MobileAction’s 2025 Apple Ads benchmark report

Cost-per-acquisition (CPA) metrics of search results ads

Cost-per-acquisition in Apple Ads reflects how much you pay per single download. This metric helps app marketers determine how much the conversion (install) costs on average.

• CPA trends almost mirror the trends in CPT. While the cumulative average for 2024 slightly increased from last year’s $2.72 to $2.76, it maintained the levels that the average CPA circulating since the increase in overall acquisition cost happened in 2021, demonstrating a more stabilized market structure, maturity in bidding strategies and competition levels.
• Even though the all-time average for CPA per MobileAction’s Apple Ads data is $2.65, the average CPA excluded 2019 and 2020 is $2.83, and the  2024 average was below that.
• While 2024 showed a more volatile outlook than 2023, it ended up with a higher yearly average than last year due to higher-than-average Q1 and the peak occurring in Q4 with $2.91. 
• Given that the App Store ecosystem is a secure environment with minimal risk of fraudulent downloads—this CPA reflects a strong return on investment for advertisers. The platform’s transparency and user intent-driven placements help ensure that app installs are genuine, making Apple Ads a reliable channel for cost-effective user acquisition.

• CPA across categories shows diverse patterns from 2023 to 2024, reflecting varying competitive dynamics and market conditions across different sectors.
• Food & Drink is the best-performing category, demonstrating excellent user acquisition efficiency with a CPA of $1.06, lowering from $1.46 in 2023, showing strong value in user acquisition.
• Entertainment maintains the CPA at $1.52, the very same in 2023, showing strong ability in converting users.
• Business and Shopping: Business has reduced costs ($1.91 to $1.70), while Shopping has also improved from $2.20 to $1.74, indicating the improved cost of acquisition.
• As with CPT, Sports apps have seen a notable decline in CPAs, dropping from $12.59 in 2023 to $7.75 in 2024—a clear sign of more cost-efficient user acquisition. The significant CPA drop suggests that now is a great time to optimize campaigns and take advantage of lower acquisition costs.

Social Networking and Lifestyle: Both categories show shifting dynamics, with Social Networking costs increasing from $1.24 to $1.86, while Lifestyle goes from $2.53 to $2.99, suggesting changing market conditions and competition levels. Advertisers in these categories may focus on differentiation strategies to improve ROAS in 2025.

The data in this report has been gathered using MobileAction and SearchAds.com tools.*