Compare mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
Marketplaces experienced a year of extreme swings in cost-per-app-install (CPI) relative to the overall market. On average the Marketplaces CPI ran well above the global benchmark, but the series finished the year near rock-bottom after a dramatic late-stage collapse. 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 in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
The Marketplaces CPI began in July 2025 at about 54.49 and ended in June 2026 at roughly 1.86 — a net decline of roughly 96.6%. Across the 12 months the median Marketplaces CPI averaged about 57.6, with a high of 146.37 in April 2026 and a low of 1.79 in May 2026. By contrast the global (baseline) median averaged about 15.6 over the same window.
Monthly movements were large and frequent. The series saw notable spikes into October 2025 (~84.8) and February 2026 (~101.7) before peaking in April 2026 at ~146.4. That peak was followed by an abrupt plunge into May (1.79) — the biggest single-month swing in the year. Ten of 12 months the Marketplaces CPI sat above the global benchmark; May and June were the exceptions, falling to roughly 12–13 percentage points below the baseline.
Volatility was striking: average absolute month-to-month change for Marketplaces was about 45.5 CPI points, versus roughly 5.1 points for the global baseline — nearly nine times more variable. Those swings amplified the distance from the benchmark, with Marketplace peaks running up to 7–8x the baseline (April vs. baseline ~19.46) while the troughs were roughly 80–90% below baseline (May/June vs. baseline ~14–15).
The series shows episodic momentum rather than a smooth seasonal pattern. Late Q3 into Q4 2025 saw a rise (July→Oct), then a softening in November and another run-up into early 2026. The early-year window included a sharp move higher in February and the strongest peak in April, followed immediately by a collapse in May and stability at a very low level in June. Compared with typical CPM analysis or CPC trends that show steadier Q4 competition and Q1 troughs, Marketplaces’ CPI in this sample behaved more punctuated — periods of intense cost pressure followed by abrupt decompression.
Measured against the global baseline, Marketplaces CPI was largely above average across most months: the Marketplaces median was about 3.7x the baseline average overall. At its narrowest gap the Marketplaces CPI still exceeded the baseline by several multiples; at its widest (April) it was roughly 7.5x higher. Conversely, the May–June collapse flipped the narrative: Marketplaces went from being well above the market to being markedly below average, illustrating the unusual dispersion in country-specific ad costs when aggregating across All countries available.
Understanding cost-per-app-install benchmarks for Marketplaces in All countries available provides a data-rich view of how industry ad performance can diverge from Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance expectations across country-specific ad costs.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Facebook advertising costs vary by industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objective. In the Marketplaces industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs through regional competition and user engagement. Campaign objectives affect costs because Facebook optimizes delivery for different goals. The data shows median values across multiple campaigns. Results can vary with ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
A small share of campaigns has extremely high CPI values. Those outliers can inflate an average. The median is the midpoint across campaigns, so it better represents a typical result.
The data shows industry median benchmarks. Costs can vary with targeting, creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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The dataset includes over $3B in Facebook ad spend from thousands of ad accounts that use Superads to analyze and improve campaigns. Every data point is anonymized and aggregated. It does not expose an individual advertiser.
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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 that show app benefits, UGC-style content, and localized messaging tend to perform best. Clear CTAs and fast-paced visuals can lower CPI.
Optimizing for installs increases volume. Optimizing for actions such as signups or purchases brings higher-quality users. Choose based on your goals and the importance of post-install behavior.
Align creative with the app experience, avoid misleading ads, and exclude people who already installed. Test lookalike audiences based on high-quality users rather than all installers.
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