Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Consulting

Introduction

The story of app install costs over the past year is one of a low-cost start, a mid-year spike, and a higher-priced finish. Median Cost Per App Install (CPI) began the period inexpensive, surged into June, then cooled into a steadier but elevated plateau. 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 Consulting across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

Section 1: The story in the data

Across the global benchmark, median CPI averaged about $13.58 from January 2025 through January 2026. The year opened at $7.10 in January 2025, climbed to $11.63 in February, eased to $8.92 in March, then lifted steadily into Q2. June marked the clear high at $23.76—more than triple January levels (+235%). A sharp correction followed: July fell to $10.77 (−55% month over month), before costs reset into a higher band through the fall.

From August through November, monthly medians ranged between $14.57 and $16.39, indicating a new equilibrium above the early-year trough. December dipped to $10.43—one of the softer months of the back half—before a notable January rebound to $15.39 in 2026. Over the full period, the low was January 2025 ($7.10) and the high was June 2025 ($23.76), a range of roughly $16.66.

Volatility was non-trivial: the average absolute month-to-month move was about $4.50, equal to roughly 33% of the overall mean. The most pronounced swings clustered around the June peak and July correction; by late Q3 into early Q4, changes narrowed to sub-$2 moves for several months, signaling a steadier auction environment.

Section 2: Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonally, costs were softer in Q1 (average ~$9.22), escalated into Q2 (average ~$16.53) with the June spike, and then settled into a consistent Q3/Q4 cadence (Q3 average ~$14.18; Q4 average ~$13.80). October held near the upper end of the plateau at $16.39, November eased to $14.57, and December pulled back to $10.43 before a January lift to $15.39. This rhythm aligns with familiar platform dynamics: early-year efficiency, mid-year pressure and experimentation, and late-year competition with a year-end dip.

Section 3: Country vs. Global

Because this view aggregates Consulting across all countries, it should be read alongside the global benchmark shown above. The time series available here reflects the global median CPI levels; a separate Consulting-only series by country is not present in this slice. Directionally, the contours are clear: a +117% gain from January 2025 to January 2026 (from $7.10 to $15.39), a pronounced mid-year surge (+235% from January to June), a sharp July correction (−55%), and a steadier Q3–Q4 plateau with a December dip and January rebound. In practical terms, Consulting across all countries can be gauged against this market baseline for understanding seasonal cost pressure and volatility.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for Cost Per App Install in the Consulting industry across all countries highlights a year that moved from Q1 efficiency to a Q2 spike, then stabilized at higher levels before a late-year dip and January rebound. This CPI narrative offers a clear read on industry ad performance and complements ongoing CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance comparisons for country-specific ad costs and global context.