Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Media

Introduction

Across all countries, the Media industry’s cost per app install (CPI) shows a dramatic, stop‑start rhythm against the global Facebook Ads benchmarks. The year opens with an extreme spike, whipsaws lower in February, surges again through March–April, and then cools sharply by July. On the same months, the global benchmark is steadier, climbing gradually into midyear and holding in a tight, mid‑teens band. Volatility is the headline: a wide range and abrupt month‑to‑month swings define Media’s CPI across all countries.

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 Media in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

For the Media industry across all countries, CPI begins at 411.04 in January, collapses to 7.17 in February (−98%), rebounds to 154.56 in March, eases slightly to 149.18 in April (−3.5%), and falls to 6.96 by July (−95%). Over the observed months (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jul), the average CPI is 145.78 with a wide range from 6.96 to 411.04, a span of 404 points. Month‑to‑month movement averaged 175 points in absolute terms, underscoring unusually sharp swings.

The first quarter is especially elevated: Q1 averages 190.92, buoyed by January’s outlier and March’s surge. Even excluding January, the February–April–July average still lands at 79.47, reflecting a persistently expensive spring before a mid‑year cooldown.

On the same months, the global benchmark averages 10.38. Month by month, the Media CPI was 58x the global level in January, 38% below in February, 17x higher in March, 11x higher in April, and 35% below in July.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Viewing the rhythm, Media’s CPI across all countries is characterized by:

• A severe January spike, followed by a February trough.
• A spring re‑acceleration, with March the highest point outside January and April holding near that plateau.
• A mid‑year soft patch by July, where costs dip below the global median.

By comparison, the global benchmark shows familiar seasonality: softer levels in early Q1 (7.07 in January, 8.91 in March), a climb into Q2 with a June high (23.76), and mid‑teens through much of Q3–Q4 before easing in December (9.32). Data for the Media series is available for January–April and July; within that window, the Media pattern diverges from the global cadence—elevated in spring, yet uncharacteristically soft by midsummer.

Country vs. Global

Across the observed months, Media’s CPI across all countries averaged roughly 14x the global benchmark (+1,300%). The global series rose steadily from January to July (+52%), while the Media series, dominated by the January spike, moved net lower (−98%). The gap was widest in January (about 58x above market) and narrowest in July, when Media costs fell 35% below the benchmark. Volatility was also far higher in Media: average month‑to‑month absolute changes of 175 points versus just 3.66 points in the global benchmark across the same intervals.

Closing

In short, Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install in the Media industry across all countries reveal a year marked by intense volatility: an extraordinary January peak, a springtime surge, and a July cooldown that dips below market levels. While CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance often frame country‑specific ad costs, this CPI view shows how industry ad performance in Media can diverge sharply from the global pattern—even when aggregated across all countries.