sized businesses, a good starting range is between $50 and $250 per day. However, this varies greatly by industry, with competitive niches like B2B SaaS requiring more. 
  • How much should small businesses spend on Google Ads? 
    A small business can start effectively with as little as 25−25-25−50 per day, especially for local service campaigns. The key is to focus on a small number of high-intent keywords rather than spreading the budget too thin. 
  • Is $20/day enough for PPC? 
    While $20/day can generate some data, it is often not enough for most industries to exit the learning phase and achieve consistent results. It may be sufficient for a very niche, low-competition local service. 

Tips 

  • Your daily budget should be at least 3-5x your target CPC to get enough clicks. 
  • Start with a smaller test budget for 3-5 days to gather initial data before scaling up. 
  • Allocate a separate, smaller budget for your branded search campaigns. 
  • Review your budget allocation at least monthly against your performance data. 

Warnings 

  • Don’t spread your budget too thin across too many campaigns. 
  • Be patient. AI-driven campaigns can take up to 4 weeks to stabilize. 
  • A higher budget cannot fix a bad offer or a poor landing page. 
  • Use these benchmarks as a starting point, not as a rule. 

Things You’ll Need 

  • Access to your ad platform’s data. 
  • A clear understanding of your business goals (e.g., target CPA). 
  • A spreadsheet for tracking performance. 

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