How Much Do iOS Keyword Installs Cost in 2026?

iOS keyword installs cost between $0.15 and $0.30 per install in 2026, depending on your volume tier, which makes a typical one-keyword App Store campaign of 500 installs cost $75.00 to $150.00. That is the short answer. The longer answer, which this article walks through, is what drives that price, how to budget a campaign that actually reaches the top 10, and how the cost compares with paying Apple for the same visibility through Search Ads.

Why do iOS installs cost more than Android?

Every credible vendor charges a premium on iOS, and the reason is operational. An iOS keyword install has to come from a physical Apple device signed into an aged Apple ID in the target storefront country. Apple hardware is expensive, Apple IDs are harder to age and maintain than Google accounts, and per-country routing multiplies both problems. Android tolerates cheaper device fleets, so the market price lands at roughly a 1.7x iOS premium at every tier.

That premium buys you the platform where keyword velocity pays off fastest. As we covered in how the App Store algorithm works in 2026, Apple's ranking model weighs install velocity on the exact search query more heavily than Google Play does, so each iOS install does more ranking work.

What are the 2026 price benchmarks?

Current per-install rates for real-device iOS keyword installs, taken from our public pricing page:

Volume tier	Price per iOS keyword install	500-install campaign
Bronze	$0.30	$150.00
Silver	$0.27	$135.00
Gold	$0.23	$115.00
Platinum	$0.20	$100.00
Diamond	$0.15	$75.00

Tiers advance with cumulative top-up volume, so an app publisher running campaigns every month typically reaches Gold within a quarter and effectively cuts campaign cost by a quarter.

How do you budget a top-10 push?

Budget per keyword, not per app. The three inputs that matter:

• Starting rank. From #20 to #50, plan 300 to 700 installs over 10 to 14 days. From page 4 or deeper, either double the volume or, better, pick a weaker keyword first.
• Keyword competition. A US-storefront keyword with big-brand incumbents needs multiples of what the same keyword needs in Canada or Australia. Testing in a smaller English storefront first is the cheap way to calibrate.
• Drip window. Longer drips cost the same total but hold rank better. Our campaign data shows 14-day drips retain 71% of gained positions at Day 30 versus 22% for one-day blasts, so the window changes ROI, not spend.

Worked example: pushing two keywords from ~#30 into the top 10 in the US storefront at Gold tier, 500 installs each over 14 days, costs 1,000 x $0.23 = $230.00. The full ordering flow for this is on the iOS keyword installs page.

How does the cost compare with Apple Search Ads?

Search Ads tap-through costs in competitive US categories commonly run $1.50 to $4.00 per install, and the visibility stops the moment you stop paying. A keyword install campaign costs a fraction of that per install, and the organic position it produces keeps paying after the campaign ends: the top 3 results capture most taps on any App Store query. The two work well together, but if the goal is durable organic rank on a specific query, the install campaign is an order of magnitude cheaper per resulting organic install. The benchmark data behind this comparison is in our 50,000-app ASO benchmark report.

Frequently asked questions

How much does one iOS keyword install cost?

Between $0.15 and $0.30 in 2026 from a real-device network, depending on your volume tier. Quotes meaningfully below $0.15 usually indicate emulator traffic, which Apple discounts or flags.

What does a full iOS keyword campaign cost?

A single-keyword push of 500 installs costs $75.00 to $150.00 depending on tier. A serious launch covering three keywords in one storefront typically lands between $250.00 and $450.00.

Why are iOS keyword installs more expensive than Android?

Because the delivery infrastructure costs more: physical Apple devices, aged Apple IDs, and per-country storefront routing. The premium is roughly 1.7x at every volume tier.

Are cheap iOS installs worth it?

No. Sub-floor pricing almost always means emulators or shared farmed accounts. Apple's fraud systems discount those installs, so the rank does not move and the spend is wasted. Price is the most reliable single signal of install quality.

How long until iOS keyword installs affect my rank?

Rank movement typically starts 3 to 5 days into a paced campaign and peaks by the end of a 14-day drip. Daily per-keyword rank tracking should be included by the vendor so you can verify the climb against delivery.