CTV Benchmarks 2026

CTV benchmark pages need different expectations because the device is powerful for awareness and incremental lift, but direct response measurement is usually delayed or indirect. CPM, completion rate, branded search lift, and assisted conversion impact.

Last updated March 2026

Benchmark Summary

Average$28
Median$24
Top Quartile$17Top performers
Bottom Quartile$39Needs work

CTV Cross-Metric Planning Benchmarks

Use these labeled KPIs together instead of judging ctv performance from one headline number. Conversion-sensitive metrics update when you change the conversion type above.

MetricMedianTop QuartileWhat It Tells You
CTR2.4%4.1%Creative and message-to-audience fit
CPC$2.80$1.65Click acquisition efficiency
CVR3.4%6.2%Landing-page and offer effectiveness
CPA$82$45Cost to generate the selected conversion
CPM$12.40$7.80Auction pressure and reach efficiency
ROAS3.1x5.2xRevenue efficiency where purchase value is tracked

Directional planning ranges. Narrow targets further by channel, industry, geography, attribution window, and conversion definition before changing budget.

CTV Benchmark Summary

CPM, completion rate, branded search lift, and assisted conversion impact. Benchmarks should be interpreted with contextual commentary, not as standalone averages.

DeviceAverageMedianTop QuartileBottom Quartile
CTV$28$24$17$39

CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.

What Moves CTV Benchmarks

These are the main drivers that typically explain why the same headline metric changes across channels, industries, and conversion contexts.

FactorWhy It Matters
Household targeting qualityChanges how cpm, completion rate, branded search lift, and assisted conversion impact.
Creative completion and attentionChanges how cpm, completion rate, branded search lift, and assisted conversion impact.
Measurement model and post-view attributionChanges how cpm, completion rate, branded search lift, and assisted conversion impact.

How to Interpret CTV Benchmarks

CTV benchmark pages need different expectations because the device is powerful for awareness and incremental lift, but direct response measurement is usually delayed or indirect.

Household targeting quality

CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.

Creative completion and attention

CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.

Measurement model and post-view attribution

CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.

How to Improve CTV Performance

  1. Use CTV pages with awareness and video benchmark pages — CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.
  2. Track branded search lift and downstream site behavior — CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.
  3. Avoid forcing last-click CPA expectations onto CTV performance — CTV should be benchmarked as an influence and demand-creation environment before it is judged like a click-first direct-response channel.

How Benchmarketing reads these benchmarks

The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method. The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.

Where the numbers come from. The figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset — thousands of curated benchmark observations across channels, industries, and US metro areas. Every statistic traces to a named source: WordStream Google Ads Benchmarks (2024), Meta Business Insights (2024), HubSpot Email Marketing Report (2024), Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report (2024), Databox Marketing Benchmark Report (2024), Benchmarketing Platform Data (2023–2024). Benchmarketing does not publish anonymous "studies show" figures.

The Benchmarketing position. Beating the cross-industry average is a vanity milestone, not a target. Compare your number to the P25–P75 band for your specific industry and channel; if you are above average but below your industry's P75, you are leaving performance on the table.

Frequently asked questions

Why do CTV benchmarks?

They need different interpretation because the environment drives attention and influence, but often not an immediate tracked click.

How should I benchmark CTV campaigns?

Benchmark with completion, reach efficiency, branded lift, and assisted outcome metrics rather than relying only on direct-response conversions.

Related benchmarks

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