Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Design

Introduction

Cost-per-app-install (CPI) for the Design category showed a choppy, high-variance year when viewed against the available global benchmark. There are clear bursts of upward pressure and several low-cost troughs; overall the series trends modestly lower from the start to the end of the window but with a dramatic mid-period spike. 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 Design in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Across the 13-month series (June 2025–June 2026) the mean Cost Per App Install was about $15.54, with a median of roughly $14.86. Values ranged from a low of $9.35 in December 2025 to a peak of $30.13 in February 2026. The series opened at $18.36 in June 2025 and closed at $11.65 in June 2026 — a net decline of approximately 36.5% from start to finish.

Notable single-month moves define the narrative: CPI plunged nearly 46% from June to July 2025, then staged a steady climb into autumn. The most pronounced burst arrived in February 2026 when CPI jumped roughly 135% month-over-month (January $12.83 → February $30.13). That spike was followed by a sharp correction in March (down ~45%), leaving a pattern of abrupt shocks rather than a smooth trend. Aside from February, secondary highs appeared in April (about $19.33) and June 2025 ($18.36); secondary lows were July 2025 (~$9.95) and December 2025 (~$9.35).

Average month-to-month absolute percent movement was large — about 35.5% — signaling elevated volatility in Design app-install pricing relative to what many marketers expect from steadier CPM or CPC series.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonal rhythm is visible: the winter period (December) produced one of the lowest CPIs in the window (~$9.35), while late Q4 into early Q1 showed a rebound into January before the February peak. Summer showed mixed behavior with June 2025 on the higher side and July dipping near the yearly low. Overall, Q4 softness around December and a pronounced early-Q1 disruption around February characterize the series: a low-cost trough into year-end, a rebound to January, then an outsized spike in February and a reversion through spring.

Country vs. Global

Selected data for Design in All countries available is represented here by the global baseline series. Compared to the general expectations in broader Facebook Ads benchmarks, Design’s CPI in this window displayed more pronounced spikes and declines — higher intra-year volatility and a wider amplitude between low and high months. The peak in February (≈$30) was roughly twice the annual mean, while trough months (≈$9–10) sat near 60% of the mean, producing a wide above/below market swing within the year.

Closing summary: Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install benchmarks for the Design industry across All countries available reveal an average CPI near $15.54, strong month-to-month volatility (~35.5% average absolute move), and a pronounced February 2026 spike that dominates the year’s story. Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks for the Design industry in All countries available helps contextualize country-specific ad costs and broader industry ad performance and CPM analysis trends.