Every channel, every industry — CPM, CTR, CVR, ROAS, CAC and the unit economics, each one sourced.
Know the number before you chase it.
This is the RGM benchmarks compendium — current 2026 ranges for paid, owned, organic and retail-media performance, plus SaaS and DTC unit economics. Every figure carries its source and its definition, so you compare like-for-like instead of averaging numbers that were never meant to meet. Explore the periodic table, filter the matrix, or jump straight to your platform, channel or industry.
How to read this page: benchmarks are directional sanity-checks, not targets. Far below a range means something is structurally broken; far above means exceptional work — or a metric that has not yet faced real volume. Sourcing: figures are public, dated and linked; synthesized ranges are labelled “RGM analysis.”
The numbers, fast.
Blended, healthy for DTC; retail media sustains ~6.1x. Floor = 1 ÷ gross margin.
Blended; food & beverage converts highest (~6%), furniture and luxury lowest.
Open is MPP-inflated — automated flows roughly double the click rate.
Median ~3.2:1; top quartile 4–6:1. Far above 6:1 can signal underinvestment.
Median — 8–12 months for SMB self-serve, 18–24+ for enterprise.
The biggest recoverable leak in ecommerce — win it back with email and SMS flows.
Four ways in.
The full cross-platform dataset, executive summary and methodology in one place.
Open the report → Trends2020–2026 Trend LinesSeven years of structural shifts — COVID, iOS 14.5, AI Overviews, retail media.
See the trends → InteractiveBenchmark ExplorerFilter every sourced range by metric and family, in one searchable matrix.
Open explorer → Calculators160+ Free CalculatorsPlug these benchmarks into ROAS, CAC, LTV and payback models.
Browse tools →The periodic table of benchmarks.
The benchmark explorer.
Showing 43 of 43 benchmarks
| Metric | Scope / segment | Low | Median | Top tier | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CPC — Google Ads | Search, all industries | $2 | $4.66 | $8+ | WordStream 2024 |
| CPC — Meta | Traffic objective | $0.40 | $0.70 | $1.92 | WordStream 2025 |
| CPC — Amazon Ads | Sponsored Products | $0.80 | $1.12 | $1.50+ | Ad Badger 2025 |
| CPC — LinkedIn | Sponsored content | $10.48 | ~$13 | $15.72 | HockeyStack 2025 |
| CPM — Meta | Feed (median) | $8.17 | $13.48 | $20+ | WordStream / Gupta Media |
| CPM — TikTok | In-feed | $4.67 | ~$6 | $15 | Gupta Media 2025 |
| CPM — LinkedIn | US sponsored | $50 | $62.67 | $70+ | ZenABM 2025 |
| CPM — CTV / OTT | Premium streaming | $20 | $25–35 | $45+ | MNTN |
| CPM — Podcast | Host-read mid-roll | $15 | $25 | $30+ | Ad Results Media |
| CPL — Google Ads | All industries | $35 | $66.69 | $144+ | WordStream 2024 |
| CPL — by industry | Ecommerce → Higher-ed | $91 | $237 (SaaS) | $982 | First Page Sage |
| CTR — Google Ads | Search | 3% | 6.42% | 9%+ | WordStream 2024 |
| CTR — Meta | Paid social (median) | 1.2% | 2.19% | 3%+ | WordStream 2025 |
| CTR — LinkedIn | Sponsored content | 0.44% | 0.55% | 0.96% | HockeyStack 2025 |
| CTR — programmatic display | Open web | 0.08% | 0.46% | 0.7% | Focus Digital 2025 |
| Email open rate | All industries (MPP-inflated) | 27% | 35.63% | 40%+ | Mailchimp |
| Email click rate | Campaigns vs flows | 1.2% | 2.62% | 5.6% (flows) | Mailchimp / Klaviyo |
| Organic engagement | Per post by network | 0.06% (FB) | 0.36% (IG) | 1.73% (TikTok) | Rival IQ 2025 |
| SEO CTR, position #1 | Organic | 27.6% | 39.8% | 42.9% | First Page Sage / Backlinko |
| Influencer ER | Nano tier | 1.73% (IG) | — | 10.3% (TikTok) | Influencer Marketing Hub |
| Ecommerce CVR | Blended global | 1.65% | ~2.5% | 6% (food/bev) | IRP / Dynamic Yield |
| Paid-search CVR | Google Ads | 3% | 6.96% | 12%+ | WordStream 2024 |
| Landing-page CVR | By industry | 3.8% | 6.6% | 12.3% | Unbounce |
| Add-to-cart rate | Shopify | 2% | 4.6% | 9.6%+ | Littledata |
| Cart abandonment | All ecommerce | 55% | 70.2% | 84% | Baymard Institute |
| Trial → paid | Opt-in vs opt-out | 10% | ~18% | 40–60% (card) | OpenView |
| MQL → SQL | B2B SaaS | 12% | 18–22% | 40% | First Page Sage |
| ROAS — Meta | Paid social (median) | 1.0x | 1.93x | 3x+ | WordStream 2025 |
| ROAS — blended DTC | Healthy range | 3x | 3–5x | 6x+ | Triple Whale |
| ROAS — retail media | Cross-retailer | 4x | 6.1x | 8x+ | Skai |
| LTV : CAC | B2B SaaS | 3:1 | 3.2:1 | 4–6:1 | Benchmarkit / Optifai |
| CAC payback | By GTM motion (months) | 8 (SMB) | 18 | 24+ (ent) | Benchmarkit / KeyBanc |
| SaaS magic number | Private B2B | 0.5 | 0.90 | 1.0+ | KeyBanc 2024 |
| Rule of 40 | % of SaaS clearing it | — | 11–30% | — | Blossom Street Ventures |
| Net revenue retention | SMB → Enterprise | 97% | 101% | 118% | Benchmarkit 2024 |
| Gross revenue retention | Private B2B SaaS | 80% | 88% | 90%+ | Benchmarkit 2024 |
| Churn — voluntary | All industries (monthly) | 2.5% | 2.5% | 4.0% (B2C) | Recurly |
| Subscription retention | Mobile apps | 3.4% (wk) | 17% (mo) | 44% (yr) | RevenueCat 2025 |
| Inbox placement | Global average | 75% | 83.5% | 90%+ | Validity 2025 |
| Spam-complaint cap | Gmail / Yahoo bulk | — | < 0.10% | < 0.30% max | Mailgun |
| Zero-click searches | US Google | — | 58.5% | — | SparkToro / Datos |
| SMS click rate | Ecommerce flows | 6% | ~10% | 16%+ | Klaviyo 2024 |
| GA4 engagement rate | All industries | 45% | 56.2% | 70%+ | Databox |
No benchmark matches that filter. Search the full library instead.
Low / median / top-tier reflect each publisher’s reported range. Where a source gives a single figure it sits under median. Cross-source rows note both definitions.
What paid media costs.
| Platform | CPM | CPC | CTR | Conv. rate | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search | — | $4.66 | 6.42% | 6.96% | WordStream 2024 |
| Meta (FB/IG) | $13.48 | $0.70 | 2.19% | 1.57% | WordStream 2025 |
| TikTok | ~$5 | ~$0.50 | ~0.8% | — | Gupta Media 2025 |
| $62.67 | $10–16 | 0.4–0.65% | 2–4% | ZenABM / HockeyStack | |
| Snapchat | $12.84 | ~$0.51 | 2.50% | — | Gupta Media 2025 |
| Amazon Ads | — | $1.12 | ~0.35% | ~10% | Ad Badger 2025 |
| Programmatic display | ~$6 | — | ~0.46% | — | Focus Digital 2025 |
| Connected TV | $25–35 | — | — | 94–98% VCR | MNTN |
| Podcast (host-read) | $15–30 | — | — | — | Ad Results Media |
Retail media note: across retailers, CPC holds near $1.06 and ROAS near 6.1x, with Amazon at ~80% of US retail-media spend. Source: Skai, eMarketer. See the retail-media benchmarks.
Email, SMS, social & search.
| Metric | Benchmark | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Email open rate (all industries) | 35.6% | MPP-inflated — read with caution | Mailchimp |
| Email click rate | 2.62% | Flows ~5.6% vs campaigns ~1.7% | Mailchimp / Klaviyo |
| Email revenue per recipient | ~20x | Flow vs campaign (~$1.94 vs ~$0.10) | Klaviyo |
| SMS click rate (flows) | ~10% | Opt-out consistently < 3.5% | Klaviyo / Omnisend |
| Inbox placement (global) | 83.5% | ~1 in 6 emails never reaches inbox | Validity |
| Organic ER — TikTok | 1.73% | Per post, by follower | Rival IQ |
| Organic ER — Instagram | 0.36% | Declining year over year | Rival IQ |
| Organic ER — Facebook | ~0.06% | Most industries 0.02–0.07% | Rival IQ |
| SEO CTR — position #1 | 39.8% | ~27.6% on a blended all-query basis | First Page Sage / Backlinko |
| Zero-click searches (US) | 58.5% | End with no click to the open web | SparkToro / Datos |
Deep dives: email & SMS benchmarks, the SEO ranking-factors guide, and the deliverability scorecard.
Where carts convert.
| Metric | Low | Typical | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecommerce conversion rate | 1.65% | ~2.5% | 6% (food/bev) | IRP / Dynamic Yield |
| Add-to-cart rate (Shopify) | 2% | 4.6% | 9.6%+ | Littledata |
| Cart abandonment | 55% | 70.2% | 84% | Baymard Institute |
| Average order value (global) | — | ~$144 | $389 (luxury) | Oberlo / Dynamic Yield |
| Blended DTC ROAS | 3x | 3–5x | 6x+ | Triple Whale |
| Email + SMS share of revenue | 20% | 25% | 30%+ | Klaviyo |
| Landing-page conversion | 3.8% | 6.6% | 12.3% | Unbounce |
By vertical: beauty, apparel, food & beverage and more in the industry views below.
The unit economics that fund growth.
| Metric | Low / SMB | Median | Top / Enterprise | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LTV : CAC ratio | 3:1 | 3.2:1 | 4–6:1 | Benchmarkit / Optifai |
| CAC payback (months) | 8–12 | 18 | 18–24+ | Benchmarkit / KeyBanc |
| Net revenue retention | 97% | 101% | 118% | Benchmarkit |
| Gross revenue retention | 80% | 88% | 90%+ | Benchmarkit |
| SaaS magic number | 0.5 | 0.90 | 1.0+ | KeyBanc 2024 |
| Rule of 40 (% clearing) | — | 11–30% | — | Blossom Street |
| Trial → paid conversion | 10% (opt-in) | ~18% | 40–60% (card) | OpenView |
| Cost per lead (B2B SaaS) | $164 (organic) | $237 | $310 (paid) | First Page Sage |
| Monthly churn (B2B software) | — | 3.36% | 4.0% (B2C) | Recurly |
Model your own: LTV:CAC, CAC payback, churn. By segment: PLG, enterprise.
The shifts behind the data.
Paid CTR on AI-Overview queries
Did you know? ↗Meta revenue hit Apple ATT attributed
Did you know? ↗Sustained retail-media ROAS
Did you know? ↗US searches ending with no click
Did you know? ↗Flow vs campaign revenue per recipient
Did you know? ↗Reported open rate (MPP-inflated)
Did you know? ↗A benchmark is a mirror, not a finish line. It tells you whether you are in the game — your margin tells you whether you are winning it.— RGM analysis, 2026
Structural shifts shaping 2026 benchmarks — each figure links to its source.
By platform, channel & industry.
By platform
~$100.9B US ad revenue, 2026
Google Search~38% of US digital ad spend
TikTokCPM ~$5; fast-growing
YouTubeVideo + CTV crossover
Amazon Ads79.7% of US retail media
LinkedInB2B; CPM ~$63 US
PinterestLow-CPC visual discovery
SnapchatCPM ~$12.8
RedditCommunity + interest targeting
X (Twitter)Low CPM, low CTR
Performance MaxGoogle's blended automation
Google DisplayProgrammatic display
Google ShoppingRetail search
Microsoft AdsLower CPCs, lower volume
Connected TVCPM $25–35; ~96% completion
Streaming & PodcastsCPM $15–30 host-read
Walmart Connect#2 US retail media
Target RoundelRetail media
Instacart AdsGrocery retail media
Influencer & CreatorER by tier; rate cards
By channel
~40% of US digital ad spend
Paid social~28% of US digital ad spend
Video advertising~17% of spend, video formats
Retail media~16%; fastest-growing
Programmatic display~10% of spend
Audio & podcasts~2% of spend
Influencer & creator~5% incl. whitelisting
B2B advertisingSubset of search + social
Email & SMS (owned)Not counted in paid spend
Affiliate & partnerships~2% of spend
By industry
The granular library: 1,200+ pages pairing a specific industry with a specific channel (for example, “DTC supplements on YouTube”). Search the full benchmark library →
Where the numbers come from.
WordStream / LocaliQ
Managed-account Google & Facebook Ads benchmarks — CPC, CTR, CVR, CPL by industry. Visit source →
Gupta Media
Live, daily CPM and cost-per-link-click tracker across Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and more. Visit source →
Skai & Tinuiti
Quarterly retail-media and digital-ad benchmark reports — CPC, ROAS, CTR across Amazon, Walmart and beyond. Visit source →
eMarketer
Authoritative US ad-spend forecasts by channel, platform and format. Visit source →
Klaviyo & Mailchimp
Ecommerce email/SMS benchmarks by industry — opens, clicks, flows vs campaigns, revenue per recipient. Visit source →
Validity & Mailgun
Global inbox-placement benchmarks and the Google/Yahoo bulk-sender requirements. Visit source →
Rival IQ
Annual social-media industry benchmark report — engagement rate and posting cadence by network. Visit source →
First Page Sage & Backlinko
Organic CTR by SERP position, plus cost-per-lead by industry. Visit source →
SparkToro
The definitive study on how few Google searches still send a click to the open web. Visit source →
Unbounce
Conversion Benchmark Report — landing-page conversion rates across industries. Visit source →
Benchmarkit & KeyBanc
CAC payback, magic number, NRR/GRR and the rule of 40 for private SaaS. Visit source →
ChartMogul & OpenView
Net revenue retention by ARR band and product-led-growth funnel benchmarks. Visit source →
Dynamic Yield & IRP Commerce
Conversion rate, add-to-cart and average order value by ecommerce vertical. Visit source →
Baymard Institute
The aggregate cart-abandonment rate across ~50 studies — the reference number. Visit source →
Databox & Contentsquare
GA4 engagement-rate and digital-experience benchmarks by industry. Visit source →
Recurly & RevenueCat
Voluntary/involuntary churn by model and mobile-subscription retention curves. Visit source →
Influencer Marketing Hub
Engagement by creator tier and rate-card ranges across Instagram and TikTok. Visit source →
IAB & Ad Results Media
US podcast ad-revenue study and host-read CPM ranges. Visit source →
How to use a benchmark.
- Compare like-for-like. Channel, industry, region and definition all move the number. A 2% conversion rate is poor for food and beverage and excellent for furniture. Match the row to your reality before you judge.
- Anchor to your margin, not the average. A “good” ROAS is whatever clears your break-even, which is one divided by your gross margin. Use the break-even ROAS calculator to set your own floor.
- Read the spread, not the point. Low, median and top-quartile tell you where you sit and how much headroom remains. Being at the median is rarely the goal — closing the gap to top-quartile usually is.
- Treat outliers as questions. Far below a range signals something structurally broken — creative, targeting, landing page or measurement. Far above signals exceptional work, or a metric that has not yet faced real volume.
- Why do two sources disagree?
- Because each measures a different account population, time window and definition. WordStream uses managed-account data; Gupta Media uses a live CPM tracker; platforms publish their own ranges. We label both rather than blending them into a false average.
- How current is this?
- Figures are drawn from the most recent public releases of each source (largely 2024–2026) and dated where the source dates them. Benchmarks shift, so re-check before high-stakes planning.
Benchmark questions.
What is a good CPM?
CPM (cost per 1,000 impressions) varies widely by platform — Meta about $13, TikTok around $5, programmatic display near $6, LinkedIn US about $63, and CTV highest at $25–35. Compare within the same platform and audience.
What is a good cart-abandonment rate?
About 70% of carts are abandoned on average, so anything well below 70% is healthy. Recover lost carts with email and SMS flows, which earn far more revenue per recipient than one-off campaigns.
What is a good CAC payback period?
Median SaaS CAC payback is about 18 months — 8–12 for SMB self-serve, 14–18 for mid-market, 18–24+ for enterprise. Model yours with the CAC payback calculator.
How current are these benchmarks?
Figures come from the most recent public releases of each source, largely 2024–2026, and are dated where the source dates them. Benchmarks shift with seasonality and platform changes, so re-check before high-stakes planning.
What is a good ROAS?
There is no universal good ROAS. A blended ROAS of 3–5x is healthy for many DTC brands, while retail-media campaigns often sustain about 6x. The right number depends on your gross margin: divide 1 by your margin to find break-even, then aim above it. Use the break-even ROAS calculator.
What is the average email open rate in 2026?
Mailchimp reports an all-industry average around 35.6%, but Apple Mail Privacy Protection inflates opens by pre-loading images. Click rate (~2.6% all-industry) and click-to-open rate are more reliable. See the email & SMS benchmarks.
What is a good LTV to CAC ratio?
The rule of thumb is at least 3:1. Median private B2B SaaS sits near 3.2:1; top-quartile companies run 4:1 to 6:1. Far above 6:1 can signal underinvestment in growth. Model it with the LTV:CAC calculator.
How should I use marketing benchmarks?
As directional sanity-checks, not targets. Far below a range means something is structurally broken — creative, targeting, landing page or measurement. Far above means exceptional work, or a metric that has not faced volume. Always compare like-for-like on channel, industry and definition.
What is the average ecommerce conversion rate?
Blended global ecommerce conversion runs roughly 1.7–2.5%. Food and beverage converts highest (~6%), while high-AOV categories like furniture and luxury convert lowest. About 70% of carts are abandoned before checkout.
Why do benchmark numbers differ between sources?
Each source measures a different account population, time window and definition. We cite the source and definition for every figure so you can compare like-for-like rather than averaging incompatible numbers.
Put the numbers to work
Benchmark, then act.
Drop any figure into a free RGM calculator — or have our team pressure-test your funnel against these ranges.
Sources & methodology
- WordStream / LocaliQ — Google Ads Benchmarks & Facebook Ads Benchmarks 2025.
- Gupta Media — live social CPM tracker.
- Skai — retail-media digital advertising trends; Ad Badger — Amazon benchmarks.
- eMarketer — US ad spending 2026.
- Mailchimp — email benchmarks; Klaviyo — email & SMS benchmarks.
- Validity — deliverability benchmark report; Mailgun — Google/Yahoo bulk-sender rules.
- Rival IQ — social media industry benchmark report.
- First Page Sage — organic CTR by position & CPL by industry; Backlinko — CTR study.
- SparkToro — 2024 zero-click study; Seer via Search Engine Land (AI Overviews).
- Unbounce — conversion benchmark report; Baymard — cart abandonment; Dynamic Yield — CVR/AOV; IRP Commerce — market data; Littledata — Shopify averages.
- Benchmarkit — SaaS performance metrics; KeyBanc — SaaS survey; ChartMogul — NRR; OpenView — PLG benchmarks.
- Recurly — churn benchmarks; RevenueCat — subscription apps; Databox — GA4 benchmarks; Influencer Marketing Hub — influencer rates; MNTN — CTV cost; Ad Results Media — podcast CPM.
- Synthesized ranges are labelled “RGM analysis.” Benchmarks are directional; verify against the linked primary source before high-stakes planning.