Free tool CPC calculator and CPC formula
CPC is what one ad click costs you. Enter any two of spend, clicks and CPC and the calculator solves the third, or switch modes and turn a CPM quote and an expected CTR into a cost per click.
- Two ways to calculate
- Updates as you type
- Runs locally
Work out cost per click
In the first mode, leave one box empty and it is solved from the other two. In the second, CPC comes from the price of impressions and the share of them that get clicked.
Total spend for the period, in your currency.
Clicks reported for the same period and campaign.
Cost per click. Leave empty to calculate it.
Cost per 1,000 impressions, from a quote or your ad report.
Click-through rate: clicks ÷ impressions. Enter 0.8 for 0.8%.
CPC (cost per click)
$1.50
Spend ÷ clicks, or CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR).
Share these inputs: the values go after the # in the link, so they never reach a server.
https://tapcub.com/tools/cpc-calculator
Version v1.0Updated Update history
What cost per click tells you
CPC is the price of a visit. It sits between the price of attention (CPM) and the price of a result (CPA), and it moves when either side changes.
CPC
What you paid, on average, for one click. On auction platforms it is usually below your maximum bid, because you pay roughly what it took to beat the next advertiser.
Solved budget or clicks
Enter a target CPC and the clicks you need to get a budget, or a budget and an expected CPC to see how many visits it buys. Treat both as estimates: auctions move daily.
CPC from CPM and CTR
A $6 CPM at 0.9% CTR is $0.67 a click. Doubling CTR halves CPC at the same CPM, which is why better creative lowers the cost of traffic.
CPC is not the goal
Cheap clicks that do not convert cost more per customer than expensive ones that do. Carry the number on to CPA with the CPA calculator.
Platforms count clicks differently: some count every click on the ad, others only link clicks to your site. Use spend and clicks from the same column of the same report.
Three questions the calculator answers
The same relation, rearranged.
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1
What did a click cost?
Enter spend and clicks from the ad report; leave CPC empty.
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2
What budget do I need?
Enter the clicks you want and the CPC you expect; leave spend empty.
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3
What will a CPM deal cost per click?
Switch to "CPM and CTR", enter the quoted CPM and the CTR you usually get on that placement.
CPC = ad spend ÷ clicks
Cost per click divides what you spent by the clicks it bought. Because clicks = impressions × CTR, the same number can be built from CPM and CTR.
- Use spend and clicks from the same date range, campaign and currency
- CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR); CPM = CPC × CTR × 1,000
- CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate, so CPC is one link in the chain to cost per customer
CPC
CPC = spend ÷ clicks
$2,400 ÷ 1,600 clicks → $1.50
Budget
spend = clicks × CPC
2,000 clicks at $1.20 → $2,400
From CPM
CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR)
$6.00 ÷ (1,000 × 0.9%) → $0.67
Three channels, one month
A $6,000 test across search, a social feed and a display network. CPC ranks the channels one way; the last column ranks them another.
| Channel | Spend | Clicks | CPC | Purchases | Cost per purchase |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Search ads | $2,400 | 1,600 | $1.50 | 64 | $37.50 |
| Social feed | $2,400 | 4,000 | $0.60 | 40 | $60.00 |
| Display network | $1,200 | 3,000 | $0.40 | 9 | $133.33 |
Display has the cheapest click and the most expensive purchase. Search costs more than twice as much per click as the social feed and still wins on cost per purchase. Sample figures.
Where CPC comparisons go wrong
The division is easy. The traps are in the inputs and in what you do with the result.
Mixing click types
All clicks (likes, profile taps, expands) and link clicks are different counts. A CPC on all clicks looks cheaper than what a visit really costs.
Buying the cheapest clicks
Low-CPC placements often send visitors who leave at once. Judge a channel on cost per conversion, not cost per click.
Confusing max bid with CPC
Your maximum bid is a ceiling. The CPC you actually pay is usually lower, so planning a budget on max bids overstates it.
Mismatched periods
Spend from the invoice and clicks from a different date range give a CPC that describes no real period.
From the click to the customer
CPC ends where the visit starts. TapCub reads UTM parameters and ad click IDs when the visitor lands, keeps the source on that visitor, and reports conversions and revenue per campaign.
UTM and click IDs
Campaign, source and medium from tagged links and ad click IDs.
Learn moreChannel ROI
Import spend per channel and see return next to the traffic it bought.
Learn moreFirst and last touch
The campaign that introduced a customer and the one that closed, on the same person.
Learn moreCPC questions
Still have a question?
Chat with the team behind TapCub — we usually reply within a few hours on business days.
How do I calculate CPC?
The CPC formula is CPC = ad spend ÷ clicks. $2,400 that bought 1,600 clicks is a CPC of $1.50. To plan a budget, multiply the clicks you need by the CPC you expect.
What is the CPC formula using CPM and CTR?
CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR). A $6.00 CPM with a 0.9% CTR gives $6 ÷ 9 = $0.67 per click. Going the other way, CPM = CPC × CTR × 1,000. The CPM calculator and CTR calculator handle each piece.
What is the difference between CPC and CPA?
CPC is the cost of one click; CPA is the cost of one conversion (a purchase, sign-up or lead). CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate, so a $1.50 click with a 4% conversion rate costs $37.50 per conversion.
What is a good CPC?
It depends on the platform, the keyword or audience, the country and the season, so one number is misleading. Work backwards instead: the highest CPC you can afford is what a conversion is worth to you × your conversion rate.
Why is my actual CPC lower than my bid?
In second-price style auctions you pay about what it took to beat the next advertiser, not your full bid. Ad quality also lowers the price on several platforms.
Should I count all clicks or link clicks?
For the cost of a visit, use link clicks (clicks that go to your site). All clicks include likes, comments and expands, which make CPC look cheaper than the traffic really is.
Update history
New features, fixes and data refreshes for this tool, newest first.
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· v1.0
LaunchedFirst release.
Missing something or found an error? Tell us — requests that come up often go into the next update. All tool updates
See what each click turned into
Connect your site and every tagged campaign shows visits, conversions and revenue beside what it cost.