Two ways to get CPC
From cost and clicks. Use this when the campaign has run and you have the spend and click count from your ads dashboard. This is the average CPC that Google Ads and most platforms report.
From CPM and CTR. Use this to compare an impression-priced offer with a click-priced one before you buy, or to see what a CPM campaign worked out at per click. It is often called effective CPC (eCPC).
Pick the method at the top of the calculator, then tap the figure you want to find.
The formulas
From cost and clicks:
CPC = cost ÷ clicks
Cost = CPC × clicks
Clicks = cost ÷ CPC
From CPM and CTR (CTR as a percentage, so 0.8% is 0.008 in the sum):
CPC = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CTR)
CPM = CPC × CTR × 1,000
CTR = CPM ÷ (1,000 × CPC)
The second set follows from the first. 1,000 impressions cost the CPM and produce 1,000 × CTR clicks, so the cost of one click is the CPM divided by that number of clicks.
Worked examples
Average CPC. A search campaign spent $900 and got 600 clicks. $900 ÷ 600 = $1.50 per click.
CPM to CPC. A social placement is sold at $12 CPM and similar ads have had a 0.8% CTR. 1,000 impressions would bring 1,000 × 0.008 = 8 clicks for $12, so each click costs $12 ÷ 8 = $1.50. At that CTR, the CPM offer and a $1.50 CPC bid cost the same per click.
CPC to CPM. You pay $2 per click and the ads get a 0.9% CTR. $2 × 0.009 × 1,000 = $18.00 CPM.
Clicks a budget buys. $750 at an expected $1.25 CPC buys $750 ÷ $1.25 = 600 clicks.
The CTR that makes two offers equal. With a $12 CPM and a $1.50 CPC, CTR = $12 ÷ (1,000 × $1.50) = 0.80%. Above that CTR the CPM deal is cheaper per click; below it, paying per click is cheaper.
| CPM | CTR | CPC |
|---|---|---|
| $12.00 | 0.8% | $1.50 |
| $18.00 | 0.9% | $2.00 |
| $6.00 | 0.5% | $1.20 |
What counts as cost and as a click
Platforms count clicks differently. Some report a narrow "link clicks" figure next to a wider "all clicks" figure that also counts taps elsewhere on the ad. If you mix one platform's wide count with another's narrow one, the two CPCs will not be comparable. Pick one definition and keep it.
Google Ads calls the most you are willing to pay your max. CPC and the amount you are charged your actual CPC, and says you will often be charged less than the max. Plan with the average CPC you see in reports, not the bid you set.
How this calculator handles your numbers
Inputs are converted to exact fractions, so $10 ÷ 3 clicks gives $3.33 rather than a long floating-point tail. Money rounds to two decimals, half away from zero; a CPC that would show as $0.00 is given to four decimals. CTR is always read as a percentage: type 0.8 for 0.8%. If you type a value below 1, the calculator tells you how it read it. A CTR above 100% or a CPC of zero, where the maths stops making sense, gets a message instead of a number.