2025 cost-per-thousand-impressions benchmarks across platforms
Legal has the highest CPM of any vertical due to extreme LTV per client — a single personal injury case can be worth $50,000–$500,000. This creates intense auction competition.
Typical Legal CPM falls between $12 and $28 depending on platform, targeting breadth, and campaign objective.
Average (blended): $18.90 (2025)
| # | Platform | CPM Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Google Search (equiv.) | $20–$40 | ⭐ Urgency-driven legal queries |
| 2 | Meta | $13–$22 | Local targeting, awareness |
| 3 | Display | $7–$12 | Retargeting only |
| 4 | YouTube | $10–$16 | Brand credibility |
| 5 | $35–$60 | B2B legal/compliance | |
| 6 | Bing | $12–$20 | Strong for legal demo |
| Year | Average CPM |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $15.10 |
| 2023 | $16.40 |
| 2024 | $17.70 |
| 2025 | $18.90 |
| 2026E | $20.00 |
2026E = projected estimate.
Index 100 = annual average.
| Quarter | Index | Relative Performance |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 104 | |
| Q2 | 101 | |
| Q3 | 96 | |
| Q4 | 99 |
Legal CPM is relatively flat seasonally, unlike most verticals. This makes legal one of the few categories where spreading budget evenly across quarters is a valid strategy.