Use app marketing benchmarks to connect install efficiency to activation and retention so mobile growth is judged on real product progress, not just CPI. Install rate, CPI, activation rate, retention, and upgrade or purchase conversion.
Top-level app marketing benchmarks for installs, activation, in-app purchase, retention, mobile platforms, and paid app acquisition programs.
| Context | Median | Top Quartile | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid Install Rate | 22% | 31% | Mobile acquisition efficiency at the store or app level |
| CPI | $3.90 | $6.80 | Cost framing across acquisition channels and markets |
| Activation Rate | 31% | 47% | Measuring whether installs become usable product starts |
| Day-7 Retention | 18% | 29% | Separating low-quality installs from durable growth |
The factors that most often explain why a result lands above or below the range.
| Driver |
|---|
| Platform mix, especially iOS versus Android cost and conversion behavior |
| Creative-market fit and whether the app-store page continues the promise from the ad |
| Activation speed inside the product after install |
| How acquisition channels differ in install quality and downstream retention |
The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method. The Benchmarketing 4-Band Method reads every marketing metric against four percentile bands — P25 (bottom quartile), median, P75 (top quartile), and elite (top ~10%) — for a specific industry and channel, instead of a single cross-industry average. Averages blend brand and non-brand campaigns, $500/month and $500,000/month accounts, and unrelated industries into a number almost nobody actually has.
Where the numbers come from. The figures on this page come from the Benchmarketing benchmark dataset — thousands of curated benchmark observations across channels, industries, and US metro areas. Every statistic traces to a named source: WordStream Google Ads Benchmarks (2024), Meta Business Insights (2024), HubSpot Email Marketing Report (2024), Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report (2024), Databox Marketing Benchmark Report (2024), AdLiftr Snapchat Ads Cost Benchmarks (2026), Ad Badger Amazon Advertising Benchmarks (2026). Benchmarketing does not publish anonymous "studies show" figures.
The Benchmarketing position. Beating the cross-industry average is a vanity milestone, not a target. Compare your number to the P25–P75 band for your specific industry and channel; if you are above average but below your industry's P75, you are leaving performance on the table.
Because cheap installs can still be bad growth if very few users reach value.
No. CPI is useful, but the stronger benchmark question is whether installs activate, retain, and monetize efficiently after acquisition.