Chapter 1 of 12

How Much Should a Marketing Budget Be? Benchmark Your Company Before You Plan

Written by

Aleksandra Korczynska

CMO with 10+ years experience managing marketing budgets at B2B SaaS companies

Last updated: Sep 2026~5 min read
Guide chapters (12)
Guide overview
  1. 1Benchmark Your Company
  2. 2Stakeholder Alignment
  3. 3Finance Team Rules
  4. 4Budgeting Methods
  5. 5The 70/20/10 Rule
  6. 6Planning Process and Timeline
  7. 7KPIs and CPA Targets
  8. 8Budget Categories and Allocation
  9. 9Marketing Budget Examples
  10. 10Budget Approval
  11. 11Budget vs Actual Tracking
  12. 12Budget Cuts and Reallocation

The average marketing budget is 11.4% of the total company budget, based on 170 companies in the CMO Survey 2025: 7.4% for B2B product companies, 6.7% for B2B services, 21.5% for B2C product and 11.7% for B2C services. Before you plan, find out where your company sits against that figure, then treat the result as a ceiling check on the plan you build from targets, not as the plan itself.

How much should a marketing budget be?

The CMO Survey Firm and Industry Breakout Report (2025) shows the average marketing budget is 11.4% of total company budget, based on data from 170 companies across B2B and B2C sectors.

Average marketing budget as % of total company budget, by business type:

Business TypeCompaniesAvg. Marketing Budget (% of Total)
B2B Product597.4%
B2B Services446.7%
B2C Product4421.5%
B2C Services2211.7%

Average marketing spend as a percentage of total company budget. N = 169 companies. Source: The CMO Survey — Firm and Industry Benchmarks, 2025.

Two figures are in circulation and they are not the same. The CMO Survey measures marketing as a share of the total company budget. Gartner's CMO Spend Survey measures it as a share of revenue (7.7% in 2024). For a profitable company they land close together; for a company spending more than it earns, the share of budget is the smaller number. Say which one you are quoting.

Benchmark calculator: your company profile

Select your company profile to see the average marketing budget for companies like yours, from the same CMO Survey data. Choosing more than one factor returns a range from the lowest to the highest matching benchmark.

What Should Your Marketing Budget Be?

Select your company profile to see the average marketing budget as a % of total company budget, based on the CMO Survey data above.

Select at least one option above to see your benchmark.

Based on N=170 companies. Source: The CMO Survey — Firm and Industry Benchmarks, 2025.

For the full breakdown by industry, revenue band and company size, with additional data sources, see average marketing budget by industry. For a range that also accounts for your growth target and funding profile, use the marketing budget calculator.

How to use a benchmark in the plan

  • Start from last year. Take last year's marketing spend as a share of total company budget and of revenue. That is your own benchmark, and finance will compare the new plan against it before anything else.
  • Adjust for stage, not sector alone. A growth mandate (see the stakeholder alignment chapter) justifies several points above the sector average; a profitability mandate sits below it.
  • Use it as a ceiling check. Build the plan from the revenue target with the objective-and-task method, then compare the total with the benchmark. A gap of more than a few points of revenue means one of the two is wrong, and you need to know which before finance asks.
  • Bring the benchmark to the approval. “Marketing budget as % of revenue” is one of the six charts in the approval chapter; the sector figure is the reference line on it.

Frequently asked questions

How much should a marketing budget be?

The CMO Survey 2025 average is 11.4% of the total company budget: 7.4% for B2B product companies, 6.7% for B2B services, 21.5% for B2C product and 11.7% for B2C services. Growth-stage companies run above their sector figure and mature companies below it. Use the marketing budget calculator for a range specific to your industry, revenue and growth target.

What percentage of revenue should a B2B company spend on marketing?

B2B companies average 6.7 to 7.4% of total company budget on marketing (CMO Survey 2025), which usually translates to a similar share of revenue. B2B SaaS in a growth phase commonly spends 10 to 20% of revenue, falling toward 5 to 10% at scale. The full breakdown by industry and company size is in the average marketing budget by industry analysis.

Is the marketing budget measured as a percentage of revenue or of the total budget?

Both are used, and they differ. The CMO Survey reports marketing as a share of the total company budget; Gartner reports it as a share of revenue (7.7% in 2024). For a profitable company the two are close; for a company spending more than it earns, the share of budget is the smaller number. State which one you are quoting when you present a benchmark to finance.

How do I benchmark my marketing budget?

Take last year’s marketing spend as a share of total company budget and of revenue, compare each against the sector figure for your business type, then adjust for stage: add points for a growth mandate, subtract for a profitability mandate. The result is a range, not a target; the budget itself comes from the objective-and-task method in the budgeting methods chapter.

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