See how your app install costs compare. Explore mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
The Entertainment category’s cost per app install ran hot and choppy across all countries, consistently pricier and far more volatile than the global benchmark. The year opened with sharp swings—an abrupt drop into December 2024, a January surge, then a February trough—before a dramatic spike in April 2025 and a gradual cool-down into Q4. Despite that late-year easing, Entertainment still finished the period well above market levels most months, with only brief moments of parity or discount.
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 Entertainment in all countries compared to the global benchmark.
The category shows pronounced seasonality with outsized swings around year-end and early Q2. After a soft December, costs surged in January, collapsed in February, then vaulted into March and culminated in an April spike. Summer softened progressively, bottoming in August before a September rebound. Q4 2025 settled into the mid-20s. By contrast, the global series tracked a more typical rhythm: a January trough, a steady lift into a June peak, and a moderate late-year range.
Entertainment sat above the global benchmark in 10 of 13 months. The gap briefly narrowed in December 2024 (near parity at −1%) and turned negative in February (−70%) and August (−23%). Elsewhere, the category carried a consistent premium: +35% in June, +61% in October, and +49% in November 2025. The widest gaps appeared in January 2025 (+707%) and April 2025 (+652%) when Entertainment costs spiked. While the global benchmark ended roughly flat versus November 2024 (−2%), Entertainment’s start-to-end slide (−50%) reflects a normalization from extreme early-year highs rather than broad-based softness.
In short, Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install show the Entertainment industry across all countries running materially above the global average and exhibiting far greater month-to-month volatility. Understanding this cost profile—its April spike, summer softness, and late-year normalization—helps frame industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs relative to broader CPM analysis, CPC trends, and CTR performance patterns worldwide.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Facebook advertising costs vary based on many factors including industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objectives. In the Entertainment industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs based on market competition and user engagement in different regions. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
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 showing app benefits, UGC-style content, and localized messaging tend to perform best. Clear CTAs and fast-paced visuals help lower your CPI.
Optimizing for installs gets volume, but optimizing for actions like signups or purchases brings higher quality users. It depends on your goals and how much post-install behavior matters.
Align your creative with the app experience, avoid misleading ads, and exclude users who already installed. You can also test lookalike audiences based on high-quality users, not just all installers.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
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Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
Average cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
See how much it costs to get users to install an app