See how your app install costs compare. Explore mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform
July 2025 - July 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Retail’s cost-per-app-install in "All countries available" ran well above the overall benchmark for the period, with a choppy, high-amplitude rhythm rather than a steady climb. 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 Retail in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
Median cost per app install for Retail averaged about $58.5 across the 13 months, starting at $82.7 in June 2025 and ending at $58.7 in June 2026 — a net decline of roughly 29% from first to last month. The series peaked at $106.9 in April 2026 and troughed at $8.74 in May 2026, producing a dramatic range of nearly $98.7. By contrast the global (baseline) median sat near $15.5 for the same window, with its high at $30.13 (Feb 2026) and low at $9.34 (Dec 2025).
Retail’s monthly median moved in large swings: notable drops from July→August and April→May, and sharp rebounds in December→January and May→June. Across months Retail costs exceeded the global figures in 12 of 13 months, often by multiples — as much as ~6.9x in July 2025 and commonly in the 3–5x range in other high months.
The time series shows pockets of seasonal pressure and brief rebounds rather than a smooth cycle. Q4 2025 landed on the lower side for Retail (October $22.7, December $18.3), while Q1–early Q2 2026 produced elevated medians (January $69.7, March $94.4, April $106.9). May 2026 delivered the sharpest collapse to $8.74, then June partially rebounded to $58.7. The baseline also shows a mid-winter spike (February), but its swings are far smaller in scale. In short, Retail’s rhythm for cost per app install is punctuated by large, single-month shocks followed by rapid reversals.
Relative to the global benchmark, Retail in All countries available ran substantially above market most months. The 13-month average was roughly 3.8x the baseline (about +276%), and monthly multiples ranged from 0.61x (May 2026, when Retail was ~39% below baseline) to nearly 6.9x (July 2025). Volatility highlights the gap: Retail’s absolute month-to-month movement averaged about $36.6 (roughly 63% of its mean), whereas the global series averaged only about $5.5 month-to-month (≈36% of its mean). That makes Retail not just costlier per install but materially more volatile than the overall benchmark. Mentions of Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis and CTR performance surface here as contextual search terms tied to industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs, though the metric reported is cost per app install.
Understanding cost-per-app-install benchmarks for Retail in All countries available frames how industry ad performance and country-specific ad costs compare to broader Facebook Ads benchmarks and global patterns.
Insights & analysis of Facebook advertising costs
Facebook advertising costs vary based on many factors including industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objectives. In the Retail industry, Facebook ad costs can be influenced by seasonal trends and market competition. Geographic targeting affects ad costs based on market competition and user engagement in different regions. 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.
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