LinkedIn advertising benchmarks

If you were to ask B2B marketers what their most important channel to invest in was this year, they’d probably say LinkedIn. And that makes sense. There is a lot that makes this platform desirable.

LinkedIn stands apart not just for its targeting options or bidding models, but because it’s one of the few places online where professionals are primed to think about work before they even log in. It’s a lot easier to grab attention when you’re not competing with a video of a family of raccoons throwing a party on somebody's patio.

The trouble is, while LinkedIn is a platform that we at Abe believe in so much that we literally built an agency for it, we will be the first to admit that it is not the easiest channel to use. Appearances can be deceiving if you're not looking at the right metrics or models. Understanding how well you’re doing on LinkedIn requires context, which, until now, was hard to find. 

Fortunately, we’ve developed a LinkedIn Advertising Benchmarks for B2B report, drawing on a large sample of real client campaigns to provide meaningful reference points for budget planning, performance reviews, and strategic decisions.

We’ve made the main takeaways public in this article, but if you’re running LinkedIn ads, please do grab a copy of the free report once it's live. We worked hard to make sure it would be jam-packed with information to help you on your way.

Where do these benchmarks come from? 

This data comes from real campaigns run by yours truly as well as our sister agency, Directive Consulting.

The data comes from brands with monthly LinkedIn budgets ranging from $3,000 to $300,000. It spans small businesses and enterprise players, with a strong focus on B2B SaaS. All results were cleaned for outliers and anonymized to ensure data integrity and privacy.

The goal isn’t to prescribe a single “ideal” number, but to provide realistic, defensible ranges that marketers can use to evaluate their own performance.

How to use benchmarks

Effective data analysis depends on context. Your data storytelling is only as good as your details. A good example of this is if you were presenting on LinkedIn advertising costs. On the surface, it might seem expensive, but that would only be the case if you're looking at lead costs comparative to other platforms. If you look at lead quality, suddenly LinkedIn looks like the most valuable channel to ever exist.

Your data storytelling is only as good as your details.

Benchmarks won't tell your unique story for you, but they will help you provide relative measures. As marketers who are relying on reporting to convey how well you're hitting your KPIs, we hope these benchmarks will help you to: 

• Set expectations that stakeholders can understand
• Identify underperforming areas worth optimizing
• Justify budget allocation with credible industry data

LinkedIn benchmarks by metric

Cost Per Click (CPC): Around $4.34

• Reflects the price to generate a single click. Higher than many social platforms, but typical for LinkedIn’s professional audience.

Cost Per 1000 Impressions (CPM): Approximately $85.24

• Reflects the price to generate a single click. Higher than many social platforms, but typical for LinkedIn’s professional audience.

Cost Per Lead (CPL): Roughly $550

• A typical cost to capture a qualified lead. While this can seem high, it often reflects better sales conversion rates downstream.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): Typically ~0.66%

• LinkedIn CTRs tend to be lower than channels with broader audiences, reflecting its niche professional targeting.

These are overall medians—but the report also includes low-range and high-range values, showing the variability you might expect depending on your industry, offer quality, and targeting strategy. For instance:

• CPL values can range from ~$335 on the low end to $885 or higher in more competitive contexts.
• CPM can range from ~$56 to $144 or more, depending on audience granularity and creative impact.
• CTR typically ranges between ~0.46% on the low side and over 1% in well-optimized campaigns.

These spreads help marketers understand not only what’s “typical,” but what’s possible with strong creative, targeting, and value propositions.

Ad type-specific callouts

Conversation Ads

• Median CPC: ~$3.23
• Median Cost Per Lead: ~$884
• Median Open Rate: ~40.9%
• Notes: Strong open rates reflect the direct-message format, but CPL can be higher due to the need for personalized offers and incentives.

Sponsored Content

• Median CPC: ~$11.16
• Median Cost Per Lead: ~$1,192
• Median CPM: ~$32.66
• Median CTR: ~0.56%
• Notes: A flexible format for both awareness and engagement, with performance shaped heavily by creative quality and audience targeting.

Matching ad types to funnel stages

One of the most consistent findings in our work is that LinkedIn ad performance can’t be separated from funnel stage strategy. Different formats excel at different goals. Most brands will want to do a mix of around 70% lead generation, 30% awareness. The exact blend will depend on your brand notoriety and market penetration. We would virtually never recommend that a brand spend nothing on brand awareness.

Most brands will want to do a mix of around 70% lead generation, 30% awareness.

Top of Funnel (TOFU)

• Goal: Build awareness among target audiences
• Formats: Sponsored Content, Video Ads
• Metrics to watch: Impressions, CPM, reach
  

Even for cautious budgets, allocating some spend to brand awareness campaigns supports long-term efficiency by increasing recognition before asking for a conversion.

Middle of Funnel (MOFU)

• Goal: Capture interest and generate leads
• Formats: Document Ads, Lead Gen Forms
• Metrics to watch: Cost Per Lead, conversion rate

This is the stage for value exchanges: offering genuinely useful content in return for contact information. Whether it's a whitepaper, webinar, or other gated resource, the content needs to answer real questions your audience has.

Bottom of Funnel (BOFU)

• Formats: Conversation Ads, ABM campaigns
• Metrics to watch: MQLs, SQLs, Opportunity creation

Here, relevance is everything. Conversation Ads, for example, work best when they feel personal and include compelling incentives—like free trials, credits, or carefully considered offers that encourage direct engagement.

It’s also important to recognize that performance varies significantly by ad format. Below are a few sample median metrics from our dataset, showing how costs and engagement typically differ across common LinkedIn ad types:

Conclusion

It’s easy to think of benchmarks as just numbers on a page. But they’re really about enabling better choices.

By understanding typical cost ranges and outcomes, marketers can communicate performance more credibly, plan budgets based on evidence,

• Communicate performance more credibly internally
  
• Plan budgets based on evidence, not guesswork
  
• Spot opportunities for incremental improvement

LinkedIn remains one of the most valuable platforms for B2B marketing, but also one of the hardest to get right. If you don't have a LinkedIn advertising expert on your team, Abe would love to fill in any gaps you're experiencing. Get in touch with our friendly team today.

For marketers worldwide, LinkedIn is heralded as the most important platform to master. But does this sentiment hold up under scrutiny? We took to the proverbial streets to find out what those in the weeds truly think about the potential for LinkedIn to deliver on business goals. Here's what they said.

On transcending the "job board" mindset: 

''What I wish I had known — and what other people should know — is that LinkedIn is a great platform for growing your business and it is not strictly a corporate job-seeking business-focused social platform. You can build a community and you can build your business with LinkedIn alone." - Alexis Quintal , Rosarium

Abe’s reaction

We like to think of LinkedIn’s advantages as falling into one of two categories.

On one side, you have the external advantages that you can apply to the platform (like strategy or methodology).

On the other side, you have LinkedIn’s very real inherent advantages that make it a good investment before your approach even hits the table. One of these inherent advantages is that LinkedIn is the only social media platform where people go in expecting to talk shop, not watch cat videos. We couldn’t agree more with Alexis.

On the humility to be proven wrong

"I was surprised to learn that most people reading my articles were not the buyers but someone on their behalf. I used to write my articles expecting the freight managers or the heads of procurement to read them.

I then discovered the actual conversations and questions were from their assistants, advisors, or individuals from the same department observing quietly. It shifted the way I wrote my articles. I made the words straightforward and emphasized clear outcomes. This resulted in more referrals and fewer cold starts." - Allan Hou, TSL Australia

Abe's reaction

We often find ourselves telling our clients that we are (ironically!) the worst people to make assumptions about the behavior that our ICP will engage in. And it’s not because we’re not good at our jobs. It’s because we’re too in it!

Much like we sometimes need a close friend to tell us something about our own lives that we are unable to see ourselves, we often need to take a step back and observe our ICP without preconceived notions. This takes a degree of humility, but if you get into that mindset, you might be surprised at what you learn. 

On thinking outside of the post

Conventional wisdom said, flood LinkedIn with posts, daily if possible. It’s what’s supposed to drive reach. But the real shift came when I dialed back and focused on something less obvious: strategic commenting. 

Instead of scattershot content, I mapped out a list — a handful of industry folks, a few possible client companies — and made it a habit to actually contribute to their posts. Not generic, “Nice post!” stuff, either. Instead, taking the time to add a dissenting idea, or to flesh out a point left hanging.

Profile visits increased. The right kind of DMs landed, too. It became a testing ground: refining your ideas in front of peers without burning out on your own content treadmill." - Yevhenii Tymoshenko, Skylum

Abe's reaction

We love this idea from Yevhenii because it brings up the most important attribute of networking of any kind: authenticity.

When you’re sharing opinions you actually care about with people who are well positioned to care, that’s where the magic happens. And where you’re much less likely to be accused of being a bot programmed to comment “great post!” 10,000 times.

On why brand advertising remains relevant

“Early on I was way too focused on perfecting my posts and waiting for the ‘right moment’. But instead, I found out that by being regular, even with simple, natural updates, the momentum would be there quicker. Publishing about projects, lessons learned, and wins contributed to raising our engagement by approximately 22% for six months.

For someone who is beginning, I’d say keep up with your real story, make sure your content is relevant to your audience, and don’t hesitate to display the human face of your business." -Daniel Roberts, Dan Roberts Marketing

Abe's reaction

Imagine you had to sit through an award ceremony — an Academy Awards or a Grammy’s, if you will — and all the hosts did was rattle off stats. Boring, right? You don’t watch these shows to know how many tickets a movie sold or how many streams a single received. That might be an interesting supplemental detail, but it’s not what makes the event special. You tune in for the story and the passion. 

As Daniel eloquently states, brand marketing lives by the same rules. Don’t put your accolades or even your features at the forefront. Decide what your purpose is, what your belief is relevant to that purpose, and proliferate it to the highest degree possible. Your audience will follow, more tuned in than ever.

On resisting the urge to Cmd C + Cmd V

"For the new ones, be patient and try out. What will go down well with a specific group of people may not necessarily work in the same way with another group of people, hence the need to try using different content, messaging and the best times of posting will be a good idea.

This trial and error process is one of the elements of developing a LinkedIn strategy that will work." - Tracie Crites, HEAVY Equipment Appraisal

Abe's reaction

As tempting as it is to adopt a copy cat approach, this is good advice from Tracie. When we analyze competitors for our clients, we always make it clear that we are only seeing a sliver of the entire picture. While we can see what’s going on on the outside, we can’t see in their first-party analytics, their CRM, or their business goals. These are important determinants in how any strategy will perform. It’s best to stick to your own parameters.

On relying on empathy above all

"Our bios are about US but for THEM. In other words, you should promote yourself but think about how that serves a potential employer or client or customer. What are they struggling with that you can help them with?" - Danielle Z Hughes,  More Than Words

Abe's reaction

This comment from Danielle gave us pause, because it’s not one that we hear spoken of often. But it is actually such a uniquely good point. The ability to take a step back and ask yourself what kind of clients you want to work with, or what kind of customers you want to attract, is a necessary way to make sure that you're fulfilling real business goals to the depth of their potential. Otherwise, your performance might look okay on paper, but actually distracted you from your greater purpose.

Let Abe help you scale with LinkedIn advertising

If you want to elevate your platform with a LinkedIn advertising strategy that will land you a steady flow of ideal-fit clients for your business and maximize your ROI — talk to us. Our true, unfiltered thought on LinkedIn is that we know how to win.

‍

‍

With billions of users across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok, it’s the no-brainer space for reaching and engaging your audience. The problem is most audiences hate to see brands on social media. They're scrolling to decompress by looking at silly memes and cat videos. You're going to have to work extra hard to earn their attention, let alone their respect.

This is hard work, so most companies outsource social media work to agencies. Not only does this save effort but it also in many cases ends up being more cost-effective. A (good) agency will create compelling strategies, target the right people, and drive measurable results. But the operative word here is "good"! 

We’ve compiled a list of 9 top-tier social media marketing agencies that know how to make every post, click, and dollar count. Consider them if you're looking for social media ROI.

Why hire an agency? 

Social media marketing is its own beast. Unless you have a specialized social media marketer on your staff, it's likely either an unfair or unrealistic expectation for your team. Otherwise, don't be surprised if your team overspends or underperforms. This is easy to do.

A great agency does much more than just schedule posts. They blend strategy, creativity, and analytics to enhance your campaigns and maximize your return on investment.

The right agency will help you with: 

• Precision audience targeting
• Engaging content and ad creatives
• Continuous campaign optimization
• Smart A/B testing for better performance
• Deep analytics and strategy adjustments
• Clear, results-driven campaign planning
• Budget management that stretches your resources

Some agencies will handle multiple social media platforms, but we recommend finding a specialized partner. Usually, even if an agency will handle multiple platforms, their raison d'être is just one or two of these channels.

1. Abe

🏷️ Pricing starts at $5,000 a month ‍
✔️ Offers 1:1 account support
✔️ In-house writers and designers
📱 LinkedIn only

‍

Of course we'd trust...ourselves. Abe was built from the ground up based on proven strategies we fine-tuned at our sister company, Directive Consulting. What started as a killer LinkedIn playbook quickly grew into an agency focused 100% on dominating LinkedIn for B2B brands. Now, we’re doing our own thing, bringing fresh ideas with one laser-sharp focus: LinkedIn.

Please don't try to hire us to do TikTok, YouTube, or Meta ads. But if you're curious about LinkedIn, we should be on speed dial (remember that?)

Should you choose Abe, you'll experience the one-on-one account support that we offer to all of our clients. We take a data-driven approach, using the same financial modeling that high-performing marketing teams rely on to get promoted.

Before any ads go live, a member of our team personally verifies every account on your target list to ensure your budget is spent effectively and nothing goes to waste. Finally, our in-house creative team, made up entirely of skilled professionals rather than AI, crafts original, attention-grabbing ads that make your brand truly stand out.

Abe highlights

‍

2. 310 Creative

🏷️ Starts at $8,000 per month‍
✔️ Offers 1:1 account support
✔️ In-house writers and designers
📱 LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram

‍

Though they do offer many services you'd expect out of an agency, 310's main thing is Account-Based Marketing, which could also aptly go by "Relationship-Based Marketing". This is an approach that relies on heavy personalization. Personalized content, personalized positioning, and bespoke sales cycles all add up to make it more enticing for big-name brands to work with you. Think of this as the valet parking of social media advertising.

310Creative highlights: 

• SaaS expertise: With a deep understanding of the SaaS world, 310 Creative tailors strategies to tackle unique industry challenges and seize opportunities.
• Cross-team collab: They bring together sales, marketing, and service teams, ensuring a seamless customer journey from first touch to conversion.
• Account-Based Marketing: By using ABM strategies, 310 Creative personalizes marketing efforts for key customer segments, making every interaction more relevant.
• Data-Driven Decisions: They use data to drive strategy, measure performance, and continuously
  
  

3. Socialistics

🏷️ Contact for pricing
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house writers and designers
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok

‍

Socialistics prides themselves on being all about the "long game" of social media marketing. They build every strategy on building real relationships and engaged communities, not just quick wins like followers who unfollow you three days later or commenters. whomight be bots. With a sharp team of experts and a collaborative approach, they create social strategies that actually stick.

Socialistics highlights: 

• Long-term strategy: Socialistics focuses on sustainable growth, crafting social plans that build brand love over time—not overnight.
• Expert team: A powerhouse team of social pros who get consumer behavior, industry shifts, and the tech that drives it all.
• Client-centric communication: Big on collaboration and transparency—clients are always in the loop and part of the strategy.
• Beyond the ,etrics: For Socialistics, it’s not just about the numbers—it’s about authentic engagement and real audience connection.
• Client loyalty: Their strong retention rate says it all—clients stick around because the results (and relationships) are real.
  
  

4. Onya

🏷️ Contact for pricing
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house creative team
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest​

Onya has earned a spot at the top by being the kind of agency clients don’t want to leave. With high retention, sharp digital skills, and a commitment to clear communication, Onya delivers real results on social media. They use their position as a smaller agency to their advantage, empowering the team to share insights with one another. They mostly serve clients in higher education and government, but it seems like their expertise isn't limited to these.

Onya highlights:

• Clients stick around: Onya boasts a high retention rate
• Full-funnel: From paid ads to social media, content, and strategy, they do it all—and they do it well.
• Clear comms: Expect regular updates, honest feedback, and a true collaborative vibe.
• Project management: Deadlines? Met. Projects? Smooth. Teams? Super responsive.
• Creative that clicks: Onya brings fresh, audience-first ideas that actually engage—no fluff, just smart marketing.
• Driven by data: Every move is backed by metrics that matter, with a focus on results that move the needle.
  

5. Volterra

🏷️ Value-based pricing tailored to client budgets
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house creative team
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest​

Volterra has been in the game since 2008, when Tom was still in your top friends on MySpace. They’ve been through it all and earned their reputation as a top-tier digital marketing agency by doing more than just managing posts. They specialize in social media marketing and online branding, offering tailored strategies that boost engagement, build trust, and actually move the needle.

Volterra highlights: 

• Seasoned pros: From content creation to lead gen and ads, Volterra knows how to make brands stand out on every platform.
• Custom solutions: No cookie-cutter campaigns here—Volterra delivers personalized strategies based on each client’s unique goals.
• Top-notch PM: Clients rave about their efficiency, organization, and ability to consistently deliver on time.
• Proven results: Whether it’s brand awareness, audience engagement, or referral growth, Volterra brings the results to back it up.
• Strategic alignment: Everything is built to align with the client’s bigger business goals—and stay on budget.
• Collaboration: Their approach is rooted in partnership, not just service—clients are in the loop and in control.
  

6. Sculpt

🏷️ Pricing: Starts at $4,200/month for paid campaigns; full-service retainers from $8,500/month
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house creative team
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok

Sculpt is a B2B social media marketing agency that’s been active since 2012. They offer both organic and paid social strategies designed to support lead generation and brand awareness. Their services focus on managing full-funnel campaigns, with an emphasis on audience targeting, content production, and performance reporting across platforms like LinkedIn, Meta, and Twitter.

Sculpt highlights: 

‍

7. OST Marketing

🏷️ Pricing: Custom proposals based on scope and objectives
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house creative and strategy teams
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Instagram

OST Marketing is a B2B social media agency that works with global brands to deliver strategic, content-led campaigns across platforms like LinkedIn, X, and Facebook. Founded in 2010, the agency offers a wide range of services—from influencer marketing and paid media to community management and executive visibility. OST is known for running localized campaigns across global markets, with a focus on driving meaningful engagement and measurable business results.

OST highlights: 

‍

8. LeadTail

🏷️ Pricing: Custom packages; pricing based on scope and services
✔️ Dedicated strategic support
✔️ In-house social and influencer marketing experts
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Meta (Facebook & Instagram), YouTube

Leadtail is a B2B social media agency that partners with marketing leaders to elevate their brand’s presence across digital channels. Since its founding, Leadtail has focused exclusively on B2B, offering a mix of social media strategy, influencer marketing, paid advertising, buyer insights, and event-based social campaigns. Their approach combines strategy with execution—helping clients understand their audiences, build authentic influencer relationships, and generate engagement that supports long-term marketing goals. Whether it’s amplifying executive visibility, driving event buzz, or launching paid social campaigns, Leadtail blends creative thinking with data-driven insights to deliver tailored solutions. Their services are ideal for brands looking to grow credibility, visibility, and impact in competitive B2B spaces.

Leadtail highlights: 

• B2B-Only Focus: Deep specialization in social media for B2B audiences, from strategy to execution.
• Influencer Marketing Expertise: Helps brands identify and build real relationships with niche B2B influencers.
• Strategic Insights: Offers audience and buyer intelligence based on real-time social behavior.
• Holistic Offerings: Combines organic content, paid media, influencer programs, and analytics into cohesive campaigns.
• Event and Thought Leadership Support: Boosts presence during events and amplifies executive content.
  ‍

9. Boundless Marketing

🏷️ Pricing: Custom packages tailored to client needs and objectives
✔️ Dedicated account management
✔️ In-house creative and strategy teams
📱 Platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more

Boundless Marketing is a B2B social media agency that specializes in transforming social media presence into strategic growth assets. Their services are meticulously designed for the needs of B2B companies, going beyond content creation to strategically leverage social media networks for brand awareness, engagement, and lead generation. With a focus on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, Boundless Marketing helps businesses connect with industry leaders and key decision-makers, establish thought leadership, and drive ROI. Their comprehensive approach includes social media strategy, management, content creation, and analytics, ensuring that each campaign is aligned with the client's business goals.

Boundless highlights: 

• B2B Social Media Expertise: Specializes in crafting and executing impactful B2B social media strategies that drive measurable business value.​
• Comprehensive Service Offering: Provides a full suite of services including social strategy, paid social advertising, community management, content production, and detailed analytics.​
• Tailored Campaigns: Develops customized strategies aligned with each client's unique goals and target audiences.​
• Experienced Team: Combines in-house creative and strategic professionals to deliver cohesive and effective campaigns.​
  Growth Hackers
• Global Reach: Supports international campaigns, ensuring content resonates across diverse markets.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's Abe

Flying high above the rest. If LinkedIn is where your buyers are—and you’re serious about reaching them—then Abe is the agency to call. We’re built from the ground up for one purpose: helping B2B brands win on LinkedIn. From hand-verified account targeting to handcrafted ad creative and data-driven budget modeling, everything we do is built for performance. Ready to see how Abe can work for your team? Book a free demo here and find out if we’re the right fit to scale your LinkedIn strategy.