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The median Facebook CPM hit $16.47 in July 2026.
That's down 12.7% from $18.86 a year ago, sourced from $3 billion in ad spend data.
It's the lowest point in the last 13 months.
Advertisers pull back in Q3.
They've burned their summer budgets and they're not ready to think about Q4 yet.
That gap in the auction is yours to fill.
Not All Verticals Are Seeing This
The $16.47 number is a median.
What you're actually paying depends heavily on objective and vertical.
Consumer and ecommerce brands are sitting right near that floor.
Lead gen accounts in home services, financial services, and medical are clearing $72 to $111 CPM.
The summer dip is most applicable to ecommerce.
Lead gen is paying the same (on average) as it always has.
If you're selling a product, this opportunity is big for you.
If you're generating leads, the normal rules apply.
Why August Specifically
Q4 CPMs historically spike 40% to 60% above Q3 levels.
Holiday campaigns flood the auction starting in late September.
Every dollar you spend acquiring customers in August costs 40% to 60% less than it will in November.
Brands that use the low-CPM window to build warm audiences, retargeting pools, and conversion data enter Q4's most competitive auction with a head start the latecomers can't buy their way out of.
The brands that wait will pay peak CPMs to reach cold audiences with no historical signal behind them.
What You Should Do Right Now
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Audit your CPM by placement.
Reels and Facebook Feed aren't priced the same.
Find where you're getting the most efficient reach right now and shift weight there.
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Run a warm-audience build campaign in August.
Video views, engagement, or add-to-cart objectives.
Cheap impressions now become cheap retargeting in Q4.
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Scale your best-performing conversion campaigns.
If a campaign is profitable today, it's more profitable in August than it will be in October.
Don't leave budget on the table while the floor is low.
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Set your Q4 budget ceiling now.
Decide how much you're willing to spend at peak CPMs before the auction heats up.
Brands that plan this in August don't get caught reactive in November.
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Test your Q4 creative now.
Use cheap August impressions to A/B test hooks, formats, and offers.
By October, you'll know what converts instead of finding out on the most expensive days of the year.
Brands that treat Q3 as dead air pay for it in November.
The buying window is open right now.
Are you going to use the cheapest Meta impressions of the year, or hand that advantage to a competitor?
