Summary: UGC ad benchmarks from 14,219 Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads show that UGC wins the click, not automatically the sale. UGC video earned a 1.02% median link CTR, 59% higher than static images from the same brands, and a 21.5% hook rate, 44% higher than studio video, but its median cost per purchase was about level with static (+3%). DataAlly built these benchmarks from 45 brands and $40M+ in ad spend between November 2025 and October 2026, with hook rate, CTR, CPM, CPA and ROAS by industry and creative type for paid social teams and UGC buyers.
Key UGC ad benchmarks for 2026
The headline numbers below are medians from DataAlly's Meta ad data, November 2025 to October 2026. Each one stands alone, and the tables further down give the detail.
- Hook rate on Meta video ads runs 23% to 25% in every industry measured. Home goods and apparel video ads both had a 22.8% median hook rate, and beauty had 25.1%.
- UGC video stops the scroll better than polished video. UGC had a 21.5% median hook rate, 44% higher than studio or motion-graphics video at 15.0%.
- UGC video gets 59% more link clicks than static images. UGC video had a 1.02% median link CTR against 0.64% for static images from the same brands.
- UGC does not automatically lower cost per purchase. UGC video's median CPA was $79.42 against $77.25 for static images (+3%), and 12% higher when compared brand by brand.
- A typical ecommerce brand paid $70 per purchase on Meta. That is the middle of 37 brands, with the middle half paying between $39 and $149.
- Purchase cost follows order value. The typical apparel brand paid $27 per purchase and the typical home goods brand paid $68.
What the UGC ad benchmark metrics mean
Every UGC ad benchmark on this page uses the same seven Meta metrics, defined below. CPA, indexed CPA and ROAS cover ecommerce brands only, because lead-generation advertisers do not report purchases.
Meta ad benchmarks by industry: hook rate, hold rate, CTR and CPM
Hook rates on Meta sit in a tight 23% to 25% band across home goods, beauty and apparel, the three industries with enough brands to benchmark. Apparel has the highest median link CTR (1.31%) and the lowest CPM ($21.43).
Hook rate and hold rate apply to video ads only. DataAlly's apparel tag also covers accessories.
Meta ad benchmarks by industry: CPA and ROAS
Meta purchase costs track order value: apparel is cheapest, at a $43 median ad CPA, and home goods costs the most, at $136. Home goods brands in the data sell at $130 to $1,000 per order, and apparel brands at $45 to $210.
- Middle half: half of all ads fall between the two values in brackets; a quarter sit above and a quarter below.
- Typical brand's CPA: each brand's total spend divided by its total purchases, then the middle brand. The figure needs at least 6 brands, so beauty, with 5, is not reported.
- Median ad ROAS: ads with no purchases count as 0, so the figure reads lower than the account-level ROAS a brand sees in Ads Manager.
Video vs static image ad benchmarks by industry
Video ads win the click on Meta in both industries DataAlly can compare, but whether video wins the purchase depends on the industry. In home goods, static images convert cheaper; in apparel, video converts slightly cheaper.
"Video" in this table means all video ads, not only UGC, because most video ads are not tagged as UGC or studio-made. Indexed CPA is the fairer purchase comparison, because it measures each ad against its own brand's norm. Beauty is not shown: only 3 beauty brands run static images, and a comparison needs at least 4.
UGC video vs static image benchmarks
UGC video gets 59% more link clicks than static images from the same brands, but its purchase cost is about level (+3%). Across all industries pooled, UGC wins the click, not automatically the sale.
Comparing brand by brand gives a smaller UGC click lift: a median of +16% link CTR across the 6 brands that run both UGC and static images. On the same basis, UGC CPA runs 12% higher, across the 4 brands with enough purchases.
UGC video vs studio video benchmarks
UGC video stops the scroll far better than studio or motion-graphics video: a 21.5% median hook rate against 15.0%, or 44% higher. Viewers who stay watch both about equally long, and studio video earns a slightly higher link CTR.
DataAlly does not have enough purchase data on studio video to compare CPA. The UGC findings cover all industries together, because only 11 brands tag their ads as UGC and no single industry has the 4 brands a benchmark needs.
How much does a purchase cost on Meta ads?
A typical ecommerce brand paid $70 per purchase on Meta between November 2025 and October 2026: the middle of 37 brands, with the middle half between $39 and $149. By industry, the typical apparel brand paid $27 and the typical home goods brand paid $68.
The median single ad shows a higher figure, $90, for a mechanical reason. Every ad in the data spent at least $100, and only ads with at least one purchase get a CPA, so an ad with a single purchase has a CPA of $100 or more. About a quarter of the ads with a CPA had only 1 or 2 purchases. Use $70 to answer what a purchase costs, and use per-ad medians only to compare creative types.
UGC and video ad case studies on Meta
In four of five anonymized brand tests, video or UGC delivered cheaper or equal sales, and one home goods brand is a clear counter-example where static images won. Each case is one brand running two creative types side by side over the same months on Meta.
How the UGC case studies were chosen
The five case studies come from DataAlly brands that ran two creative types side by side, and two rules keep them fair.
- In cases 2 to 5, "video" means all video ads, because the brands did not tag them as UGC or studio-made.
- Cases 2, 4 and 5 were picked by a fixed rule (the brand with the most purchases on both sides) before the results were seen, and are reported whichever way they went.
What the UGC ad benchmarks mean for your ads
The UGC ad benchmarks support one clear conclusion: UGC earns attention and clicks on Meta, and its purchase cost depends on the brand. Four practical steps follow from the data.
- Judge UGC on hook rate and CTR first. A UGC video below a 21.5% hook rate or a 1.02% link CTR is underperforming the median UGC ad in this data.
- Compare CPA against your own brand's norm. Indexed CPA removes price differences, so it shows whether a UGC ad sells cheaper than your usual ad, not cheaper than another brand's.
- Test UGC against static in your own account. Home goods static images converted cheaper than video, while apparel video converted slightly cheaper, so an industry rule will not predict your result.
- Run distinct creative, not near copies. Meta now groups visually similar ads, so different creators, settings and hooks give each test a fair read, as explained in DataAlly's guide to Meta's creative Entity ID.
Brands that need UGC produced for these tests can compare pricing, turnaround and usage rights in DataAlly's ranking of the top UGC agencies of 2026.
How DataAlly built the UGC ad benchmarks
The UGC ad benchmarks use medians from 14,219 Meta ads from 49 ad accounts (45 brands) across 18 industries, each ad with at least $100 of spend between November 2025 and October 2026. No single brand makes up more than 25% of any figure.
- Source: DataAlly's ad-level data from brands that connect their Meta ad accounts. Each account carries the industry it was tagged with when connected.
- Which ads count: ads with complete spend and impression data. Retargeting, awareness and engagement campaigns are removed, so results are mostly prospecting.
- Fairness rule: a figure needs at least 30 ads and at least 4 brands, with no brand above 25%, or it is not reported.
- Creative type: video vs image comes from Meta's own record of each ad; UGC and studio labels come from the creative tags brands apply in DataAlly.
- Purchases: ecommerce brands only, using each ad set's own attribution setting (Meta's default is 7-day click, 1-day view).
- Currency: all figures in US dollars, converted at monthly average exchange rates.
The benchmarks cover Meta only. DataAlly does not have enough TikTok or YouTube data to publish benchmarks for either platform.
UGC ad benchmark FAQs
What is a good hook rate for UGC ads?
A good hook rate for UGC ads on Meta is above 21.5%, the median for UGC video in DataAlly's 2026 data. Across all video ads, median hook rates run 22.8% to 25.1% by industry, and studio video runs lower, at a 15.0% median.
What is a good CTR for Meta ads?
A good link CTR for Meta ads is above the industry median: 1.15% for home goods, 1.12% for beauty and 1.31% for apparel in DataAlly's 2026 data. UGC video had a 1.02% median link CTR across all industries, against 0.64% for static images.
Does UGC lower cost per purchase?
UGC does not automatically lower cost per purchase on Meta. In DataAlly's 2026 data, UGC video's median CPA was 3% higher than static images from the same brands, and 12% higher brand by brand, even though UGC earned 59% more link clicks.
How much does a purchase cost on Meta ads?
A typical ecommerce brand paid $70 per purchase on Meta in DataAlly's data from November 2025 to October 2026. The typical apparel brand paid $27 and the typical home goods brand paid $68, because purchase cost follows order value.
Are there UGC ad benchmarks for TikTok?
DataAlly does not publish TikTok UGC ad benchmarks, because its data does not include enough TikTok or YouTube ads to meet the 4-brand, 30-ad minimum. All figures on this page are for Meta (Facebook and Instagram).
