Facebook Ads Cost Per App Install Benchmarks for Wine and Spirits

Introduction

Cost per app install for the Wine and Spirits category moved through the year with clear rhythm and a few big swings, punctuated by a sharp mid-year spike and a soft landing into December before rebounding in January. Across all countries, the series opened low, surged into early summer, plateaued in late Q3–Q4, and finished with a renewed lift at the start of 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 Wine and Spirits in All countries available compared to the global benchmark.

The story in the data

• Starting and ending points: Cost per install began at $7.10 in January 2025 and closed at $15.39 in January 2026 — a gain of roughly 117% year over year from January to January.
• Range and average: The period’s low was January’s $7.10; the high arrived in June at $23.76. The 13‑month average was about $13.58, with a median near $13.51.
• Monthly swings: Absolute month-to-month movement averaged about $4.50, highlighting a moderately volatile CPI trend. The smallest change came in October (+$0.22 vs. September), while the steepest reversal followed June’s peak, dropping $13 in July.
• Key movements:
• Early lift: January to February rose 64% ($7.10 to $11.63), then eased in March ($8.92).
• Spring surge: April jumped to $13.51, and after a modest May, CPI spiked 93% into June’s $23.76 high.
• Midyear reset: July retraced to $10.77, then rebuilt through August ($15.61) and September ($16.17).
• Late-year plateau and softening: October held at $16.39 before easing to $14.57 in November and $10.43 in December.
• New-year rebound: January 2026 reopened stronger at $15.39.

Seasonal and monthly dynamics

The year displayed a classic trough-to-peak-to-trough arc. Q1 was the softest quarter (averaging about $9.22), reflecting lighter auction pressure and lower competition. Q2 accelerated sharply (averaging around $16.53), driven almost entirely by June’s outsized spike. Q3 stabilized in the mid‑teens (about $14.18 average), and Q4 moderated slightly (around $13.80), with a pronounced December dip before a January rebound. Roughly half the months sat above the annual average, clustered from late summer into early Q4.

Country vs. Global

Because this view aggregates All countries, it effectively reflects the global Wine and Spirits Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install. The cadence aligns with broader market rhythms often seen in CPC trends and CPM analysis: a soft Q1 base, a pronounced mid-year elevation, a late-summer/early‑Q4 plateau, and a mixed Q4 that eased into year-end. The pattern suggests CPI pressures were most intense mid-year and steadier — though still elevated versus the early months — across late Q3 and early Q4, with a distinct December pullback and January re‑acceleration. While a separate all‑industry baseline isn’t shown here, the Wine and Spirits series across all countries follows the familiar curve of rising competition into mid-year, stabilization in late summer, and a year-end reset.

Closing

Understanding Facebook Ads benchmarks for cost per app install in the Wine and Spirits industry across All countries helps teams gauge country-specific ad costs, compare CPI levels to global patterns, and contextualize CTR performance and broader industry ad performance trends over the year.