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
South Africa’s app install costs opened 2025 well below the global benchmark and moved with sharper swings. A brief February lift was followed by a steep March pullback, leaving Q1 costs lower than where they started. Globally, the same period showed a more measured rise-and-soften pattern, with the broader year peaking mid-year. 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 South Africa compared to the global benchmark.
For South Africa, Cost per App Install (CPI) started at 2.55 in January, spiked to 7.57 in February, and fell to 1.26 in March. Across these three months, CPI averaged 3.79, with a high of 7.57 and a low of 1.26. The month-to-month moves were pronounced: January to February rose by roughly 197% (+5.02 points), then February to March declined by about 83% (−6.31 points). Average absolute month-to-month volatility in Q1 landed around 5.66 points, and dispersion was high (coefficient of variation ≈ 0.88), signaling choppy country-specific ad costs for installs.
The global benchmark across the full year averaged 13.37, with a calendar-year peak in June (23.76) and the low in January (7.07). Focusing on January–March for an apples-to-apples comparison, the global average was 9.21, progressing from 7.07 in January to 11.63 in February, then easing to 8.91 in March. Month-to-month volatility globally averaged 4.57 points across the year and 3.64 points in Q1—both steadier than South Africa’s swings.
Globally, CPI typically built into mid-year: January was the trough, February jumped, March eased, and the mid-year peak came in June before elevated levels persisted into early Q4. December cooled to 9.32, still above the January low but well below mid-year highs.
South Africa’s Q1 rhythm was more extreme. The February surge briefly narrowed the gap with the global benchmark, but March’s retreat created the lowest point of the quarter. With only Q1 visible for the country, the shape is compressed: a sharp lift, then a pronounced reset.
Relative to the global benchmark, South Africa’s CPI ran lower throughout Q1:
On average, South Africa’s Q1 CPI was about 59% below the global Q1 mean (3.79 vs. 9.21) and roughly 72% beneath the global full-year average (13.37). The gap was narrowest in February (−35%) and widest in March (−86%). Directionally, the global trend from January to March rose net +26%, while South Africa declined −51% over the same window—more volatile and more downward by quarter-end.
As a Facebook Ads benchmark, the cost per app install across all industries in South Africa in early 2025 remained consistently below global levels and moved with bigger month-to-month shifts. This CPI view complements broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance, grounding country-specific ad costs for app installs in South Africa against a global baseline.
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 South Africa, 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.
Improve your Facebook ad performance
• Instant performance insights – See which ads, audiences, and creatives drive results.
• Data-driven creative decisions – Spot patterns to improve ROAS.
• Effortless reporting – No spreadsheets, just clear insights.
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 (Black Friday/Cyber Monday), December (Christmas & Day of Goodwill), Mid-year retail (June Youth Day promotions)
CPM and CPC might rise during long weekends like Human Rights Day, Freedom Day, and Heritage Day as leisure and travel-related media consumption increases. Retail CPMs may spike in late November–December for holiday shopping. Youth Day and National Women's Day might drive regional campaigns. Weekend extensions across public holidays 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 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