Written by Krisztián Stark
Key takeaways
- In Adjust’s 2025 gaming data, an install cost $1.71 in the US against $0.14 in Latin America, so country choice moves CPI more than almost anything else.
- Benchmark reports disagree by several times because they measure different apps, platforms, and kinds of installs; use them for direction, not as a price.
- Your own CPI ceiling per country is the value of an install there divided by your target ROAS.
How much does an install cost in each country?
Cost per install by country varies more than tenfold. In Adjust’s Gaming App Insights report 2026, the average gaming app install in 2025 cost $1.71 in the United States and $1.70 in the German-speaking DACH region, against $0.53 across Europe as a whole, $0.27 in Asia-Pacific, and $0.14 in Latin America. The global gaming average was $0.56. These are averages for games across both platforms; iOS campaigns usually cost more, and apps whose users are worth a lot, such as finance apps, face tougher competition for every install.
Those figures tell you where installs are expensive, not what you should pay. The price that makes sense for you depends on what an install is worth in each country, and the second half of this guide shows how to work that out.
CPI by region and country: the published figures
The table below uses Adjust’s report, which is based on aggregated, anonymized data from gaming apps that Adjust tracks, covering January 2024 to January 2026. Adjust notes that its data may not reflect the whole app market. It covers games only, across all platforms combined.
| Region or country | Gaming CPI 2024 | Gaming CPI 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global | - | $0.56 | +30% |
| North America | $1.28 | $1.68 | +31% |
| United States | $1.31 | $1.71 | +31% |
| DACH (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) | $1.27 | $1.70 | +34% |
| Singapore | - | $2.49 | +82% |
| Europe | $0.36 | $0.53 | +47% |
| Asia-Pacific | $0.21 | $0.27 | +29% |
| Latin America | - | $0.14 | +40% |
Source: Adjust, “The gaming app insights report: 2026 edition”. A dash means the report gives only the 2025 value and the growth rate. The report also says Brazil and Mexico rose 50% and 40%, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates 43% and 54%, and Saudi Arabia 5%, without printing the prices themselves.
Two patterns stand out. Prices rose in every region at once, so a bid that won installs in 2024 may be too low in 2026. And the gap between markets is huge: in this data, one US install costs about as much as twelve in Latin America.
Platform splits the numbers further. Liftoff’s 2025 Casual Gaming Apps Report found that iOS installs cost more than Android installs, around ten times more for simulation, action, and racing games. The same report found higher day 30 ROAS on iOS, so the higher price can still pay back.
Why CPI benchmarks disagree
Search for CPI by country and you will find averages several times higher than Adjust’s, often quoted without a source. Some of that is careless copying. Much of it is that each report measures something different.
- Which apps. Games dominate install volume, and cheap genres pull averages down. Adjust reports that hyper casual games made up 29.1% of all gaming installs in 2025. A report that mixes in finance or subscription apps, where each user is worth more, will land higher.
- Which platform. An average across iOS and Android sits between two very different prices.
- Which installs. Some figures divide spend by all attributed installs, others by installs from one network, and some describe what a network charges per install on a CPI deal.
- Which year. Prices moved 30% or more in a single year in Adjust’s data, so a 2023 table is already out of date.
Three questions before you trust a CPI table
Whose data is it, and from how many apps? Which platform, category, and period does it cover? Is it cost per any install, or the price of a deal on one network? If a page cannot answer all three, treat its numbers as decoration.
CPI by country tier
When you plan across dozens of countries, it helps to think in tiers first. Tier 1, 2 and 3 countries explained lists which markets usually fall where. The pattern for installs:
| Tier | Typical markets | What to expect from CPI |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, DACH, Nordics | The highest prices and the most competition, but also the highest spending per player |
| Tier 2 | Southern and Eastern Europe, Japan, South Korea, the Gulf states | Mid-range prices; local language often decides whether a campaign works |
| Tier 3 | India, Indonesia, the Philippines, most of Latin America and Africa | The lowest prices and the largest audiences, mostly on Android, with lower spending per user |
Tiers are a planning shortcut. Singapore sits at $2.49 in Adjust’s data, above the United States, while many lists put it in Tier 2. Only your own results tell you where a country really belongs for your app.
What drives the cost of an install
Country is the biggest lever, but it is not the only one. The same country can produce very different prices depending on these factors:
- Platform: iOS usually costs more than Android in the same market.
- Category: genres that earn a lot per player cost more to advertise. Adjust puts 2025 gaming installs at $4.47 for slots and $3.19 for idle RPGs, many times the $0.56 gaming average.
- Season: prices usually climb before the end-of-year holidays, when retail advertisers bid on everything.
- Creative and store page: an ad that gets more taps and a page that converts more visitors lower CPI on every channel at once.
- Language: an English-only store page in a non-English market converts fewer visitors, which raises CPI.
- What you pay for: a deeper event, such as a finished tutorial, costs more per result but less per player who stays.
For the full definition and formula, see What is CPI?
How to find your own CPI for each country
Benchmarks tell you what others pay. What you can pay comes from what an install earns you, and that differs by country as much as the price does.
- Estimate the value of an install per country. Use revenue per install over 30 or 90 days, from ads and purchases, split by country. What is ARPU? shows how to calculate it by cohort.
- Pick a target ROAS. A target of 1.0 means breaking even within your window; above 1.0 leaves profit. See What is ROAS?
- Divide. Maximum CPI in a country = value of one install there ÷ target ROAS.
- Start a little below the ceiling and compare the real price and the quality of the installs you get.
Illustrative ceilings for one casual game in the US, Germany and Brazil
Suppose a game earns $1.20 per install over 90 days in the United States, $0.95 in Germany, and $0.20 in Brazil, and the studio wants a target ROAS of 1.2. Its ceilings are $1.00, $0.79, and $0.17. Placed next to Adjust’s average US price of $1.71, the US would not pay back at the average; the studio needs installs below the average, a deeper event, or a better store page. Brazil could work if the studio can buy there near the Latin American average. The revenue figures are invented for the walkthrough, and your per-country values are the only inputs that count.
The cost per result calculator does the same sum for any result, and the ROAS calculator shows whether a live campaign is paying back.
Test a few countries before you scale
When you have no data yet, choose two or three countries from different tiers where your app works well, give each a small, equal budget, and compare two numbers after a week: cost per install and cost per user still active on day 7. A country with a higher CPI can still win on cost per retained user. Our retention benchmarks help you judge whether day 7 numbers look healthy. Then move budget to the countries where the real cost sits below your ceiling, and check again every month, because prices change quickly.
Setting a price per country on Sharklio
On Sharklio, every country in a campaign gets its own bid, from $0.01 to $100 per approved completion in a task campaign, and countries stay excluded until you add them. For apps and games, a task can ask users to install and reach a first goal, so the price you set is a price per engaged install rather than per download. Each completion you review shows the user’s country, and bid changes on a live campaign apply right away, without a new review.
Turning your per-country ceiling into Sharklio bids
Once you have a ceiling for each country, start each Sharklio bid below it, raise it where approved installs arrive too slowly, and lower it where they come faster than you need. Set bids by country walks through the quick add groups and bid tools. Sharklio is not open yet, for advertisers or publishers; leave your email below for a single message on the day it opens.
Frequently asked questions
Which country has the highest cost per install?
Among the markets in Adjust’s 2026 gaming report, Singapore had the highest average at $2.49 per install in 2025, followed by the United States at $1.71 and the DACH region at $1.70. Other reports rank markets differently, depending on the apps and platforms they cover.
What is the average cost per install in the United States?
Adjust reports $1.71 for gaming apps in the US in 2025, up from $1.31 in 2024. It is an average for games on both platforms; iOS-only campaigns typically cost more, and apps outside gaming are not included, so check the category and platform behind any figure you use.
Where are app installs cheapest?
Latin America and Asia-Pacific had the lowest averages in Adjust’s data, $0.14 and $0.27 per gaming install in 2025. Cheap installs only pay off if users in those markets use and monetize your app.
Why is CPI higher on iOS than on Android?
iPhone users spend more in apps in many markets, so more advertisers compete for them. Liftoff’s 2025 casual games report found iOS installs costing around ten times more than Android for some genres, alongside higher day 30 returns.
Is a low CPI always better?
No. An install that is deleted the same day is expensive at any price. Compare cost per retained user and revenue per install, not CPI alone.
