Social Media
LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026 | CTR, CPL, and Conversion Rates
LinkedIn clicks cost more than almost anywhere else, with a median CPC of $5.39. Here is what CTR, cost per lead and conversion rate look like, and how to tell whether yours are in range.
BenchMarketing editorial team Updated October 2, 2026 3 min readShare
LinkedIn is the most expensive major ad platform per click and per thousand impressions. It is also the only one where you can target by job title, seniority and employer with data people entered about themselves. Whether it is worth the price depends on how valuable one qualified lead is to you.
The headline numbers
| Metric | Median | Middle half of accounts |
|---|---|---|
| CTR | 0.44% | 0.22% to 0.80% |
| CPC | $5.39 | $3.10 to $9.20 |
| CPM | $33.80 | $19 to $58 |
| Conversion rate | 6.10% | 3.2% to 10.4% |
| Cost per lead | $75.00 | $42 to $130 |
A 0.44% click-through rate looks weak next to search, where the Google Ads median is 6.11%. That comparison is unfair: a search ad answers a question someone just typed, while a LinkedIn ad interrupts a feed. Compare LinkedIn with LinkedIn.
Cost per lead by industry
| Industry | Median CPL | Middle half of accounts |
|---|---|---|
| SaaS | $58.40 | $32 to $98 |
| B2B Services | $72.60 | $40 to $122 |
| Financial Services | $88.20 | $49 to $148 |
| Healthcare | $64.10 | $36 to $108 |
| Education | $51.30 | $28 to $86 |
| Legal | $95.80 | $54 to $162 |
Industries where one customer is worth thousands of dollars tolerate the highest lead costs, because a handful of closed deals pays for the whole programme.
Why LinkedIn conversion rates look high
The median conversion rate of 6.10% is well above most social platforms. Much of that comes from Lead Gen Forms, which open inside LinkedIn already filled in from the member's profile. Submitting takes one tap, so more people do it, and more of those leads turn out to be curious rather than ready to buy. Track the share of leads that become opportunities next to CPL, or a cheap lead source will look better than it is.
Reading your own numbers
- CTR below 0.22%: the audience is probably too broad or the creative too generic. Test a narrower audience with a sharper offer before raising bids.
- CPC above $9.20: small audiences saturate quickly on LinkedIn and costs climb. Expanding by one or two adjacent job functions often brings CPC down.
- Cheap CPL but few opportunities: add a qualifying question to the form, or send traffic to a landing page and accept a higher CPL for better leads.
Where LinkedIn fits in a B2B budget
LinkedIn is strongest for reaching a defined list of accounts or roles who are not yet searching for you. Search is stronger for capturing people who already are. Most B2B advertisers end up running both. Our comparison of LinkedIn and Google Ads for lead generation looks at how to split the budget.
Full breakdowns are on the LinkedIn Ads benchmark hub, including CPL and Lead Gen Forms.
About the figures
Benchmark figures in this article come from the BenchMarketing dataset and update when the benchmark pages do. Each benchmark page lists its sources and period; see our methodology.
Sources
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