SellersCalc

Ad math

CPC Calculator

What each visitor from paid traffic actually costs — the unit price of attention.

CPC = ad spend ÷ clicks. Spend $500 for 800 clicks and your average cost per click is $0.63, which means every $100 of budget buys about 160 visitors. CPC is the price of traffic, not the price of customers: multiply it by your conversion rate's inverse to get cost per acquisition ($0.63 CPC at a 2% conversion rate is a $31 CPA). Enter spend and clicks to get your average CPC and the visitors per $100 it implies.

CPC Calculator — your numbers

Cost per click

$0.63

Clicks per $100

160

Estimate only. Results reflect exactly the numbers you enter — verify against your own accounting before making pricing decisions.

Embed this calculator on your site — free →

Worked examples

Meta prospecting traffic

Ad spend $500.00
Clicks 800
Cost per click $0.63
Clicks per $100 160

A $0.63 CPC — every $100 of budget buys 160 store visitors.

Competitive search keywords

Ad spend $1,200.00
Clicks 400
Cost per click $3.00
Clicks per $100 33.33

A $3.00 CPC — high-intent search traffic costs multiples of social traffic.

Frequently asked questions

What is an average CPC for e-commerce ads?

In 2026, US e-commerce advertisers typically see roughly $0.50–$1.50 on Meta prospecting, $1–$3 on Google Shopping and non-brand search, and $0.50–$1.50 on Amazon Sponsored Products — with competitive niches (supplements, insurance-adjacent) far higher. Averages hide huge variance; what matters is whether the CPC works at your conversion rate.

How does CPC connect to cost per acquisition?

CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate. A $1 CPC at a 2.5% conversion rate means 40 clicks per order — a $40 CPA. This is why the same CPC can be cheap for one store and ruinous for another: the store converting at 4% pays half as much per customer from identical traffic. Judge CPC only alongside conversion rate.

Is a lower CPC always better?

No — cheap clicks from broad targeting or clickbait creative often convert terribly, producing a worse CPA than pricier, better-qualified traffic. The goal is the lowest cost per profitable order, not the lowest cost per click. Optimizing creative for click price alone reliably attracts the wrong audience.

Why is my actual CPC different from the platform's bid?

Most auctions are second-price or hybrid: you pay just enough to beat the next bidder, not your maximum bid. Quality and relevance scores also discount or penalize your effective price. Actual average CPC routinely lands 20–50% below a manual max bid — which is why this calculator uses real spend and real clicks, not bids.

Related calculators

Part of the Advertising & ROAS collection.