LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks 2026
LinkedIn Ads in 2026: 121% company-level B2B ROAS, €5.98 CPC, €34.33 CPM, €70.11 per company influenced (Dreamdata, Mar 2026, data Aug 2024–Jul 2025). We still do not publish per-industry LinkedIn benchmarks — here is why.
Updated July 2026.
LinkedIn is the only major ad platform posting positive B2B ROAS in the newest large-sample study — 121% at the company level, up from 113% a year earlier (Dreamdata, March 2026). It is also the most expensive platform per click (€5.98 CPC versus €1.60 on Meta) and among the slowest to pay back: 272 days from first touch to revenue.
What are the current LinkedIn Ads benchmarks?
The most credible public dataset is the Dreamdata B2B Benchmarks Report, published March 10, 2026, on data covering August 2024 through July 2025 — 66M+ tracked sessions and 3.5M+ complete customer journeys across thousands of B2B companies. Figures are in EUR and global. It measures company-level return via data-driven attribution on closed-won deals rather than last-click, which is why LinkedIn looks different here than in older cost-per-click reports. It is the newest real LinkedIn study in existence as of mid-2026; nothing fresher with a disclosed sample has been published.
| Metric | For context | |
|---|---|---|
| Company-level ROAS | 121% (279% excluding the top-25% outliers) | Google Search 67%, Meta 51% |
| Average CPC | €5.98 (+11.8% YoY) | Meta €1.60 |
| Average CPM | €34.33 (up from €26.62) | Meta €9.18 |
| Cost per company influenced | €70.11 (down from €154) | see caveat below |
| Share of B2B paid budget | 41% (up from 39%) | Google network 46%, Meta 8% |
| Share of influenced new-business deals | 36% | — |
| First touch → revenue | 272 days (up from 211); 281 days from first LinkedIn impression | — |
Source: Dreamdata LinkedIn Ads B2B Benchmarks Report, published March 2026; data window Aug 2024–Jul 2025; 66M+ sessions — vendor data. One caveat travels with the €70.11 figure: Dreamdata deployed a new IP-to-company resolution engine this edition, so part of the drop from €154 is measurement methodology, not market efficiency. Dreamdata says some year-over-year comparisons are not like-for-like.
Why don’t we publish per-industry LinkedIn benchmarks?
Because no credible public per-industry LinkedIn dataset exists — a July 2026 re-check confirmed it. The per-vertical CPC/CPL numbers that circulate for SaaS, finance, healthcare and the rest cannot be traced to a real, sampled study; the pages quoting them contradict each other and disclose no methodology. Rather than repeat numbers we cannot stand behind, we publish the one benchmark set that is sourced (Dreamdata, above) and say plainly where the data runs out. If a vendor quotes you a precise "healthcare LinkedIn CPL," ask for the sample.
Lead Gen Forms
LinkedIn’s own (older) internal figures put Lead Gen Form conversion around 13% on average — roughly 5x a typical landing page (LinkedIn, internal, older data — directional, not current).
Legacy regional CPLs (historical, c. 2021)
Older regional numbers still circulate. We keep them only for historical reference, clearly labeled. They are approximately 2021 agency data (The B2B House, ~$1M spend) and should not be read as current.
| Region | CPL | CPM |
|---|---|---|
| North America | $230 | $33.80 |
| EMEA | $120 | — |
| APAC | $80 | — |
Source: The B2B House agency data, c. 2021 — historical, not current. Note: the $5.74 CPC / $33.80 CPM / $94 CPL cluster once cited for LinkedIn traces to defunct AdStage data and should not be used.
FAQ
Is LinkedIn advertising worth it in 2026?
For B2B, the return case is the strongest of any platform in the newest data: 121% company-level ROAS versus 67% on Google Search and 51% on Meta (Dreamdata, March 2026; data Aug 2024–Jul 2025). The trade-off is a high CPC and a long payback — 272 days from first touch to revenue — so it rewards patient, measurement-driven programs over last-click optimization.
Why is LinkedIn CPC so high?
LinkedIn prices against professional targeting and B2B intent; average CPC ran €5.98 versus €1.60 on Meta, and CPM €34.33 versus €9.18 (Dreamdata, March 2026). The higher click price is offset by higher-value pipeline: cost per company influenced was €70.11 in the same study.
Does LinkedIn publish industry benchmarks?
No. There is no credible public per-industry LinkedIn benchmark dataset, which is why any precise per-vertical CPL you see should be treated with suspicion unless its sample is disclosed.