CTR Calculator

How do you use the CTR calculator?

Enter clicks and impressions from the same ads and date range. The calculator shows CTR straight away; add spend to also see CPC and CPM.

1. In your ad account, pick the date range and the ads you want to measure.
2. Copy impressions and clicks. On Meta, use link clicks if you care about traffic to your site (see the next section).
3. Optional: copy amount spent for CPC and CPM.
4. Copy the page link to share the result. Only the numbers are stored in it.

What is the CTR formula?

CTR is clicks divided by impressions, as a percentage. Meta's link click-through rate is calculated as link clicks divided by impressions.

CTR = clicks ÷ impressions × 100
CPC = spend ÷ clicks
CPM = spend ÷ impressions × 1,000

The three are linked: CPC equals CPM divided by (10 × CTR in percent). That is why a creative change that raises CTR lowers the cost of each click even when the auction price stays the same.

Which clicks should you enter?

Use link clicks for paid social, unless you have a reason not to. Meta reports two click counts, and they give different CTRs for the same ad.

Whichever you choose, use the same one every time you compare ads.

Worked example

Enter these numbers in the calculator above (example numbers, in any currency):

The tool shows the same results:

Check the link between them: 12.50 ÷ (10 × 1.5) = 0.83, the same CPC. If a new creative lifted CTR to 3 percent at the same CPM, the CPC would fall to about 0.42.

What moves CTR on a video ad?

On paid social, CTR depends mostly on the ad: the hook, the offer and the call to action. Placement and audience matter too, so compare ads that ran in the same places.

For video, CTR is the last step of a sequence. People first have to stop on the ad (hook rate), then keep watching (hold rate), then click. The hook rate calculator measures the first two, and our ad hooks guide lists opening types to test. When CTR falls on an ad that used to work, check for creative fatigue.

How do you test for a higher CTR?

Change one thing at a time and compare CTR between the old and new ad on the same audience and placement. The parts of an ad that people see before they decide to click are the ones to test first.

Run each test until both ads have enough impressions, then check the gap with the A/B test calculator.

What are the limits of this calculator?

The calculator divides the numbers you give it. It does not read your account and can't tell which click type you entered.

• No benchmarks. The tool gives no "good" or "bad" verdict. Published CTR averages mix industries, placements and objectives, and Meta publishes none.
• CTR is not the goal. A high CTR with a low conversion rate can still lose money. Use the ad metrics calculator to see CTR next to CPA and ROAS.
• Small samples. A few hundred impressions can give a high or low CTR by chance. The A/B test calculator checks whether the gap between two ads is likely to be real.
• Platform differences. Search ad CTR and social ad CTR are not comparable, because people on search have already asked for something.

Related tools and glossary entries

See the CTR glossary entry for the definition and the CPM entry for the cost side. The CPM calculator adds CPA and break-even CPM to the same inputs. All free tools are on the tools page.

If you want more ad versions to raise CTR with, see how Anglr works for brands.