Compare mobile acquisition cost benchmarks by industry, region, and platform.
October 2025 - September 2026
Benchmark observations based on the selected data
South Africa’s Cost Per App Install (CPI) sits well below the global benchmark but shows sharp, short-run momentum — a steep lift between July and September 2025 against a baseline that trends mid-teens and contains extreme outliers. 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 available in South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
Across the provided window, South Africa’s median CPI started at $1.07 in July 2025 and rose to $3.18 in September 2025 — an increase of roughly 196%, with a two-point average of about $2.13. The low point was $1.07 (2025-07) and the high in the sample was $3.18 (2025-09). By contrast, the global median CPI averaged about $21.8 across the 13-month baseline, ranging from roughly $9.36 (Dec 2025) up to a pronounced outlier of $96.91 (Jul 2026). Globally, the baseline moved from $9.95 in July 2025 to $15.66 in September 2025 — a more moderate rise of about 58%.
In absolute terms, South Africa’s CPI was smaller by roughly $8.9 in July and about $12.5 in September when compared to the global monthly medians. On a relative basis, South Africa’s CPI trailed global levels by approximately 80–90% across the two observed months — averaging about 90% below the global median across the period.
The baseline shows a rhythm of mid-teens CPI for much of the year with occasional large jumps: a notable increase in February 2026 (~$30.13) and a striking spike in July 2026 (~$96.91) that skews the overall distribution. There’s also a dip into the high single digits in December 2025 (~$9.36). Within the South Africa sample, the most visible dynamic is a rapid rebound from July to September 2025, moving from just over a dollar per install to just over three dollars — a compact, high-velocity movement rather than a drawn-out seasonal arc.
Typical platform seasonality appears in the baseline: softer CPIs in late Q4 followed by early Q1 lift, punctuated by intermittent spikes later in the year. South Africa’s two-month series captures a quick uptick rather than a multi-quarter seasonal pattern.
South Africa’s Cost Per App Install is consistently below average: roughly 80–90% beneath global medians in the supplied months. While the global trend between July and September 2025 was an orderly rise (+58%), South Africa’s was choppier and steeper (+196%), producing a narrower relative gap in September (about 80% below) than in July (about 89% below). The global baseline displays greater absolute variability due to episodic large spikes (Feb and Jul 2026), whereas the South Africa sample shows a sharper short-term lift within a much lower cost band.
Understanding Cost Per App Install benchmarks for All industries available in South Africa and how they compare to global Facebook Ads benchmarks, CPC trends, CPM analysis, CTR performance and broader country-specific ad costs frames a clear picture of industry ad performance in South Africa.
Facebook advertising cost benchmarks
Facebook advertising costs vary by industry, target audience, ad placement, and campaign objective. Ad costs vary across industries because of competition, audience demographics, and conversion value. For campaigns targeting South Africa, advertisers should consider local market factors and user behavior. 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.
Analyze Facebook ad performance
See which ads, audiences, and creatives drive results.
Spot creative patterns that affect ROAS.
Create reports without spreadsheets.
The dataset includes over $3B in Facebook ad spend from thousands of ad accounts that use Superads to analyze and improve campaigns. Every data point is anonymized and aggregated. It does not expose an individual advertiser.
The dataset updates as new ad data is available.
Late November (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas & Day of Goodwill), Mid-year retail (June Youth Day promotions)
CPM and CPC may rise during long weekends such as Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, and Heritage Day as leisure and travel media consumption increases. Retail CPMs may rise in late November–December for holiday shopping. Youth Day and National Women's Day may prompt regional campaigns. Public-holiday weekends may benefit weekend campaigns.
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.
Compare cost benchmarks for Facebook advertising metrics.
Cost per click benchmarks across industries
Cost per thousand impressions across markets
Click-through rate benchmarks for Facebook Ads
Cost per lead benchmarks across markets
Cost per purchase benchmarks across industries
App install cost benchmarks