Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Marketplaces

Introduction

Marketplaces apps faced a far pricier path to installs than the broader market, yet with a clear cooling trend across the year. Cost per App Install (CPI) started high in late 2024, spiked sharply in March 2025, then slid into a mid-year trough before stabilizing at lower levels into Q4. Compared to the global benchmark, Marketplaces ran consistently above market—by wide margins early in the year—while showing notably higher volatility. 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 Marketplaces across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

Across all countries, Marketplaces CPI averaged 56.0 over the 12 months, versus a 15.1 global average—about 3.7x higher. The period opened at 95.87 in November 2024 and closed at 49.60 in October 2025, a 48% decline. The high came in March 2025 at 104.74, while the low landed in May at 23.49, marking a 78% drop from peak to trough.

Momentum was choppy. After a December dip (−27%), CPI rebounded modestly in January (+2%), fell again in February (−33%), then surged in March (+118%) before giving back ground in April (−53%) and May (−52%). A rebound arrived in June (+121%), followed by a softer July (−17%), a lighter August (−37% vs March levels), a mild September uptick (+45% vs August), and an October lift to 49.60. Average month-to-month movement was large at 24 CPI units, nearly 4x the global swing of about 6.2—evidence of a more volatile Marketplaces category.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality was pronounced. Q4 2024 and early Q1 2025 were elevated (Q4 average ~83; Q1 average ~75), reflecting a familiar pattern where competition intensifies around peak retail windows and early-year budgets recalibrate unevenly. Costs softened markedly through Q2 (average ~41) and remained comparatively contained through Q3 (average ~36), before a modest October rise. Put simply: high into winter, deep trough by late spring, steadier through summer, and a tentative Q4 lift—consistent with broader Facebook Ads benchmarks where competition and country-specific ad costs often push CPIs higher in late-year periods.

Country vs. Global

While the global benchmark rose about 21% from November to October (15.83 to 19.14), Marketplaces fell 48%, showing diverging momentum. The gap was widest in March (104.74 vs 8.83, roughly 11.9x the global level) and narrowest in August (26.74 vs 18.24, about 1.5x). From May through September, the spread compressed meaningfully (roughly 1.5–2.0x), compared with January–March where Marketplaces ran 10–12x above the global CPI. On volatility, Marketplaces moved nearly 4x more per month than the global trend, underscoring a more variable pricing environment for installs in this industry.

Closing

In summary, Cost per App Install benchmarks for Marketplaces across all countries show a high-cost, high-volatility category that eased materially from late 2024 highs, bottomed in May, and stabilized into early Q4 2025. Within Facebook Ads benchmarks, this CPI view complements CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance to contextualize industry ad performance versus the global baseline. Understanding CPI benchmarks for Marketplaces across all countries helps advertisers gauge how country-specific ad costs and global dynamics shape install pricing over the year.