Compare mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
The headline: Media’s cost-per-app-install in the pooled “All countries available” dataset largely tracked below the global benchmark for most months — until a March spike that dwarfed the market and rewrote the average. 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 available compared to the global benchmark.
From December 2025 to March 2026 the series moved from $2.90 to $2,313.63 per app install — an almost 800x increase between the first and last month. Across those four months the raw mean was about $584 per install (skewed by March) while the median was roughly $10.44, highlighting a single extreme value driving averages. Month-to-month volatility was extreme: December → January rose ~366%, January → February fell ~45%, then February → March exploded by roughly 31,300%. Excluding the March outlier, the three-month average (Dec–Feb) was about $7.93 per install, a far calmer picture than the headline mean.
Highs and lows: the low was $2.90 in December 2025, the high $2,313.63 in March 2026. Overlap with the global baseline shows a different scale: the benchmark median across the same months was about $14.72 and the mean about $17.23 — far below the March anomaly but above most Media-months before March.
The cadence reads like a compressed seasonal rhythm with an outlier. December was unusually soft, followed by a January uptick and a modest February pullback — a pattern consistent with quieter late-Q4 and early-Q1 churn. Then March became a singular event, overwhelming the prior rhythm with an order-of-magnitude cost surge. Typical seasonal language applies: performance softened in late-year months with modest early-year recovery — except for the anomalous March spike that breaks the usual pattern.
Measured against the global baseline, Media in All countries available usually sat below market levels for this window. On a median basis across Dec–Mar the Media series was about 39% below the global mean; excluding the March spike, Media’s three-month average was roughly 55% below the comparable global average. Month-level gaps varied widely: December costs were ~69% below the baseline, January roughly 5% above, February ~75% below, and March about 139x above the global March benchmark. Overall, the Media series was markedly more volatile than the global benchmark during this period.
Understanding cost-per-app-install benchmarks for Media across All countries available helps advertisers and analysts read volatility, seasonal swings, and extreme outliers in the context of Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, CTR performance, country-specific ad costs, and broader industry ad performance.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Facebook advertising costs vary by industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objective. In the Media 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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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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