See how your app install costs compare. Explore mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform
November 2024 - November 2025
Detailed observation of presented data
New Zealand’s cost per app install (CPI) told a dramatic story over the past 12 months: sharp early-year inflation, a steep mid-year reset, and a late-summer flare-up before settling back near where it started. Despite the turbulence, New Zealand’s all-industry CPI ultimately tracked almost exactly in line with the global benchmark on average. What stood out was not the level, but the volatility — big swings month to month and unusually large gaps versus the world in both directions.
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 New Zealand compared to the global benchmark.
Seasonally, New Zealand diverged from a classic holiday-to-Q1 pattern. December was elevated at 21.70, but the real inflation came in January and February, where CPI averaged nearly 40 — a brief but intense spike. The second quarter flipped the script: April through June averaged just 4.71, the softest stretch of the year. A late-summer (August) resurgence to 26.78 created a secondary peak, followed by a return to sub-11 levels in September and October. In short: a front-loaded surge, a deep Q2 trough, and a one-month late-summer rebound.
Across the year, New Zealand oscillated around the global benchmark rather than shadowing it:
Gaps were widest in January (New Zealand far above) and June (far below). The narrowest gap came in March, when New Zealand trailed global CPI by just 7%. While the global trend rose from 7.22 in January to roughly 20–23 through late Q3 and early Q4, New Zealand was choppier — surging early, dipping hard in Q2, then briefly spiking in August.
Overall, Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install show that all industries in New Zealand experienced CPI levels near the global average but with significantly higher volatility. Understanding country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance helps frame CPI trends in New Zealand against global patterns and clarifies how this market’s CPI dynamics diverged across the year.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Facebook advertising costs vary based on many factors including industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objectives. Different industries see varying ad costs due to market competition, user demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting New Zealand, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. Different campaign objectives lead to varying costs based on how Facebook optimizes for your specific goals. The data shown represents median values across multiple campaigns, and individual results may vary based on ad quality, audience targeting, and campaign optimization.
We use the median CTR because the underlying distribution of click-through rates is highly skewed, with a small share of campaigns achieving extremely high CTRs. These outliers can inflate a simple average, making it less representative of what most advertisers actually experience. By using the median—which sits at the midpoint of all campaigns—we provide a more rigorous and realistic benchmark that reflects the true underlying data model and helps you set attainable performance expectations.
Note: This data represents industry median values and benchmarks. Your actual costs may vary based on specific targeting, ad creative quality, and campaign optimization.
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All data is sourced from over $3B in Facebook ad spend, collected across thousands of ad accounts that use Superads daily to analyze and improve their campaigns. Every data point is fully anonymized and aggregated—no individual advertiser is ever exposed.
This dataset updates frequently as new ad data flows in. It will only get bigger and better.
Late November–early December (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), Christmas season (Boxing Day sales), Mid‑year promotions (Matariki in June), Back-to-school (late January/early February)
CPM and CPC might rise around Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day as public events increase media consumption. Matariki is new public holiday with growing awareness—advertising may see elevated competition. Late November–December Black Friday/Cyber Monday could drive ad costs significantly. Regional anniversary holidays may cause local inventory shifts.
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 showing app benefits, UGC-style content, and localized messaging tend to perform best. Clear CTAs and fast-paced visuals help lower your CPI.
Optimizing for installs gets volume, but optimizing for actions like signups or purchases brings higher quality users. It depends on your goals and how much post-install behavior matters.
Align your creative with the app experience, avoid misleading ads, and exclude users who already installed. You can also test lookalike audiences based on high-quality users, not just all installers.
Discover detailed cost benchmarks for different Facebook advertising metrics:
Average cost per click benchmarks across industries
Cost per thousand impressions across different markets
Benchmark click-through rates for Facebook ads
Cost per lead across different markets
Average cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
See how much it costs to get users to install an app