Benchmarks
April 5, 2025
Instagram Ads Benchmarks Per Industry (2025)
Instagram continues to be one of the most powerful platforms for reaching and engaging audiences visually — but how do you know if your ads are actually performing well? Whether you're selling products, generating leads, or building brand awareness, benchmarking your campaigns against your industry can help you optimize smarter.
We’ve compiled the latest global Instagram Ads benchmarks for 2025, broken down by industry and ad placement — including Feed, Stories, Reels, and Explore. This post covers five key performance metrics:
CTR (Click-through Rate): The percentage of impressions that lead to a click
CPC (Cost per Click): How much you're paying for each click
CVR (Conversion Rate): How many clicks turn into actions (leads, sales, etc.)
CPA (Cost per Action): The cost to acquire a customer or lead
CPM (Cost per 1,000 Impressions): How much it costs to get your ad seen
Let’s dive into what’s considered “good” on Instagram — and how your campaigns stack up.
CTR & CPC Benchmarks by Industry
Click-through rate (CTR) and cost per click (CPC) tell you how engaging your ads are and how efficiently you’re acquiring traffic. Here’s how different industries perform on Instagram Feed, Stories, and Reels.
Industry | Feed CTR | Stories CTR | Reels CTR | Feed CPC | Stories CPC | Reels CPC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Retail / E-commerce | 1.59% | 0.63% | ~0.50% | $0.68 | ~$0.40 | ~$0.50 |
Real Estate | 0.99% | 0.58% | ~0.45% | $0.65 | ~$0.35 | ~$0.45 |
Beauty & Personal Care | 1.16% | 0.48% | ~0.40% | $0.94 | ~$0.50 | ~$0.70 |
Legal Services | 1.61% | 0.74% | ~0.60% | $1.09 | ~$0.60 | ~$0.80 |
Finance & Insurance | 0.56% | 0.35% | ~0.25% | $1.05 | ~$0.60 | ~$0.80 |
B2B Services | 0.78% | 0.41% | ~0.30% | $0.84 | ~$0.50 | ~$0.60 |
Travel & Hospitality | 0.90% | 0.50% | ~0.35% | $0.42 | ~$0.25 | ~$0.30 |
Education | 0.73% | 0.45% | ~0.35% | $0.77 | ~$0.40 | ~$0.55 |
Healthcare | 0.83% | 0.46% | ~0.35% | $0.96 | ~$0.50 | ~$0.70 |
Home Improvement | 0.70% | 0.42% | ~0.30% | $0.88 | ~$0.50 | ~$0.60 |
Takeaways:
Feed ads usually generate the highest CTRs, with Retail, Real Estate, and Legal leading the way.
Stories and Reels have slightly lower CTRs, but can offer cheaper CPCs — ideal for top-of-funnel or mobile-first campaigns.
Travel and entertainment-focused industries benefit from especially low CPCs, often under $0.50 per click.
CPM Benchmarks by Industry
Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) reflects how much you're paying to get your ads seen. It varies by competition, audience, and placement.
Industry | Feed CPM | Stories CPM | Reels CPM |
|---|---|---|---|
Retail / E-commerce | ~$11 | ~$8–9 | ~$5–6 |
Real Estate | ~$10–11 | ~$8 | ~$5 |
Beauty & Fashion | ~$10–12 | ~$8 | ~$5–6 |
Legal Services | ~$17–18 | ~$12 | ~$7–8 |
Finance & Insurance | ~$5–6 | ~$4–5 | ~$2–3 |
Travel & Hospitality | ~$4 | ~$3 | ~$2 |
Education | ~$6 | ~$5 | ~$3 |
Healthcare | ~$8 | ~$6 | ~$3–4 |
B2B / Tech | ~$6–8 | ~$5–6 | ~$3–4 |
Takeaways:
Feed ads typically have the highest CPM, especially in high-value sectors like Legal, Real Estate, and Retail.
Reels ads deliver the lowest CPM, making them ideal for reaching large audiences at a lower cost.
Industries like Travel, Education, and B2B enjoy some of the most affordable CPMs on Instagram.
Conversion Rate & CPA Benchmarks
CTR and CPC are great — but what really matters is what happens after someone clicks. Here’s a look at average conversion rates (CVR) and cost per action (CPA) for lead generation and customer acquisition campaigns on Instagram.
Industry | Avg. CVR | Avg. CPA |
|---|---|---|
Real Estate | 9.7% | $13.87 |
B2B Services | 8.3% | $16.95 |
Education | 8.5% | $31.82 |
Beauty & Personal Care | 5.9% | $42.10 |
Finance & Insurance | 6.0% | $38.09 |
Legal Services | 7.6% | $104.58 |
Healthcare | 4.8% | $57.97 |
Travel & Hospitality | 2.8% | $22.50 |
Retail / E-commerce | ~2.0%* | ~$20–$50* |
*E-commerce conversion rates and CPAs vary based on product pricing and funnel type.
Takeaways:
Lead-gen industries like Real Estate, Education, and B2B enjoy higher conversion rates and lower CPAs.
E-commerce and retail campaigns tend to convert lower (1–3%) but can still be profitable with efficient CPCs and strong lifetime value.
Legal and Healthcare see higher CPAs, but these are often offset by the high value of a conversion.
Performance by Placement
Different Instagram placements come with different strengths:
Placement | Best For | Average CTR | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Feed | Engagement + Conversion | ~1.0%+ | Prime real estate with high intent |
Stories | Mobile-first interactions | ~0.4%–0.7% | Lower CTR, but often lower CPC |
Reels | Reach & brand awareness | ~0.3%–0.5% | Low CPM, but low click volume |
Explore | Discovery & brand lift | ~0.5%* | Still emerging, limited benchmarks |
*Explore CTRs can vary; often slightly lower than Feed CTRs.
Pro Tip: Use Automatic Placements to let Instagram test and optimize where your ads perform best — then shift budget toward high-converting formats.
Final Thoughts
Instagram ad performance can vary wildly depending on your audience, content, and goals. But with these benchmarks, you now have a crystal-clear reference point for what “good” looks like in 2025 — by industry and format.
Whether you're underperforming and ready to optimize, or outperforming and ready to scale — use these numbers to back your decisions with confidence.
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