Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Arts

Introduction

Across 2025 to date, the Arts category shows a low-cost, mostly steady path for cost per app install, punctuated by one dramatic spike. Compared to the global Facebook Ads benchmarks, Arts runs materially cheaper in most months and is less volatile, with a brief April surge that temporarily pushed costs above the market before returning to normal levels. Seasonal momentum appears typical—softer in late Q1, firmer into late summer—yet the amplitude of those moves is muted versus the global baseline.

This analysis is based on $3B worth of advertising data from our dataset, which provides strong directional benchmarks. This analysis explores ad performance trends for Arts in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

From January to October 2025, median cost per app install in Arts started at 2.67 and finished at 3.90, a 46% lift across the period. The average over these ten months was 4.29, with a low of 1.34 in March and a singular high of 15.47 in April. Excluding that April anomaly, the average settles at 3.05, underscoring a typical band between roughly 3.0 and 3.9.

Month-to-month movement was generally modest outside the spike: average absolute change was 3.26 points including April, but just 0.43 when April’s in-and-out swings are removed. The largest moves were March to April (+14.13) and April to May (−12.21). After costs normalized in May (3.26), they climbed gradually to October (3.90), adding roughly 20% over five months.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

• Q1 softness: Costs eased into a trough in March (1.34), consistent with lighter early-year competition often seen in app acquisition markets.
• April break: A one-month surge to 15.47 stands out against the otherwise stable rhythm.
• Post-spike stabilization: May to October marked a controlled, stepwise rise from 3.26 to 3.90, with small increments in July (+0.31), August (+0.36), and September (+0.19).

This creates a seasonality profile that is recognizable but restrained: a Q1 dip, a brief Q2 disruption, and then a gentle ascent through late summer into early Q4.

Country vs. Global

Against the global benchmark (all industries, all countries), Arts’ cost per app install was markedly below average across most months:

• Arts averaged 4.29 vs. the global 13.62 (Jan–Oct), about 69% lower. Removing April, the gap widened to roughly 78% below market.
• Only April ran above market: Arts at 15.47 vs. 13.51 (+15%).
• The widest gap appeared in June, when Arts (3.20) trailed the global level (23.76) by about 87%.
• Relative underperformance otherwise held in a −62% to −78% range, with January the narrowest below-market month (−62%).

Volatility was also different: the global series averaged a 4.78-point absolute monthly change, far choppier than Arts’ typical 0.43-point cadence (excluding April). The market’s midyear peak (June) and sustained higher Q3–Q4 levels contrasted with Arts’ steadier, low-cost track.

Closing

In short, Facebook Ads cost-per-app-install benchmarks for the Arts industry across all countries show a low, steady cost structure with one April spike, a soft March, and a modest rise into October—consistently below the global benchmark in both level and volatility. Understanding cost per app install trends for Arts across all countries helps marketers gauge how category dynamics diverge from broader, higher-cost global patterns. While CPC trends and CPM analysis often frame budget conversations, this CPI-focused view highlights how industry ad performance in Arts compares to the global baseline for app install efficiency.