Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Wine and Spirits

Introduction

In 2025, Facebook Ads cost per app install traced a classic surge-and-settle rhythm: a low-cost kickoff, a sharp spring escalation, and a calmer autumn plateau before a year-end retreat. Costs started at $7.07 in January, crested at $23.76 in June, and closed at $9.32 in December — a 3.4x swing from trough to peak and a 32% lift from start to finish. The annual median hovered at $13.37, with half the months landing above that line. This pattern reads as a mid‑year run-up in acquisition costs followed by a late-year cooldown.

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 Wine and Spirits across all countries compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

The year opened soft: $7.07 in January, then a rebound to $11.63 in February before easing to $8.91 in March. Spring delivered decisive momentum — April jumped to $13.51 and May held at $12.32 before a dramatic June spike to $23.76 (+93% month over month). That high-water mark was immediately corrected in July, which fell to $10.77 (−55% from June). Late summer stabilized: August rose to $15.99, September edged to $16.16, and October nudged to $16.43, forming a narrow band around the mid‑teens. November softened to $14.57, and December stepped down to $9.32 (−36% versus November).

Across the year, average absolute month‑to‑month movement was $4.57 — about 34% of the annual average — signaling meaningful volatility. The smallest move came from August to September (+$0.17), followed by a gentle October lift (+$0.27). The largest swings clustered mid‑year: June’s surge (+$11.43) and July’s correction (−$12.99). Six months sat above the annual average ($13.37), with February, April, May, and November forming the steadier middle, and January, June, and December anchoring the extremes.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

Seasonality sorted into clear chapters:

• Q1 was the softest at an average of $9.21 — low-cost installs amid lighter competition.
• Q2 was the priciest at $16.53, dominated by the June peak.
• Q3 cooled but stayed elevated, averaging $14.31, with late-summer stability around the mid‑teens.
• Q4 mixed early firmness with a year-end dip, averaging $13.44 as October and November held steady before December reset lower.

Taken together, H2 averaged $13.87 versus $12.87 in H1 — roughly an 8% higher back half — but the calmer cadence from August through November contrasted with the dramatic spring-to-summer run-up. While many markets see Q4 tighten, this series eased into December.

While this readout focuses on cost per install (CPI), performance marketers often triangulate it with CPC trends, CPM analysis, and CTR performance to interpret acquisition efficiency and country-specific ad costs within broader industry ad performance.

Country vs. Global

Because this cut aggregates Wine and Spirits across all countries and only the benchmark series is available here, the curve shown represents the global benchmark itself. As a result, the monthly gap to “global” is effectively zero throughout the year, and the volatility profile — an average $4.57 month‑to‑month move — is identical in both views. Any divergence between Wine and Spirits and the all‑industry market isn’t observable in this release, but the timing of peaks and troughs provides a clear reference for Facebook Ads benchmarks on CPI.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads cost per app install benchmarks for the Wine and Spirits industry across all countries highlights a year defined by a spring surge, a June peak at $23.76, and a late‑year cooldown to $9.32, with an annual average of $13.37. These CPI trends offer a grounded lens for comparing Wine and Spirits industry ad performance to global patterns.