The average price mobile developers pay to advertisers for every download of their advertised Android app has more than doubled in the last year, according to mobile marketing firm Fiksu's latest market index.
In contrast, Fiksu pegs growth in the average "cost-per-install" for iOS apps at just 16 percent year-over-year, suggesting mobile games will have a much harder time gaining traction on Android vs. iOS.
This is intriguing because a year ago, Fiksu estimated the average CPI for Android and iOS apps was roughly equal -- $.127 vs. $1.23, respectively. Now the firm estimates that developers will pay nearly double for every download they see on Android vs. iOS, given respective CPI rates of $1.43 and $2.73 -- you can see this graphed out in the image below.
You can see from that graph that the CPI on iOS took a big hit in May, a change Fiksu attributes to Apple's decision to overhaul the Games section of its App Store in order to boost discoverability.
Still, while Fiksu suggests that CPI rates usually rise during the summer due to a seasonal slowdown, it's remarkable to see how much more expensive it can be to get your game noticed by Android users. For more details on the index (and more graphs like the one below), check out Fiksu's blog post on the topic.
