Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks in India

Introduction

India’s cost-per-app-install (CPI) profile in 2025 reads as a tale of two markets: ten months of exceptionally low costs punctuated by two above-market spikes in January and June. Across all industries in India, CPI typically sat well below the global benchmark, settling into a sub-1.00 range from March onward, with a single, dramatic surge mid-year. Globally, CPI climbed into mid-year peaks and held elevated through Q4—India largely decoupled from that rhythm after June, returning to ultra-low acquisition costs. 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 all industries in India compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

India opened at 9.05 in January and closed the year at 0.34 in December, a 96% decline end-to-end. The annual high arrived in June at 30.41, followed by the annual low in August at 0.20. Despite the June spike, nine of twelve months landed under 1.00, and seven months were below 0.50.

Average CPI for India was 4.00 across the year; however, that figure is skewed by January, February (4.75), and the June surge. Excluding those three months, India’s “typical” CPI averaged 0.41. The mid-year surge was the clear outlier: CPI jumped from 0.37 in May to 30.41 in June (+8,200%), then fell back to 0.71 in July (−98%). Late Q3 and Q4 were steady: August through November averaged 0.38, with narrow month-to-month movements.

Volatility in India averaged a 6.33-point absolute change per month, driven by the May–June and June–July swings. Removing those two transitions, average monthly movement drops to 1.10; excluding the early-year reset as well, typical month-to-month drift was roughly 0.19.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Q1 softened quickly: from 9.05 in January to 0.49 by March. Q2 began ultra-low in April and May before the June spike, which aligned with typical global mid-year competition. Q3 marked a reset, with CPI sliding from 0.71 in July to 0.20 in August and stabilizing through September. Q4 nudged slightly higher—0.53 in October, 0.49 in November, 0.34 in December—still far below early-year levels and below the global backdrop, which remained elevated into late fall before easing in December.

India vs. Global

On average, India’s CPI (4.00) was about 70% below the global benchmark (13.43). India ran below market in 10 of 12 months; only January (+27% vs. global) and June (+28%) sat above the worldwide median. The narrowest below-market gap came in February (−59% vs. global), while the widest occurred in August (about −99%). Directionally, the global line rose from 7.10 in January to 10.43 in December (+47%), while India fell from 9.05 to 0.34 (−96%). Global volatility averaged a 4.46-point absolute monthly change—lower than India’s headline 6.33, though India’s typical months were notably steadier once the mid-year dislocation passed.

Closing

These Facebook Ads benchmarks show that cost-per-app-install for all industries in India was consistently lower than the global baseline, with a brief mid-year surge and otherwise subdued, stable acquisition costs. Understanding CPI trends for all industries in India helps marketers gauge country-specific ad costs and compare industry ad performance to global patterns.