Marketing spend statistics and budget benchmarks (2026)
Marketing budgets average 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, and digital channels take 61.1% of marketing spend. These marketing spend statistics come from Gartner and WARC and describe the budgets your clients work with: how big they are, where they go, and how CMOs plan to treat agencies.
Key Takeaways
- •Marketing budgets rose only slightly to 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, from 7.7% in 2025, and 56% of CMOs say they lack the budget to deliver their strategy (Gartner).
- •CMOs now direct an average of 15.3% of marketing budgets to AI initiatives (Gartner 2026 CMO Spend Survey).
- •Digital channels now account for 61.1% of total marketing spend, with 69% of digital budgets flowing to paid online channels.
- •Search, display, and social remain the biggest digital allocations at 13.9%, 12.5%, and 12.2% of digital spend.
- •WARC projects the global ad market at $1.17 trillion in 2025, with 90.3% of ad dollars going to online-only platforms.
- •In Gartner’s 2025 survey, 39% of CMOs planned to cut agency budgets and 22% said gen AI had reduced their reliance on external agencies.
Table of contents
Marketing budget levels and pressure on agencies
Gartner’s annual CMO Spend Survey measures marketing budgets as a share of company revenue. Its respondents are mostly marketing leaders at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue in North America, the UK and Europe, so read it as an enterprise benchmark.
| Pressure signal | Figure (survey year) | Implication for agencies (AgencyPro note) |
|---|---|---|
| Marketing budget as share of company revenue | 9.1% (2023), 7.7% (2024 and 2025), 7.8% (2026) | Reset lower in 2024 and has not rebounded |
| Report insufficient budget to execute strategy | 59% (2025), 56% (2026) | Expect scope compression and procurement pressure |
| Plan to cut agency budgets specifically | 39% (2025) | Defense by measurable outcomes, not hours |
| Less reliant on agencies thanks to gen AI | 22% (2025) | Sell judgment and workflow, not volume |
Source: Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey (May 12, 2025); 9.1% (2023) figure from the Gartner 2024 CMO Spend Survey (May 13, 2024); 2026 figures from the Gartner 2026 CMO Spend Survey (May 11, 2026).
7.8%
Marketing budgets equal 7.8% of company revenue in 2026, up from 7.7% in 2025.
Gartner surveyed 401 CMOs and marketing leaders between January and March 2026. Organizations with more advanced AI programs averaged 8.9%.
56%
56% of CMOs say they do not have the budget needed to execute their 2026 strategy.
Down from 59% in 2025. When a client pushes back on scope or price, a constrained budget is often the reason. Offer a smaller package rather than a discount on the same scope.
30.6%
Paid media now accounts for 30.6% of the average marketing budget.
Gartner puts paid media at 30.6% of marketing budgets, or 2.4% of company revenue, in its 2025 survey. It also notes media price inflation means CMOs get less for each dollar.
39% / 22%
Agency budgets are under direct pressure from cost cutting and gen AI expectations.
Gartner’s 2025 survey says 39% of CMOs planned to cut agency budgets, mainly by dropping unproductive agencies, shrinking rosters and renegotiating scopes. 22% said gen AI let them rely less on agencies for creative and strategy work.
AgencyPro’s reading: expect roster reviews. The agencies that survive a cut are the ones that can show results per dollar, so report outcomes in the client’s terms every month.
Digital share and channel mix
Gartner’s June 2025 release breaks down where digital budgets go. It is based on the same 2025 survey of 402 marketing leaders.
| Digital channel | % of digital spend | Category |
|---|---|---|
| Paid search | 13.9% | Paid media (largest digital line) |
| Digital display | 12.5% | Paid media |
| Social (paid) | 12.2% | Paid media |
| 7.4% | Owned; Gartner’s top-ranked channel for customer loyalty | |
| All paid online channels combined | 69% of digital spend | Digital is 61.1% of total marketing spend |
61.1%
Digital channels now account for 61.1% of total marketing spend.
Digital is the majority of marketing spend, not a side budget.
69%
Paid online channels take 69% of total digital spend.
Inside digital budgets, paid channels dominate. Owned and earned channel allocations fell 9% year over year.
13.9% / 12.5% / 12.2%
Search, digital display, and social are the three largest digital allocations.
Paid search rose from 13.6% to 13.9% of digital spend. Display grew 17% year over year and overtook social advertising for second place.
7.4%
Email still claims 7.4% of digital spend and ranks as the top channel for customer loyalty.
Email was the only owned or earned channel whose allocation grew. Gartner ranks it fifth for overall impact and first for customer loyalty.
AgencyPro’s reading: paid channels hold most of the money. Agencies that also run email and retention work give clients a reason to keep them when acquisition budgets are cut.
Global ad spend and retail media
WARC forecasts global advertising spend from media-owner and platform data. These are forecasts, not reported results. Litmus adds a survey benchmark for email, the owned channel that kept its budget share.
$1.17T / 90.3%
WARC projects the global ad market at $1.17 trillion in 2025, with 90.3% going to online-only platforms.
WARC forecast 7.4% growth for 2025. It also expects paid search to reach $274 billion in 2026, with growth slowing as people search on Amazon and TikTok.
$177.7B -> $201.6B
WARC says retail media will reach $177.7 billion in 2025 and $201.6 billion in 2026.
WARC says the 2026 figure would equal 16.3% of global ad spend. For agencies serving ecommerce brands, retail media is now a standard budget line.
Source: WARC Retail Media Radar: Q1 2025
35%
Litmus says 35% of marketers get $36 or more back for every $1 spent on email (an ROI of 36:1 or higher).
In Litmus’s 2025 State of Email survey of nearly 500 marketers, 30% reported $36 to $50 per $1 and 5% reported more than $50. The largest group, 35%, reported $10 to $36.
Source: Litmus, 2025 State of Email (via The ROI of Email Marketing, July 2025)
AgencyPro’s reading: spend is concentrating in online platforms where results are measured closely. Agencies that report outcomes per channel are easier to keep on the roster.
Methodology notes
- •AgencyPro did not survey marketers for this page and has no original spend data of its own. Every figure is secondary: it summarizes published third-party research and links each figure to its source. The implication column and paragraphs marked “AgencyPro’s reading” are AgencyPro commentary.
- •Gartner CMO Spend Survey figures: 2026 edition surveyed 401 CMOs and marketing leaders in North America, the UK and Europe from January to March 2026; 2025 edition surveyed 402 from February to March 2025. Most respondents work at companies with over $1 billion in revenue, so smaller clients may spend differently.
- •Channel mix figures come from the 2025 survey; Gartner has not published an equivalent 2026 channel breakdown in its press releases.
- •Gartner and Litmus figures are original survey data. WARC figures are forecasts modeled from media-owner and platform data, not survey results. The Litmus email ROI figure is self-reported by survey respondents (nearly 500 marketers, 2025). The 9.1% (2023) budget level comes from Gartner’s 2024 CMO Spend Survey of 395 marketing leaders.
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