Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Arts

Introduction

The Arts category posted one of the year’s most affordable Cost per App Install (CPI) profiles, running far below the global benchmark with a single dramatic spike in April. From January to October 2025, Arts CPI averaged $4.29, versus a $15.95 global average for the same period — roughly 73% lower. Nine of ten months stayed under $4, with March setting the floor at $1.34 and April surging to $15.47 before quickly resetting. The shape of the year is clear: a low-cost Q1, an April anomaly, then a gradual lift through Q3 into early Q4, still well below market.

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 the Arts industry across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Arts CPI opened at $2.67 in January, dipped to $1.34 in March, then spiked to $15.47 in April. From May through October, costs settled into a narrow $3.04–$3.90 band, ending October at $3.90 — up 46% from January but still a fraction of the global level. Across the 10 months observed, Arts CPI averaged $4.29; excluding the April surge, the average was $3.05.

Volatility tells the same story. Average month-to-month change came in at 3.26 points, but that was driven almost entirely by the April whipsaw (March→April +14.13; April→May −12.21). Remove those two moves and Arts CPI moved just 0.42 points on average month to month — remarkably steady against broader Facebook Ads benchmarks.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

• Q1 softness: January–March averaged $2.32, with March marking the year’s low.
• Q2 anomaly: April stood out as a one-month spike to $15.47; May–June normalized at ~$3.23.
• Q3 firmness: July–September ticked up from $3.04 to $3.72, a gentle, orderly climb.
• Early Q4: October edged higher to $3.90, still below $4 and far beneath typical Q4 pressures seen in broader CPM analysis.

This rhythm reflects a light-cost environment for Arts app installs, punctuated by a single outlier before returning to a stable range.

Arts vs. Global benchmark

Relative performance stayed consistently “below market.” Across January–October:

• Arts CPI averaged $4.29 vs. $15.95 globally (−73%).
• The widest gap appeared in June, when Arts was ~89% below the global CPI ($3.20 vs. $27.90).
• The narrowest gap hit in April, when Arts briefly ran 5% above global ($15.47 vs. $14.74).
• Global costs were more volatile, with average monthly swings of 6.84 points, and a mid-year crest at $27.90 in June before cooling to $20.72 by October.

In contrast, Arts CPI stayed compact after April, with a smooth, stepwise lift from Q3 into October.

Closing

Overall, Facebook Ads cost-per-app-install benchmarks for the Arts industry across all countries show a low-cost, low-volatility year, interrupted only by an April spike and followed by a stable climb that remains far below global levels. For performance marketers tracking CPI trends, these industry ad performance patterns highlight how Arts app install costs moved through 2025 alongside global CTR performance and CPM analysis dynamics, offering a clear view of country-agnostic ad costs relative to the broader market.