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

> The average marketing budget is 11.4% of total company budget (CMO Survey 2025): 7.4% for B2B product, 6.7% B2B services, 21.5% B2C product, 11.7% B2C services. Benchmark your own company and use the number as a ceiling check.

Written by [Aleksandra Korczynska](https://us.linkedin.com/in/aleksandra-korczynska-b6ab8485) — CMO with 10+ years experience managing marketing budgets at B2B SaaS companies.

- Canonical HTML version: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company
- Part of: [How to Create a Marketing Budget: The Complete Planning Guide](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide), chapter 1 of 12
- Last updated: Sep 2026
- ~5 min read

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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.

## Contents

1. [How much should a marketing budget be?](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#how-much-should-a-marketing-budget-be)
2. [Benchmark calculator: your company profile](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#benchmark-calculator)
3. [How to use a benchmark in the plan](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#using-benchmarks)

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## How much should a marketing budget be?

Source: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#how-much-should-a-marketing-budget-be

The [CMO Survey Firm and Industry Breakout Report (2025)](https://cmosurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/The_CMO_Survey-Firm_and_Industry_Breakout_Report-2025.pdf) 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 Type | Companies (N) | Avg. marketing budget (% of total company budget) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| B2B Product | 59 | 7.4% |
| B2B Services | 44 | 6.7% |
| B2C Product | 44 | 21.5% |
| B2C Services | 22 | 11.7% |

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

Source: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#benchmark-calculator

The live page offers an interactive benchmark calculator: select your company profile (share of online sales, industry, annual revenue, number of employees) to see the average marketing budget as a % of total company 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.

Interactive version: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#benchmark-calculator

> **Tip:** For the full breakdown by industry, revenue band and company size, with additional data sources, see [average marketing budget by industry](https://www.etropo.com/blog/marketing-budgeting/average-marketing-budget-by-industry). For a range that also accounts for your growth target and funding profile, use the [marketing budget calculator](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-calculator.md).

## How to use a benchmark in the plan

Source: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#using-benchmarks

- **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](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/stakeholder-alignment.md) 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](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budgeting-methods.md), 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](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-approval.md); the sector figure is the reference line on it.

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## Frequently asked questions

Source: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company#faq

### 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](https://www.etropo.com/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](https://www.etropo.com/blog/marketing-budgeting/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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## Chapters

- Guide hub: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide.md (HTML: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide)
- Next chapter: [Stakeholder Alignment](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/stakeholder-alignment.md)

All chapters:

1. [Benchmark Your Company](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/benchmark-your-company.md) (this chapter)
2. [Stakeholder Alignment](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/stakeholder-alignment.md)
3. [Finance Team Rules](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/finance-team-rules.md)
4. [Budgeting Methods](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budgeting-methods.md)
5. [The 70/20/10 Rule](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/70-20-10-rule.md)
6. [Planning Process and Timeline](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/planning-process-and-timeline.md)
7. [KPIs and CPA Targets](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-kpis-and-cpa-targets.md)
8. [Budget Categories and Allocation](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-categories.md)
9. [Marketing Budget Examples](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/marketing-budget-example.md)
10. [Budget Approval](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-approval.md)
11. [Budget vs Actual Tracking](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-vs-actual.md)
12. [Budget Cuts and Reallocation](https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide/budget-cuts-and-reallocation.md)

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## Links

- Marketing budget planning guide (HTML): https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-planning-guide
- Marketing budget calculator: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-calculator
- Marketing budget templates: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-budget-template
- Marketing budget benchmarks by industry: https://www.etropo.com/blog/marketing-budgeting/average-marketing-budget-by-industry
- Marketing salaries: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-salaries.md
- Marketing tool prices: https://www.etropo.com/marketing-tool-prices
- Pricing: https://www.etropo.com/pricing.md
- Documentation: https://docs.etropo.com
- Website: https://www.etropo.com