Marketplace benchmark pages matter for two-sided platforms, aggregators, and network-driven businesses where supply, demand, and trust must all balance at once. CAC, activation rate, supply-side quality, and revenue efficiency.
Use these labeled KPIs together instead of judging marketplace performance from one headline number. Conversion-sensitive metrics update when you change the conversion type above.
| Metric | Median | Top Quartile | What It Tells You |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTR | 2.4% | 4.1% | Creative and message-to-audience fit |
| CPC | $2.80 | $1.65 | Click acquisition efficiency |
| CVR | 3.4% | 6.2% | Landing-page and offer effectiveness |
| CPA | $82 | $45 | Cost to generate the selected conversion |
| CPM | $12.40 | $7.80 | Auction pressure and reach efficiency |
| ROAS | 3.1x | 5.2x | Revenue efficiency where purchase value is tracked |
CAC, activation rate, supply-side quality, and revenue efficiency.
| Business Type | Average | Median | Top Quartile | Bottom Quartile |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | $94 | $81 | $52 | $141 |
The factors that most often explain why a result lands above or below the range.
| Factor |
|---|
| Supply-demand balance and category liquidity |
| Trust signals and transaction confidence |
| Activation depth on both sides of the marketplace |
Marketplace benchmark pages matter for two-sided platforms, aggregators, and network-driven businesses where supply, demand, and trust must all balance at once.
Marketplace benchmarks should track both acquisition efficiency and marketplace health so growth does not outpace supply quality or liquidity.
The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method. The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.
Where the numbers come from. The figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset — thousands of curated benchmark observations across channels, industries, and US metro areas. Every statistic traces to a named source: WordStream Google Ads Benchmarks (2024), Meta Business Insights (2024), HubSpot Email Marketing Report (2024), Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report (2024), Databox Marketing Benchmark Report (2024), AdLiftr Snapchat Ads Cost Benchmarks (2026), Ad Badger Amazon Advertising Benchmarks (2026). Benchmarketing does not publish anonymous "studies show" figures.
The Benchmarketing position. Beating the cross-industry average is a vanity milestone, not a target. Compare your number to the P25–P75 band for your specific industry and channel; if you are above average but below your industry's P75, you are leaving performance on the table.
Because both marketplace health and customer acquisition efficiency need to be measured together.
Use CAC, activation, liquidity, and retained transaction behavior so the benchmark reflects the full operating model.