See how your app install costs compare. Explore mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform
January 2025 - January 2026
Detailed observation of presented data
Retail’s cost per app install across all countries ran dramatically above the market for most of the year, then flipped direction late in Q4. From a lofty start in January, the metric moved in wide arcs—spiking, cooling, and briefly rebounding—before collapsing to year-lows in November and December. The result is a profile that’s far more volatile than the global benchmark and unusually asymmetric in Q4.
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 compared to the global benchmark.
Retail’s median Cost Per App Install averaged 91.3 over the 13-month window (Dec 2024–Dec 2025), with a high of 143.9 in January and a striking low of 3.02 in December. The series opened at 110.5 in December 2024, rose to the January peak, then fell unevenly through midyear: 108.9 in February, 93.8 in April, and 84.0 in May. It rebounded to 122.7 in June, slid to 56.0 by September, surged back to 122.3 in October, and then dropped sharply to 22.8 in November and 3.0 in December. End to end, Retail’s CPI fell 97% from December 2024 to December 2025.
Month-to-month volatility averaged 37.9 points, with the sharpest swings clustering in late Q3 and Q4: −64.0 from August to September, +66.3 from September to October, −99.6 from October to November, and another −19.7 into December. The rhythm is choppy but directional: quarter-by-quarter averages eased from 121.4 in Q1 to 100.2 in Q2 and 87.7 in Q3, before settling at 49.4 in Q4.
Seasonality was uneven. Q1 was the costliest stretch for Retail app installs, with all three months above 108. Q2 moderated, anchored by a May trough, and Q3 mixed a July softness with an August pop and a September dip. Q4 was the outlier: a strong October gave way to a rapid two-month slide, ending at the lowest monthly level in the series.
By contrast, the global benchmark (all industries, all countries) followed a steadier arc. It averaged 13.85, ranged from 7.07 in January to 23.76 in June, and finished at 17.03—up 60% year over year from December to December. Its volatility averaged 4.10 points per month.
Retail across all countries sat well above the global benchmark for most of the period—12 of 13 months. From December 2024 through October 2025, Retail costs were typically 5–12x the market, with extremes at 20x in January and 3.5x in September. The gap narrowed in November (Retail 1.45x the benchmark) and inverted in December, when Retail fell 82% below global. While the global trend rose steadily (+60% from Dec–Dec), Retail’s path was far choppier (−97% over the same span), with relative volatility higher as well (about 42% of its average vs. 30% for the market).
These Facebook Ads benchmarks highlight Cost Per App Install dynamics for the Retail industry across all countries: high early-year costs, midyear oscillation, and an atypical Q4 reversal versus the steadier global baseline. Understanding app install CPI trends alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance helps contextualize country-specific ad costs and benchmark Retail industry ad performance globally.
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