Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Entertainment

Introduction

Entertainment app acquisition ran hot and highly variable across all countries, consistently pricing above the global benchmark with a few brief reprieves. The year opened elevated, plunged in February, then spiked to an April high before cooling steadily into Q4. Costs swung widely month to month, with April’s surge and February’s trough defining the year’s extremes. 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 across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Cost Per App Install (CPI) for Entertainment averaged $38.60 across 2025, with a median month of $37.94. The year started at $58.22 in January and ended at $19.42 in December—67% lower than where it began. Highs and lows were dramatic: a trough at $3.88 in February and a peak at $110.84 in April, a nearly 28x swing from low to high.

Volatility was pronounced. The average absolute month-to-month move was $27.83, far choppier than the baseline. The quickest whiplash came in Q1–Q2: January fell to February (−$54), rebounded into March (+$41), then surged into April (+$65), before giving back ground in May (−$68). After June’s $37.78, costs cooled into summer—$18.99 in July and $15.30 in August—before a September rebound to $42.01 and a step-down through Q4 ($38.09 in October, $30.47 in November, $19.42 in December).

Across halves, the pattern is clear: H1 averaged $49.83, H2 averaged $27.38—about 45% lower—signaling sustained cost compression after the April spike.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonally, Entertainment CPI showed an atypical rhythm versus the broader market. Q1 was uneven—elevated in January, soft in February, then rising in March. Q2 was the expensive quarter, dominated by April’s peak and still-elevated May–June. Summer eased markedly, with July–August forming the year’s most affordable stretch before a September bounce. Q4 trended downward month over month, ending the year at its second-lowest quarter.

This pattern fits a year shaped by promotional bursts and content cycles: a sharp April lift, a midsummer lull, a September resurgence, and a softer holiday runway.

Country vs. Global

Relative to the global Facebook Ads benchmarks (all industries across all countries), Entertainment CPI sat well above market. The global median monthly benchmark averaged $13.43 in 2025, ranging from $7.10 (January) to $23.76 (June), with modest volatility of $4.46 on average per month.

By comparison, Entertainment’s $38.60 average was roughly 2.9x the benchmark (+187%). The gap swung month to month: widest in January and April (both about 8.2x above market) and narrowest in August (near parity, ~2% below) and February (about one-third of the benchmark). Most months tracked 1.6x–5.1x above the global level, with Entertainment also distinctly more volatile—about 6x the monthly swings seen in the baseline.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install benchmarks for the Entertainment industry across all countries highlights a year defined by an April spike, a summer cooldown, and a softer Q4—priced well above global, all‑industry levels most months. For teams tracking CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance alongside country-specific ad costs, these CPI benchmarks provide a clear, data-driven reference for Entertainment industry ad performance worldwide.