LinkedIn document ads made a lead for $142. Image ads $200, video $265.
Documents turned 11.9% of LinkedIn clicks into leads. Across all measured channels, image ads on lead-gen campaigns sourced 7.6x of pipeline per $1 and video 1.6x.
153 advertisers, $57.6M of 2025 spend, CRM pipeline for 90 of them
What to do with it
Test a document ad built from an existing gated asset alongside your current image ad.
Use the same audience and offer. Compare cost per lead and lead quality, with enough budget and time to inform your decision.
That lead cost predicts pipeline. The broader pipeline figures do not establish a LinkedIn-specific causal advantage or show that video cannot generate pipeline.
The numbers
| LinkedIn format | Cost per lead |
|---|---|
| Document ad | $142 |
| Image ad | $200 |
| Video ad | $265 |
| Conversation ad | $362 |
The full study covers 153 advertisers and $57.6M of 2025 spend, with CRM pipeline for 90 advertisers. This table shows LinkedIn CPL. The pipeline figures above cover all measured channels and reflect opportunity value credited to an ad-generated lead.