Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for E-commerce

Introduction

The E-commerce market globally spent most of the year running below the all‑industry benchmark on Cost per App Install (CPI), before a dramatic cost shock in May reset the curve. From a frugal Q1 in the $6 range to a brief $47 spike, E-commerce then normalized into the mid‑teens and closed the year near $10—ultimately averaging slightly above the market but with far sharper swings. 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 E-commerce across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

E-commerce CPI started at $6.03 in January and ended at $10.40 in December, a 73% lift across the year. The average for the period was $14.54, with a low in January ($6.03) and a pronounced high in May ($47.25). Month to month, the narrative moved gradually at first—February (+1%) and March (+9%)—then accelerated in April (+44%) and surged in May (+394%). Costs retraced immediately in June (−72%) and cooled further in July (−28%) before firming in August (+92%). The late-year path was a controlled ease from September ($17.29) to October ($15.71), November ($14.31), and finally December ($10.40).

Volatility was a defining trait. The average absolute month-over-month change for E-commerce was roughly 63%, nearly double the market’s 36%. The range was also wider: a $41 spread for E-commerce (January to May) versus $16.68 for the benchmark (January to June).

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The year opened unusually soft for E-commerce installs, with Q1 clustering tightly between $6.03 and $6.64. Late spring broke that rhythm: April signaled pressure at $9.56, then May produced an outsized peak at $47.25—an isolated spike not mirrored in adjacent months. After a June reset to $13.25 and a July dip to $9.58, costs stabilized in a higher band through late summer and early autumn ($15–18 from August to October). Into Q4, pricing converged toward the market and then eased into December, ending well below the late‑summer plateau.

Country vs. Global

Against the all‑industry global baseline (average $13.37), E-commerce installs averaged 9% higher for the year. Yet that headline masks the distribution: E-commerce ran cheaper in 8 of 12 months and more expensive in only 4, with May doing most of the heavy lifting. In Q1, E-commerce trailed the market by 15–48% each month (e.g., February at $6.07 vs. $11.63, −48%). The gap flipped in May (+283% vs. the market’s $12.32) and again in late summer and December (+7–15% from August, September, and December). The tightest alignment came in November (just 2% below market) and October (4% below). Excluding the May spike, E-commerce’s average falls to about $11.56—roughly 14% below the all‑industry benchmark—highlighting how a single month reshaped the annual picture.

Trend-wise, both lines ended above their starts, but with different cadences: the market climbed 32% from January to December, while E-commerce rose 73% with a choppier profile concentrated around May and late summer.

Closing

Taken together, these Facebook Ads benchmarks show a global E-commerce CPI that spent much of the year below the all‑industry baseline, punctuated by a singular May surge and a late‑year convergence. While this readout focuses on CPI, it complements broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, CTR performance, and country-specific ad costs. Understanding Cost per App Install benchmarks for the E-commerce industry across all countries helps teams evaluate performance patterns against global norms and interpret volatility within the broader market context.