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
Across the year-long window, Cost Per App Install (CPI) for Software Development in all countries available tracked below the global benchmark for most months, then flipped dramatically in June 2026. 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 Software Development in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.
The series starts at $7.62 in June 2025 and closes at a striking $68.20 in June 2026 — a roughly 795% increase from start to finish. Across the full 13-month span the median CPI for Software Development averaged about $10.18, with a low of $1.70 (July 2025) and a runaway high of $68.20 (June 2026). By contrast the global benchmark averaged about $15.55 over the same months, with its own high of $30.13 in February 2026 and a low near $9.34 in December 2025.
Month-to-month movement was generally modest early on — single-digit swings between summer and winter 2025 — but volatility spiked later. Average month-to-month absolute change was approximately $6.5, driven almost entirely by the June 2026 jump; excluding that month the typical monthly swing falls to about $1.8. Notable intermediate lifts include February–May 2026, where CPI climbed from $7.44 to $9.53, then exploded in June.
Seasonality shows a relatively soft second half of 2025: July’s trough at $1.70 marked the period’s lowest point, followed by steady mid-single-digit CPI through fall and early winter. The turn to 2026 brought renewed upward momentum — February and March sat in the $7–7.5 range, April edged higher, and May rose to roughly $9.5. The cadence suggests a late spring build into an extreme June peak; the global benchmark, by comparison, saw its own February spike but a more muted June.
This rhythm highlights two regimes across the year: a low-cost plateau from mid‑2025 through January 2026, and a rising-cost regime from February forward, culminating in an outsized single-month spike in June 2026.
Relative to the global baseline, Software Development CPI in all countries available ran materially below global levels for most months — typically 33–83% lower. The narrowest shortfall occurred in May 2026 (about 33% below the global median that month). The widest shortfall happened in July 2025 (roughly 83% below). The relationship reversed in June 2026: CPI was roughly 475% above the global benchmark for that month (Software Development $68.20 vs global $11.85). Overall, the selected series was about 35% below the global average across the period — but the June 2026 outlier greatly increased overall variance. Mentions of Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis and CTR performance appear across industry conversations, and here CPI contributes to that broader picture of country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance.
Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks for Software Development across All countries available provides a data-grounded view of how app-acquisition costs moved versus global patterns across the period.
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 Software Development 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