Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Consulting

Introduction

Cost per app install (CPI) for Consulting showed a year defined by a deep Q1 trough, a dramatic mid-year surge, and elevated late-year pricing. Because this view aggregates all countries, the Consulting series mirrors the global benchmark—there is no gap by design—so the story is about market-wide momentum and volatility rather than country-specific deviations. The standout moment came in June, when CPI nearly tripled from January’s low before easing but remaining above early-year levels through the fall.

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 in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Across the 12-month window, global CPI for Consulting averaged about $15.10 per install, starting at $15.83 in November and ending higher at $19.14 in October (+21% from start to end). The low point arrived in January at $7.13, followed by a sharp recovery into February ($12.52) and a brief soft reset in March ($8.83). The cycle’s high was June at $27.90—nearly 3.9x March and 2.9x January—before easing to $12.69 in July, then re-accelerating into August ($18.24) and September ($23.31), with October cooling to $19.14.

Volatility was pronounced. Average month-to-month absolute movement was roughly $6.23, about 41% of the annual mean. The steepest changes clustered around the summer peak: May to June jumped by $16.13, immediately followed by a $15.21 giveback in July. Five of twelve months sat above the annual average (November, June, August, September, October), underscoring a profile with more time spent below trend but with high-magnitude bursts upward.

The total range spanned $20.77—from January’s floor to June’s ceiling—equivalent to 137% of the annual average, a signal of a market that swung more than it drifted.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality was clear. Q1 was the softest stretch (average ~$9.49), marked by a January trough and choppy rebound. Early Q2 steadied (April–May in the $11–13 range) before a sudden June spike. Q3 held elevated costs (average ~$18.08), then October stepped down from September but remained materially higher than the prior year’s November–December readings. This pattern aligns with typical platform dynamics: softer engagement costs in early Q1, rising competition into mid-year, and a tendency for costs to remain elevated as the year progresses.

Country vs. Global

Because this cut aggregates all countries, Consulting CPI here is effectively the global benchmark. The trendline—+21% from November to October, a mid-year peak in June, and above-average volatility—therefore represents the market-wide pulse rather than a regional outlier. The global movement rose sharply mid-year (+291% from January to June) and then eased, finishing the period well above Q1’s baseline. In relative terms, the year was less a steady climb and more a story of pronounced swings around a rising floor.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install in the Consulting industry across all countries highlights a volatile yet upward-tilting year: low CPI in Q1, a June spike, and sustained higher pricing into Q3–Q4. While this report focuses on CPI trends, it complements broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance benchmarking for evaluating country-specific ad costs and global patterns in Consulting.