What are good benchmarks for CTR, CVR, save rate and response rate across platforms (SubmitHub, Groover, Meta, TikTok)?

Compare every ad set, playlist, and channel to "average vs good" targets, colour-code the results (green = scale, yellow = tweak, red = pause), and you'll know exactly where to pour budget and when to pull the plug.

1 Quick-Reference Benchmark Grid (Q3 2025)

Channel / Platform: TikTok In-Feed & Spark
Metric: CTR
"Average" Range: 0.7 - 0.9 %
Good Target: ≥ 1 %
Why It Matters: Hook stops the scroll

Channel / Platform: TikTok In-Feed & Spark
Metric: CVR (click -> save)
"Average" Range: 0.3 - 0.5 %
Good Target: ≥ 0.7 %
Why It Matters: Shows intent

Channel / Platform: TikTok In-Feed & Spark
Metric: Cost-per-Save (CPS)
"Average" Range: $0.14 - 0.22
Good Target: ≤ $0.15
Why It Matters: North-star cost metric

Channel / Platform: Instagram / FB Feed
Metric: CTR
"Average" Range: 1.5 - 1.8 %
Good Target: ≥ 2 %
Why It Matters: Blend of static + short video

Channel / Platform: Instagram Reels Ads
Metric: CTR
"Average" Range: 0.35 %
Good Target: ≥ 0.50 %
Why It Matters: Swipe-heavy slot

Channel / Platform: SubmitHub
Metric: Add-rate
"Average" Range: 25 - 35 %
Good Target: ≥ 40 %
Why It Matters: Track-playlist fit

Channel / Platform: Groover
Metric: Add-rate
"Average" Range: 10 - 15 %
Good Target: ≥ 20 %
Why It Matters: EU blogs/radios skew lower

Channel / Platform: Playlist Performance
Metric: Save-to-Stream %
"Average" Range: 6 - 8 %
Good Target: ≥ 10 %
Why It Matters: Triggers Release Radar & Discover Weekly

Channel / Platform: Playlist Performance
Metric: Skip-Rate (0-30 s)
"Average" Range: 26 - 40 %
Good Target: ≤ 25 %
Why It Matters: Skips hurt the algo

Channel / Platform: Lead-Gen Ads
Metric: Cost-per-Lead (CPL)
"Average" Range: $0.80 - $1.20
Good Target: ≤ $1.00
Why It Matters: Builds owned audience

Channel / Platform: Merch / Ticket Ads
Metric: ROAS
"Average" Range: 1.0 - 1.2
Good Target: ≥ 1.3
Why It Matters: $1 ad -> $1.30 revenue

Rule-of-thumb: CTR proves the hook, CVR/Save-Rate proves audience fit, CPS/ROAS proves whether to repeat spend.

2 Traffic-Light Framework (48-h cadence)

Status: Green
Numbers Look Like: ≥ good target
Action: Scale budget ~50 %; duplicate to new audience.

Status: Yellow
Numbers Look Like: In average band
Action: Swap hook/thumbnail, tighten targeting, retest 48 h.

Status: Red
Numbers Look Like: Below average
Action: Pause spend or pull placement; diagnose creative or audience.

3 Case Study - "Velvet Signal" Benchmark-Driven Decisions

Day 2
Channel / Tactic: TikTok Spark Ad (US)
KPI vs Target: CTR 0.92 % (Yellow), CPS $0.12 (Green)
Traffic-Light: Mixed -> Scale
Action Taken: +30 % budget
Outcome 48 h Later: CTR 1.05 %, CPS $0.11

Day 4
Channel / Tactic: SubmitHub batch 40 cr.
KPI vs Target: Add-rate 18 % (Red)
Traffic-Light: Pause
Action Taken: Re-tag genre, new art, resend 20 cr.
Outcome 48 h Later: New add-rate 33 % (Yellow)

Day 6
Channel / Tactic: Playlist "ChillVibes"
KPI vs Target: Save 11 % (Green), Skip 22 % (Green)
Traffic-Light: Keep
Action Taken: None
Outcome 48 h Later: Added 4 k algo streams

Day 9
Channel / Tactic: Meta Reels Ad (BR)
KPI vs Target: CTR 0.48 % (Red), CPS $0.19 (Red)
Traffic-Light: Kill
Action Taken: Shift $ to UK look-alike
Outcome 48 h Later: CPS UK $0.14 (Green)

Day 13
Channel / Tactic: Merch retarget (US)
KPI vs Target: ROAS 1.51 (Green)
Traffic-Light: Scale
Action Taken: +50 % daily cap
Outcome 48 h Later: ROAS 1.45 (steady)

In 14 days they spent $740, generated 6 800 saves at blended CPS $0.109, and earned $1 100 merch - benchmarks guided every move.

4 How to Apply Benchmarks

Pick one KPI
Saves -> CPS | Email -> CPL | Merch -> ROAS

Live tracking
UTMs on every link -> Linkfire / Feature.fm
Pixels on landing page
One Google Sheet importing DSP + ad CSVs daily

Traffic-light rule
If combo is Yellow/Green (e.g., CTR yellow, CPS green) -> scale; creative is okay but targeting works.
If any KPI red two cycles -> pause & fix.

Post-mortem
Archive sheet, record best hook, cheapest geo, best ROAS; raise next campaign's "average" by 10 %.

5 Patterns & Fixes

Symptom: High CTR, low saves
Cause: Wrong audience
Fix: Narrow interests, retarget viewers

Symptom: Low CTR, high saves
Cause: Weak hook
Fix: Re-cut first 2 s, bigger text

Symptom: Add-rate < 10 % (SubmitHub)
Cause: Track mismatch
Fix: Re-mix, swap tags, new art

Symptom: Skip-rate > 50 % playlist
Cause: Bot/off-vibe list
Fix: Pull track, refund request

Symptom: ROAS 1.05 but CPS great
Cause: Margin problem
Fix: Bundle merch, raise price

6 Keep Benchmarks Fresh

Refresh quarterly (algorithm & ad-inventory shifts).

Average last 3-5 campaigns for your own baseline; set new "good" = +10 %.

Stamp "last updated" date in your playbook.

Bottom Line

Benchmarks are guard-rails:
Green -> fuel, Yellow -> tweak, Red -> kill fast.
Apply them relentlessly and each release gets cheaper, smarter, and more predictable.