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August 2025 - August 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Canada’s cost-per-app-install (CPI) profile tells a story of sharp swings and intermittent spikes that leave it meaningfully above the global baseline across the 12‑month window. 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 All industries in Canada compared to the global benchmark.
Across July 2025–June 2026 the median Cost Per App Install in Canada averaged about $22.70, starting at $8.36 in July 2025 and finishing at $2.86 in June 2026 — a net decline of roughly 66% from start to finish. The Canadian series hit a high of $51.04 in August 2025 and a low of $2.86 in June 2026. By contrast, the global baseline for the same months averaged about $15.58, with its peak near $30.13 (February 2026) and a trough around $9.36 (December 2025).
Month-to-month movements in Canada were large: the average absolute monthly swing was roughly $20.5, reflecting very pronounced volatility. Notable single-month momentum moves include the sharp lift into August 2025 (+~$42.7 from July), a deep pullback into September and October, a second spike in November 2025 (~$41.85), and a late‑cycle plunge into June 2026 (down ~$25 from May). These patterns produced a year where highs regularly outpaced global peaks, but lows dipped well below the baseline.
Seasonality appears irregular rather than textbook: Canada experienced a summer surge in August, a fall rebound in November, a winter uptick around February, and a dramatic collapse into June. The series shows alternating periods of strong lift and steep decline rather than a steady seasonal ramp into Q4 or a single Q1 trough. Volatility concentrated around late summer and late spring months, with the largest month-to-month increases and decreases clustered in August, November and the May→June transition.
Relative to the global benchmark, Canada was more volatile and generally higher-cost. Over the year Canada’s average CPI exceeded the global median by about 46%. Canada lagged the baseline in four months (July, October, March, June) and exceeded it in eight months. The narrowest gap occurred in February 2026, when Canadian CPI was only ~5% above the global rate; the widest divergence was in August 2025, when Canada ran roughly 309% higher than the global median. Measured another way, monthly absolute volatility in Canada (~$20.5) was roughly four times the baseline’s average monthly move (~$5.1), indicating a market with pronounced swings in country-specific ad costs.
Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks and broader Facebook Ads benchmarks in the context of CPC trends, CPM analysis, CTR performance and country-specific ad costs provides a clearer picture of industry ad performance — here, specifically for All industries in Canada.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Facebook advertising costs vary based on many factors including industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objectives. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting Canada, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
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Late November (Black Friday and Cyber Monday), December (holiday shopping, Boxing Day), Back-to-school (August-September), Mother's Day (May)
CPM might increase during Canada Day, Labour Day, and Thanksgiving. Black Friday and Cyber Monday see heightened e‑commerce bidding. December holiday period may spike ad costs. Back-to-school and Mother's Day drive retail competition. Provincial holidays might alter weekday inventory availability.
iOS CPIs often range from $2 to $5 or more. Android is usually cheaper, between $1 and $3. Your CPI will depend on geo, creative, and optimization goal.
Some regions like the US, UK, and Canada have higher competition and stricter privacy regulations, which drive up costs. Countries with lower purchasing power typically have cheaper CPIs.
Short videos showing app benefits, UGC-style content, and localized messaging tend to perform best. Clear CTAs and fast-paced visuals help lower your CPI.
Optimizing for installs gets volume, but optimizing for actions like signups or purchases brings higher quality users. It depends on your goals and how much post-install behavior matters.
Align your creative with the app experience, avoid misleading ads, and exclude users who already installed. You can also test lookalike audiences based on high-quality users, not just all installers.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
Average cost per click benchmarks across industries
Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
Average cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
See how much it costs to get users to install an app