Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Venture Capital & Investment

Introduction

Global app install costs for Venture Capital & Investment showed a clear arc: a soft open, a sharp mid-year surge, a late-year cool-down, and an elevated reset moving into 2026. The year’s standout was an abrupt June spike, followed by a swift comedown and a steadier cadence into early Q4. Overall, costs ended far above where they began, with a wide range and noticeable month-to-month swings.

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 Venture Capital & Investment in all countries compared to the global benchmark.

Section 1: The story in the data

Cost per app install (CPI) for Venture Capital & Investment averaged $13.58 across the period, with a median of $13.51. The year opened at $7.10 in January 2025 and closed at $15.39 in January 2026—an increase of roughly 117%. The low came in January ($7.10), while June set the high watermark at $23.76, about 75% above the average. That created a wide range of $16.66 between the trough and the peak.

Volatility was meaningful. The average month-to-month move was $4.50, or about one-third of the overall average level. The biggest jump landed from May to June (+$11.43, ~+93%), immediately followed by the steepest decline from June to July (−$12.99, ~−55%). By contrast, late Q3 into early Q4 was unusually calm: August to September moved just $0.57, and September to October by only $0.22.

Six months finished above the annual average (June and August through November, plus January 2026), while seven sat below (January through May, July, and December). The pattern underscores a year defined by a mid-year price shock and a second-half normalization phase.

Section 2: Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality showed through, though with a twist. Q1 2025 was the softest stretch, averaging $9.22 as budgets and demand reset after the holidays. Costs accelerated in Q2 to an average of $16.53, largely propelled by June’s spike. Q3 moderated to $14.18, with a tight band from mid-August through October signaling temporary stability. Q4 typically sees heavier competition in paid social—often lifting CPMs and CPI—but this cycle eased as the quarter progressed: October ($16.39) slid to November ($14.57) and then to December’s $10.43, a 36% drop from October. The new year opened higher again at $15.39, suggesting a firmer baseline heading into 2026.

Section 3: Country vs. Global

Because the selected view aggregates all countries, the Venture Capital & Investment series here functions as the global benchmark for Facebook Ads benchmarks on app install costs. As such, the spread to the global baseline was effectively 0% in every month—no gap at its narrowest, no gap at its widest. Within the year itself, the clearest relative shifts are internal: a climb from January’s trough to a June peak, a rapid retracement, and a late-year easing before an early-2026 reset above the long-run average.

Closing

In sum, Facebook Ads cost-per-app-install benchmarks for Venture Capital & Investment across all countries averaged $13.58, ranged from $7.10 to $23.76, and featured an average monthly swing of $4.50. Understanding CPI dynamics for this industry globally—alongside broader CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance context—helps anchor expectations for country-specific ad costs and industry ad performance versus global patterns.