This asset compiles verified marketing budget benchmarks from the two most widely cited public datasets in the field: the Gartner CMO Spend Survey and The CMO Survey sponsored by Deloitte, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and the American Marketing Association. It reports marketing spend as a percent of revenue and of total company budget, broken down by industry, company size, and B2B versus B2C, with the digital share and recent trends. Every figure is attributed to its source and year, and the two surveys are kept separate because they sample different populations and reach different averages.

One critical caveat up front: Gartner and The CMO Survey are not directly comparable. Gartner samples mostly enterprises with median annual revenue above $1 billion, while The CMO Survey samples a broader mix of U.S. for-profit firms including many smaller companies. This is the main reason Gartner reports 7.7% of revenue while The CMO Survey reports 9.4% for the same period in 2025. Smaller and B2C companies tend to spend a higher share of revenue on marketing, which pulls the broader sample upward.

Executive Summary

• Marketing budgets averaged 7.7% of company revenue among large enterprises in 2025, flat versus 2024, according to the Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey (n=402, North America, UK, Europe, fielded February to March 2025). Source: Gartner, 2025.
• Across a broader U.S. sample, marketing budgets were 9.4% of revenues and 11.4% of total company budget in early 2025, up from 7.7% and 10.1% in Fall 2024, according to The CMO Survey (n=281, fielded January 21 to February 12, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey, 2025.
• B2C product companies spent 15.5% of revenue on marketing versus 6.4% for B2B product companies in early 2025, per The CMO Survey, 2025. Source: The CMO Survey, 2025.
• Digital channels accounted for 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, the highest share since Gartner began the survey in 2013, up from 57.1% in 2024 and 54.9% in 2023. Source: Gartner, 2025.
• Enterprise marketing budgets averaged 11.0% of revenue in the four years before the pandemic but only 8.2% in the four years after, per Gartner, 2025. Source: Gartner, 2025.
• 59% of CMOs reported insufficient budget to execute their 2025 strategy, down 5 percentage points from 2024, per Gartner, 2025. Source: Demand Gen Report citing Gartner, 2025.
• The average U.S. business spends 1.08% of revenue specifically on advertising, a narrower category than total marketing, per data cited by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.
• Smaller firms and those with higher online sales reported the largest marketing budgets as a share of revenue in 2025, per The CMO Survey, 2025. Source: The CMO Survey, 2025.

Key Findings

• Enterprise marketing budgets held at 7.7% of company revenue in 2025, unchanged from 2024, among Gartner respondents with median revenue above $1 billion (Gartner, 2025). Source: Gartner.
• Gartner enterprise budgets had fallen to 7.7% of revenue in 2024 from 9.1% in 2023, a drop attributed to economic caution (Gartner, 2024). Source: Gartner.
• Across the broader U.S. CMO Survey sample, marketing was 9.4% of revenue and 11.4% of total company budget in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• The CMO Survey figure of 9.4% of revenue in early 2025 rebounded from 7.7% in Fall 2024 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• B2C product companies spent 15.5% of revenue on marketing in early 2025, more than double the 6.4% reported by B2B product companies (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• B2B services companies spent 9.0% of revenue and B2C services companies spent 6.0% on marketing in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• Digital channels reached 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, up from 57.1% in 2024 and 54.9% in 2023 (Gartner, 2025). Source: Gartner.
• Paid media represented 30.6% of marketing budgets and 2.4% of company revenue in 2025, the largest single line within enterprise marketing budgets (Gartner, 2025). Source: Gartner.
• Overall marketing spending rose 3.3% over the prior 12 months in the early 2025 CMO Survey, with digital marketing spending up 7.3% (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• CMO Survey respondents projected an 8.9% increase in overall marketing spending and an 11.9% increase in digital marketing spending over the next 12 months from early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• Traditional advertising spending was in negative growth at -0.3% in the early 2025 CMO Survey, continuing a decade-long pattern (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• Social media spending fell to 11.3% of marketing budgets in early 2025 from 12.1% in Fall 2024 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Source: The CMO Survey.
• 39% of CMOs planned to cut agency budgets and 39% planned labor reductions in 2025 as AI productivity gains took hold (Gartner, 2025). Source: Demand Gen Report citing Gartner.
• The average U.S. business spends 1.08% of revenue on advertising specifically, with retailers near 4% and restaurants at 1.93%, per figures cited by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.

Enterprise Benchmark: The Gartner CMO Spend Survey

Gartner’s annual survey is the standard enterprise benchmark because its respondents skew large. The 2025 edition surveyed 402 CMOs and marketing leaders in North America, the United Kingdom, and Europe between February and March 2025, with the vast majority reporting annual revenue above $1 billion (Gartner, 2025).

Marketing budgets averaged 7.7% of company revenue in 2025, flat from 7.7% in 2024 (Gartner, 2025). In 2024 that figure had dropped from 9.1% in 2023 (Gartner, 2024). The longer arc matters: enterprise budgets averaged 11.0% of revenue in the four years before the pandemic and 8.2% in the four years after (Gartner, 2025). Gartner describes the current period as the “era of less,” with 59% of CMOs reporting insufficient budget to execute their 2025 strategy, down from 64% in 2024 (Gartner, 2025; Gartner, 2024).

What it means: among the largest companies, marketing spend has reset roughly 3 percentage points below its pre-pandemic norm and has not recovered, even as CMOs report doing more with static budgets through AI and analytics. Source: Gartner, 2025.

Broader Benchmark: The CMO Survey (Deloitte, Duke Fuqua, AMA)

The CMO Survey samples a wider range of U.S. firm sizes, which is why its averages run higher than Gartner’s. The 2025 edition drew 281 responses from for-profit U.S. companies, fielded January 21 to February 12, 2025, with 99% of respondents at VP level or above (The CMO Survey, 2025).

Marketing accounted for 9.4% of company revenues and 11.4% of total company budget in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025). Both figures rebounded from Fall 2024, when marketing was 7.7% of revenue and 10.1% of company budget (The CMO Survey, 2025). The survey notes that smaller firms, firms with higher online sales, and B2C companies report the largest marketing budgets as a share of revenue (The CMO Survey, 2025).

What it means: a broader population of firms, including many mid-market companies, devotes a noticeably higher share of revenue to marketing than the billion-dollar enterprises Gartner tracks. Anyone benchmarking a small or mid-sized company should weight The CMO Survey and SBA figures over Gartner’s enterprise average. Source: The CMO Survey, 2025.

B2B vs B2C: The Single Largest Driver of Variation

Business model explains more of the spread in marketing budgets than almost any other factor. In The CMO Survey, early 2025, marketing as a percent of revenue ranged from 6.0% for B2C services to 15.5% for B2C product companies.

Source: The CMO Survey, 2025, Highlights and Insights Report. Note: the B2C services revenue figure (6.0%) is lower than its budget figure (11.7%), reflecting that this segment’s category sizes are small and quarter-to-quarter readings can swing; treat single-segment readings as directional.

What it means: B2C product companies, which sell directly to consumers and compete on brand and shelf presence, spend more than double the revenue share of B2B product companies. A B2B SaaS firm benchmarking against a consumer brand will badly misjudge its target if it uses the wrong peer group.

Marketing Budget by Company Size

Company size moves marketing intensity in a generally inverse direction: smaller firms spend a higher share of revenue. The CMO Survey, 2025, reports marketing as a percent of revenue across employee bands.

Source: The CMO Survey, 2025, Highlights and Insights Report. Note: the size bands do not fall in a perfectly smooth line because each band is a small subsample; the broad pattern is that mid-size and smaller firms tend to spend a higher share of revenue than the largest enterprises.

What it means: the largest enterprises in Gartner’s sample (7.7% of revenue) and the multi-thousand-employee bands in The CMO Survey both cluster well below the small-firm averages. Marketing as a percent of revenue is not a fixed ratio; it falls as revenue scales because fixed brand investments spread across a larger base.

Small Business Benchmarks (SBA)

For small businesses, the most defensible public reference point is the U.S. Small Business Administration. The SBA cites that the average business spends 1.08% of revenue on advertising specifically, a narrower category than total marketing, with wide variation by industry (U.S. SBA).

The SBA also cites industry advertising shares of roughly 4% for retailers and 1.93% for restaurants, and reproduces earlier CMO Survey figures showing B2B product at 6.3%, B2B services at 6.9%, B2C product at 9.6%, and B2C services at 11.8% of revenue on marketing (U.S. SBA, citing 2018 CMO Survey data).

What it means: advertising and total marketing are different scopes, and conflating them is a common benchmarking error. Advertising is a subset of marketing; the 1.08% advertising figure is not comparable to the 7.7% or 9.4% total-marketing figures. Source: U.S. Small Business Administration.

The Digital Share and Channel Mix

The shift to digital is the clearest multi-year trend in the public data. Gartner reports digital channels at 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, the highest since the survey began in 2013, after 57.1% in 2024 and 54.9% in 2023 (Gartner, 2025; figures for 2024 and 2023 reported in Gartner’s prior releases).

Source: Gartner, 2025. Within enterprise budgets, paid media was 30.6% of the marketing budget and 2.4% of company revenue in 2025 (Gartner, 2025).

The CMO Survey corroborates the direction: digital marketing spending grew 7.3% over the prior 12 months in early 2025 while traditional advertising fell 0.3%, and social media spending eased to 11.3% of marketing budgets (The CMO Survey, 2025).

What it means: digital is now the majority of marketing spend in the enterprise sample and is the only major channel category in consistent growth. Traditional advertising has been in or near negative growth for most of the past decade in the CMO Survey series.

Trends Over Time

Combining the two series shows a budget reset followed by a partial recovery. Gartner’s enterprise figure fell from 9.1% of revenue in 2023 to 7.7% in 2024 and held flat at 7.7% in 2025 (Gartner, 2024; Gartner, 2025). The CMO Survey’s broader figure dropped to 7.7% of revenue in Fall 2024 then rebounded to 9.4% in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025).

What it means: the enterprise sample shows stagnation, while the broader sample shows a recovery, an apparent contradiction driven entirely by sample composition. The two are measuring different populations, and both readings can be true at once. Anyone citing a single “marketing as a percent of revenue” headline should state which survey and which population it describes.

Original Synthesis

1. The B2C-product-to-B2B-product intensity ratio (2.4x). Dividing B2C product marketing intensity (15.5% of revenue) by B2B product intensity (6.4%) yields a ratio of about 2.4. Inputs: The CMO Survey, 2025. Logic: both numbers come from the same survey, same period, same metric, so the ratio is internally consistent. Limitation: each segment is a subsample of 281 respondents, so the ratio is directional, not precise. It quantifies how much harder consumer-product firms work the marketing lever than industrial-product firms.

2. The enterprise budget gap versus pre-pandemic norm (about 30% lower). Comparing the 2025 enterprise figure (7.7% of revenue) with the pre-pandemic four-year average (11.0%) shows current budgets sit roughly 30% below the prior norm ((11.0 – 7.7) / 11.0). Inputs: Gartner, 2025. Logic: both figures are from the same source and metric. Limitation: the pre-pandemic figure is a multi-year average and the 2025 figure is a single year, so the comparison overstates precision; it is best read as “meaningfully below,” not exactly 30%.

3. The Gartner-to-CMO-Survey spread as a sample-size signal (1.7 points in 2025). The CMO Survey’s 9.4% of revenue minus Gartner’s 7.7% gives a 1.7-point gap for the same year. Inputs: Gartner, 2025; The CMO Survey, 2025. Logic: the gap is the visible footprint of sample composition, since the broader survey includes smaller and B2C-heavy firms that spend more. Limitation: the two surveys also differ in geography (Gartner adds UK and Europe), timing, and question wording, so the gap is not a clean size-only adjustment. It is a reminder to match the benchmark to the company being measured.

Charts to build

• Marketing as percent of revenue, enterprise vs broad sample, 2023 to 2025. Data: Gartner 9.1% (2023), 7.7% (2024), 7.7% (2025); CMO Survey 7.7% (Fall 2024), 9.4% (early 2025). Source: Gartner; The CMO Survey. Insight: divergence between the two samples. Citation-worthy because it visually explains why “how much should we spend” has two right answers.
• Marketing intensity by business model. Data: B2B product 6.4%, B2B services 9.0%, B2C product 15.5%, B2C services 6.0% of revenue. Source: The CMO Survey, 2025. Insight: B2C product is the outlier. Citation-worthy as a clean peer-group reference.
• Digital share of marketing spend, 2023 to 2025. Data: 54.9%, 57.1%, 61.1%. Source: Gartner. Insight: digital crossed 60% in 2025. Citation-worthy as a milestone stat.
• Marketing intensity by company size. Data: revenue-share by employee band from The CMO Survey, 2025. Source: The CMO Survey. Insight: smaller firms spend a higher share. Citation-worthy for SMB benchmarking.
• Channel growth rates, prior 12 months. Data: digital +7.3%, overall +3.3%, traditional advertising -0.3%. Source: The CMO Survey, 2025. Insight: digital is the only growth engine. Citation-worthy for budget-shift narratives.

Inline chart: Digital share of total marketing spend (Gartner)

Source: Gartner, 2025.

Methodology

Source-selection criteria: this asset prioritizes primary survey publishers (Gartner’s official press releases and The CMO Survey’s published Highlights and Insights Report PDF) and the U.S. Small Business Administration. Secondary trade-press sources are used only to relay figures that the primary publisher stated, and are labeled as citing the primary source.

Inclusion rules: a figure is included only if it appears in a named survey edition with a stated year and population. Figures without a clear year, sample, or publisher were excluded. Advertising-only figures are kept separate from total-marketing figures because they measure different scopes.

Handling conflicts: where Gartner and The CMO Survey disagree (for example 7.7% vs 9.4% of revenue in 2025), both are reported with their sample descriptions rather than averaged, because they survey different populations. Derived figures in Original Synthesis are computed only from numbers within a single source and the formula is shown.

Limitations: survey samples are self-reported by marketing leaders, are not full-population censuses, and have modest sample sizes (Gartner n=402; The CMO Survey n=281). Segment and size subsamples are smaller still and should be read as directional. Gartner adds UK and European respondents while The CMO Survey is U.S.-only. Date of last update: 2026-06-29.

Source Quality

Tier 1 (primary, official bodies, academic-affiliated): The CMO Survey (Deloitte, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and the American Marketing Association), Highlights and Insights Report, 2025; U.S. Small Business Administration.

Tier 2 (credible market research firm, primary publisher): Gartner CMO Spend Survey official press releases, 2024 and 2025.

Tier 3 (reputable trade journalism relaying primary figures): Demand Gen Report, used only to relay Gartner-stated figures.

Most Quotable Statistics

• “Enterprise marketing budgets averaged 7.7% of revenue in 2025, flat from 2024.” Source: Gartner, 2025.
• “B2C product companies spend 15.5% of revenue on marketing, more than double B2B product companies at 6.4%.” Source: The CMO Survey, 2025.
• “Digital channels reached 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, the highest since 2013.” Source: Gartner, 2025.
• “Enterprise marketing budgets were 11.0% of revenue before the pandemic but 8.2% after.” Source: Gartner, 2025.
• “The average U.S. business spends 1.08% of revenue on advertising.” Source: U.S. SBA.

Data Limitations

The two flagship surveys are not interchangeable; Gartner samples enterprises (median revenue above $1 billion) while The CMO Survey samples a broader U.S. mix, which produces different headline averages for the same year. All figures are self-reported by marketing leaders. Subsample readings (by business model and company size) come from small cell sizes and can swing between editions, so they should be treated as directional. Advertising-share figures from the SBA measure a narrower category than total marketing and must not be compared directly with total-marketing percentages.

Recommended Dataset Fields

For a downloadable CSV, recommended fields: source_publisher; survey_edition_year; metric_name (e.g., marketing_pct_of_revenue, marketing_pct_of_company_budget, digital_share_of_spend, paid_media_pct_of_budget); value_percent; segment_type (overall, business_model, company_size, industry); segment_value (e.g., B2B_product, under_50_employees); geography; sample_size_n; field_dates; population_description; source_url; notes_flags.

Press Summary

How much do companies spend on marketing? Public data from 2025 gives two defensible answers depending on company size. Among large enterprises, the Gartner 2025 CMO Spend Survey found marketing budgets flat at 7.7% of company revenue, still about 3 points below the pre-pandemic norm of 11.0%. Across a broader U.S. sample, The CMO Survey, sponsored by Deloitte, Duke’s Fuqua School, and the American Marketing Association, reported a higher 9.4% of revenue, rebounding from 7.7% in late 2024. Business model drives the widest variation: B2C product companies spend 15.5% of revenue versus 6.4% for B2B product firms. Digital channels reached 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, the highest share Gartner has recorded since 2013, while traditional advertising stayed in negative growth. Smaller firms consistently spend a higher share of revenue than the largest enterprises. For more research, see CO Consulting.

Suggested Headlines

• Marketing Budgets in 2025: Why “7.7%” and “9.4%” of Revenue Are Both Correct
• B2C Brands Spend 2.4x More of Revenue on Marketing Than B2B
• Digital Crosses 60% of Marketing Spend for the First Time Since 2013
• The “Era of Less”: Enterprise Marketing Budgets Still Below Pre-Pandemic Norms
• How Much Should You Spend on Marketing? It Depends on Your Size and Model

FAQ

What percent of revenue do companies spend on marketing? Among large enterprises, 7.7% of revenue in 2025, flat from 2024 (Gartner, 2025). Across a broader U.S. sample, 9.4% of revenue in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025).

Why do the two main surveys report different numbers? Gartner samples enterprises with median revenue above $1 billion, while The CMO Survey samples a broader mix including smaller and B2C-heavy firms that spend a higher share, producing a 1.7-point gap in 2025 (Gartner, 2025; The CMO Survey, 2025).

How much do B2B companies spend on marketing? B2B product companies spent 6.4% of revenue and B2B services 9.0% in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025).

How much do B2C companies spend on marketing? B2C product companies spent 15.5% of revenue and B2C services 6.0% in early 2025 (The CMO Survey, 2025).

What share of marketing budgets goes to digital? Digital channels reached 61.1% of total marketing spend in 2025, up from 57.1% in 2024 and 54.9% in 2023 (Gartner, 2025).

What percent of marketing budget is paid media? Paid media was 30.6% of the marketing budget and 2.4% of company revenue in 2025 among enterprises (Gartner, 2025).

How much should a small business spend on marketing? Benchmarks vary widely; the SBA cites that the average business spends 1.08% of revenue on advertising specifically, and broader-sample total-marketing figures run higher for smaller firms (U.S. SBA; The CMO Survey, 2025).

Are marketing budgets growing or shrinking? Enterprise budgets held flat at 7.7% of revenue in 2025 (Gartner, 2025), while the broader CMO Survey reported overall marketing spending up 3.3% over the prior 12 months (The CMO Survey, 2025).

What share of marketing goes to social media? Social media spending was 11.3% of marketing budgets in early 2025, down from 12.1% in Fall 2024 (The CMO Survey, 2025).

How do current budgets compare to before the pandemic? Enterprise marketing budgets averaged 11.0% of revenue in the four pre-pandemic years versus 8.2% in the four years after (Gartner, 2025).

CO Consulting publishes data-driven growth research. If your team is benchmarking marketing spend against the right peer group, you can book a consultation.