Compare mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
The headline: E-commerce cost-per-app-install (CPI) in All countries available started the period well below the global benchmark, then fractured into extreme volatility with multiple mega-spikes that pushed its average far above the baseline. 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 in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
E-commerce CPI began July 2025 at $2.64 and finished April 2026 at $1,572.24 — a story of deep troughs and sudden surges. Across the ten-month sample the E-commerce series averaged roughly $1,319 per install, driven by three outsized peaks: December 2025 ($7,597), March 2026 ($2,900) and April 2026 ($1,572). The low point was $2.64 (July 2025), and the median-like behavior before the spikes sat under $20 for several months. By contrast, the global baseline over the same months averaged about $15.78 per install (monthly baseline medians ranged roughly $9.36–$30.13).
Magnitude and volatility stand out: month-to-month swings in the E-commerce series reached more than +43,000% (November→December) and +32,600% (February→March). Absolute month-to-month moves averaged about $2,156, versus about $5.6 average monthly change in the global baseline — a gap of roughly three orders of magnitude. In simple relative terms, the E-commerce average was about 84× the global median for this window, but that multiple is driven almost entirely by a handful of extreme months.
Early-season rhythm (July–October 2025) showed consistently low CPIs — a gentle lift from $2.64 to $4.97 — a pattern of below-average costs. November brought the first meaningful uptick to $17.58, then an abrupt and anomalous December spike to $7,597. January 2026 retraced substantially to $1,076, February dropped back under $9, then March and April saw renewed, large elevations. The cadence is irregular: quiet early months, an enormous December outlier, partial normalization in late winter, then another high-cost spell in spring.
These monthly dynamics contrast with typical seasonal behavior seen in many ad markets, where costs often rise into Q4 and stabilize in Q1; here the Q4–Q1 transition is punctuated by extreme, non-linear moves rather than a smooth seasonal curve.
Across the window, E-commerce CPIs in All countries available oscillated between being materially below and dramatically above the global benchmark. For July–October and February the series was below global medians (e.g., $2.64 vs $9.95 in July), while November, December, January, March and April were above baseline (December’s $7,597 vs baseline $9.36 is an extreme outlier). The global trend showed moderate month-to-month variability (average monthly change ≈ $5.6), whereas E-commerce performed far more volatile and episodic — “more volatile” in both absolute dollars and percentage change.
Understanding Cost Per App Install, Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, CTR performance, country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance for E-commerce in All countries available highlights how a small number of outlier months can reshape averages and interpretation of performance.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Facebook advertising costs vary by industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objective. In the E-commerce industry, Facebook ad costs can be variable, with peaks during holiday seasons and in competitive product categories. Geographic targeting affects ad costs through regional competition and user engagement. Campaign objectives affect costs because Facebook optimizes delivery for different goals. The data shows median values across multiple campaigns. Results can vary with ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
A small share of campaigns has extremely high CPI values. Those outliers can inflate an average. The median is the midpoint across campaigns, so it better represents a typical result.
The data shows industry median benchmarks. Costs can vary with targeting, creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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The dataset includes over $3B in Facebook ad spend from thousands of ad accounts that use Superads to analyze and improve campaigns. Every data point is anonymized and aggregated. It does not expose an individual advertiser.
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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 that show app benefits, UGC-style content, and localized messaging tend to perform best. Clear CTAs and fast-paced visuals can lower CPI.
Optimizing for installs increases volume. Optimizing for actions such as signups or purchases brings higher-quality users. Choose based on your goals and the importance of post-install behavior.
Align creative with the app experience, avoid misleading ads, and exclude people who already installed. Test lookalike audiences based on high-quality users rather than all installers.
Compare cost benchmarks for Facebook advertising metrics.
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