What Is CPC in Facebook Ads? Link vs All Clicks

When Meta says CPC, it means the price of one link click: a click that takes someone to a destination you chose, such as your website or an app store. Meta describes the metric as an industry benchmark for ad efficiency. A second version, CPC (all), also counts many other kinds of clicks, taps and swipes on the ad, so the two can look very different for the same ad. Knowing which one you are reading prevents a cheap-looking number from hiding expensive traffic.

How does Meta calculate CPC?

Meta calculates CPC (cost per link click) as the amount spent divided by link clicks. It shows how much, on average, each link click costs.

Example: if you spend $120 and get 300 link clicks, your CPC is $120 ÷ 300 = $0.40.

What is the difference between CPC and CPC (all)?

CPC (all) is the total amount spent divided by clicks (all). Clicks (all) counts many kinds of clicks, taps and swipes on the ad, not only link clicks. Meta lists, among others:

• link clicks
• clicks to the business’s Page or profile picture
• post reactions, comments and shares
• clicks that expand media such as photos to full screen
• clicks on the action set as the campaign objective, such as a Page like in a Page engagement campaign

Because clicks (all) includes link clicks plus other interactions, it is never smaller than link clicks for the same ad, so CPC (all) is never higher than CPC (link). That is arithmetic, not a sign of better performance.

Which cost-per-click metrics does Meta report?

Metric	Formula	What the click represents
CPC (cost per link click)	Amount spent ÷ link clicks	Clicks on links to chosen destinations, on or off Meta
CPC (all)	Amount spent ÷ clicks (all)	Any counted click, tap or swipe on the ad
Cost per outbound click	Amount spent ÷ outbound clicks	Clicks that leave Meta technologies
Cost per landing page view	Amount spent ÷ landing page views	Page loads after an ad click

The last two rows sit closer to a real site visit than a link click does.

Does Meta charge you per click?

Only if you choose that. Meta says that for many optimization goals you pay for impressions, while some goals let you choose between impressions and actions. If you choose the link click, you are charged on a cost per link click basis, and you are not charged for an ad that gets no link clicks. The CPC column is still calculated when you pay per impression, because it is simply spend divided by link clicks.

How do you see CPC in Ads Manager?

Meta includes cost per link click in the Engagement column preset and in the Sales column preset, which also shows link clicks, link click-through rate, cost per result and purchase ROAS.

1. Open Ads Manager and click the Columns dropdown menu.
2. Choose the Engagement or Sales preset from the column presets list.
3. Read cost per link click next to link clicks and CTR (link click-through rate).

FAQ

Why is my CPC (all) so much lower than my CPC?

CPC (all) divides the same spend by a larger count: every reaction, comment, share, profile tap and media expansion is added to the link clicks. Ads that get lots of engagement show a low CPC (all) even when each website visit costs far more.

Is a link click the same as a website visit?

No. A link click can open an Instant Experience, lead form or collection inside Meta, and a person can leave before your page loads. Cost per outbound click and cost per landing page view track visits more closely than CPC does.

Does cost per unique click use all of my data?

No. Meta notes that cost per unique click, which divides spend by unique clicks, uses sampled data. Meta says clicks themselves are not sampled and are based on all the data available, so use the non-unique CPC when you need a figure based on every recorded click.