Editorial note (July 14, 2026): the data in this report was measured in Q1 2026 under Naano's earlier cost-per-click pricing model. Since then, Naano has moved to creator-defined fixed-price offers. The performance benchmarks below (CPL, CTR, conversion) remain valid as historical Q1 2026 data.
This is the first edition of Naano's quarterly benchmark report on B2B creator-led growth. It publishes the CPL, CTR, time-to-launch and conversion data from every campaign that ran on the Naano marketplace during Q1 2026. Numbers are first-party measurements, not estimates, and every table includes the sample size behind it.
Executive summary
- Average CPL on Naano in Q1 2026 was €18.10 across 312 campaigns, ~67–80% below typical LinkedIn Ads CPL for comparable B2B SaaS audiences (€55–€90). The lowest vertical (marketing-ops, median €16) and the highest (vertical SaaS, median €21) bracket a tighter-than-expected distribution.
- CTR on creator-led posts averaged 12.0% across 1,847 posts, roughly 15× the LinkedIn Sponsored Content benchmark (0.8%). CTR scales inversely with creator follower count: 1k–3k creators clocked 13.8% median CTR, 10k+ creators clocked 8.7%.
- Median time-to-launch was 7 days from brief submission to first post live, with a p25 of 5 days and a p90 of 16 days.
312
Campaigns
89
Brands
1,847
Sponsored posts
€18.10
Average CPL
12.0%
Average CTR
€2.30
Average CPC
Methodology
- Data window: 2026-01-01 to 2026-03-31 (Q1 2026).
- Sample: 312 campaigns from 89 distinct brands; 1,847 individual sponsored posts; ~300 active creators from the Naano roster.
- Qualified click: A click that carries a Naano tracking parameter, resolves to the brand's landing page, and records 30+ seconds of on-site engagement. Bots are filtered server-side; visits are deduplicated to one per IP per hour.
- Vertical: Campaigns are tagged at brief creation with one of sales-tech, RevOps, devtools, product, HR-tech, fintech, marketing-ops or vertical SaaS.
- Statistics: "Average" refers to the mean unless otherwise noted. Percentiles are computed on the full underlying distribution, not on per-campaign aggregates.
Headline benchmarks
The metrics most often cited in B2B SaaS budget conversations. Naano figures are Q1 2026 means; LinkedIn Ads ranges reflect publicly reported values for B2B SaaS audiences in EU and US markets.
| Metric | Naano (Q1 2026) | LinkedIn Ads benchmark | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average CPL (cost per lead) | €18.10 | €55–€90 (LinkedIn Ads, B2B SaaS) | −67% to −80% |
| Average CTR (sponsored content) | 12.0% | 0.8% (LinkedIn B2B Marketing Benchmark 2025) | +15× absolute |
| Average CPC (per qualified click) | €2.30 | €8–€15 (LinkedIn Ads CPC range) | −71% to −85% |
| Time-to-launch (brief → first post) | 7 days (median) | 21–35 days (typical agency) | −67% to −80% |
| Reply rate, warm outbound to post engagers | 39.6% | ~5% (cold outbound industry avg) | +8× absolute |
Sample: 312 campaigns / 1,847 posts / 89 brands. CPL = total paid spend ÷ qualified leads. CTR = qualified clicks ÷ impressions reported by LinkedIn at post level.
CTR by creator tier
Smaller creators get higher click-through: their audiences are narrower and self-selected around a topic, so a sponsored post reads like a recommendation rather than an ad.
| Creator size | Median CTR | Read |
|---|---|---|
| 1k–3k followers | 13.8% | Highest CTR; niche, high-trust audiences |
| 3k–7k followers | 12.1% | At platform average |
| 7k–10k followers | 10.4% | Reach grows faster than click quality |
| 10k+ followers | 8.7% | Still ~11× the LinkedIn Ads baseline |
CPL by vertical
CPL varies primarily with creator supply and audience density. Verticals with deep creator pools and highly self-identified audiences (sales-tech, marketing-ops) come in below the platform mean of €18; sparse-supply verticals (vertical SaaS, HR-tech) trend higher.
| Vertical | CPL p10 | CPL median | CPL p90 | N campaigns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sales-tech | €11 | €16 | €23 | n=58 |
| RevOps | €12 | €17 | €24 | n=41 |
| Devtools | €13 | €19 | €26 | n=47 |
| Product | €12 | €18 | €25 | n=39 |
| HR-tech | €14 | €20 | €27 | n=34 |
| Fintech | €13 | €19 | €26 | n=29 |
| Marketing-ops | €10 | €16 | €22 | n=36 |
| Vertical SaaS | €14 | €21 | €28 | n=28 |
Conversion benchmarks
Measured on the 104 campaigns that connected a pixel through to CRM stage data.
67%
Click → 30s+ engagement
8.3%
Engagement → demo
41%
Demo → SQL
≈ €530
Cost per SQL
Implied qualified-click → SQL conversion across the full funnel is approximately 3.4%.
Time-to-launch distribution
- 5 days
- p25
- 7 days
- Median
- 16 days
- p90
Limitations and caveats
- All numbers are first-party naano marketing claims from a single quarter; they are not independently audited.
- Brands self-select into creator-led campaigns, so results are not a randomized comparison against LinkedIn Ads.
- The Q1 2026 data was measured under the earlier cost-per-click pricing model.
How to cite
Naano (2026). B2B Creator-Led Growth Benchmarks: Q2 2026. naano.com/benchmarks/q2-2026.