See how your app install costs compare. Explore mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform
August 2025 - August 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
The main story: Cost Per App Install (CPI) for Hardware and Networking across All countries available tracked a low, steady baseline through late 2025 before punctuated spikes in early 2026 and an extreme surge in July 2026. This series is skewed by a single large outlier but otherwise shows month-to-month swings that signal episodic cost pressure. “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 Hardware and Networking in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Starting value in July 2025 was about $9.95 per install; by July 2026 it reached roughly $96.91 — an increase of roughly 875% from the opening month. Across the full 13-month series the mean CPI was about $21.8 while the median was near $14.9, illustrating a right-skew driven by a few large months. The low point was December 2025 at $9.36; the secondary peak occurred in February 2026 at $30.13 before the extreme jump in July 2026. Month-over-month moves were often sizable: common rises of 20–30% occurred in late 2025 (July→August +26%; August→September +25%), a sharp February uplift (+135% vs January), and a dramatic July surge (+~557% vs June). The median absolute monthly change hovered around ~26%, but average absolute change is inflated by the July outlier.
The cadence reads like two regimes: a relatively calm second half of 2025 with gradual lift into autumn, then episodic volatility in the first half of 2026. December registered the series low, followed by a rebound in January, an acute spike in February, and a reversion in March. April–June settled back into mid-teens per install, before the large July departure. In practical terms this looks like a baseline mid-range CPI (~$14–$20) punctuated by short-lived surges (Feb and Jul) that dominate the annual average.
Because this series is the aggregated “All countries available” view for Hardware and Networking, it serves as the global benchmark for this metric in this industry rather than a single country comparison. Compared to broader Facebook Ads benchmarks (where CPC trends, CPM analysis and CTR performance often show milder seasonality), this CPI series is more volatile — median costs sit below the mean, signaling that occasional high-cost months push the average up. Industry ad performance for Hardware and Networking shows clear month-to-month swings in country-specific ad costs when aggregated globally, with the widest gap between calm months and peak months exceeding several hundred percent.
Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks for Hardware and Networking in All countries available gives a clear picture of skewed averages, periodic spikes, and the seasonal rhythm behind global CPI trends — a useful reference when reading Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, and broader country-specific ad costs for industry ad performance.
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 Hardware and Networking 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:
Average cost per click benchmarks across industries
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