The cheapest job function to target on LinkedIn is sales, at $33.65 CPM.
Campaigns targeting sales roles pay $33.65 per thousand impressions and $14.68 per landing page click at the median account, the cheapest of any function. C-suite and founders cost the most per impression, $47.45, but $209 per lead.
By Phil Ilic · Published 19 Oct 2026 · From Kiin Labs, LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks by Audience 2026
| Audience targeted | Accounts | CPM | Landing page CTR | Cost per landing page click | Form completion | Cost per lead |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales | 279 | $33.65 | 0.27% | $14.68 | 6.8% | $224 |
| HR | 113 | $36.67 | 0.26% | $16.86 | 8.2% | $205 |
| Finance | 162 | $38.47 | 0.27% | $17.15 | 4.9% | $340 |
| IT and engineering | 227 | $38.91 | 0.26% | $19.81 | 5.7% | $337 |
| Marketing | 181 | $41.52 | 0.25% | $20.93 | 9.1% | $257 |
| C-suite and founders | 207 | $47.45 | 0.29% | $15.73 | 9.5% | $209 |
| Whole panel | 944 | $36.23 | 0.23% | $17.54 | 7.6% (feed) | $164 content · $343 demo |
Source: Kiin Labs, LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks by Audience 2026.
Kiin Labs (2026). LinkedIn cost by job function targeted, median account: sales $33.65 CPM and $14.68 per landing page click (279 accounts), C-suite and founders $47.45 CPM and $209 per lead (207 accounts), 8 Sep 2025 to 7 Sep 2026. https://kiin.co/research/linkedin-cost-by-job-function
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The dearest impression is not the dearest lead.
Per impression vs per lead
C-suite and founders cost the most per impression, $47.45, but have the best form completion (9.5%) and one of the lowest costs per lead, $209. Finance and IT are the dearest leads, at $340 and $337, with the lowest completion.
What to do
Judge a function on cost per lead and landing page click, not CPM. Marketing has the best feed completion after C-suite (9.1%) and the dearest click ($20.93).
Where the number comes from
LinkedIn Ads Benchmarks by Audience 2026: campaigns with at least $50 of spend and 2,000 impressions. LinkedIn Ads accounts connected to Kiin Intelligence via the LinkedIn Marketing API, 8 September 2025 to 7 September 2026, converted to USD, LinkedIn Audience Network excluded. Every figure is a median across advertiser accounts, and no cell with fewer than seven accounts is published.
Questions about this number.
Which job function is cheapest to target on LinkedIn?
Sales: $33.65 CPM and $14.68 per landing page click at the median account, across 279 accounts.
How much does it cost to target the C-suite on LinkedIn?
$47.45 CPM at the median account, the dearest function, but $209 per lead thanks to 9.5% form completion.
What is the cost per lead for IT audiences on LinkedIn?
$337 at the median account across 227 accounts, with $38.91 CPM.
Which LinkedIn audience has the best form completion?
C-suite and founders at 9.5%, then marketing at 9.1%.
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