marketing

Cost Per Install (CPI)

The average amount of money spent on advertising to acquire one app download. Calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of installs attributed to that spend.

paid acquisition lifetime value attribution

Cost Per Install (CPI) is the fundamental unit economics metric for paid app acquisition. It tells you how much each new user costs to acquire through advertising.

Formula

CPI = Total Ad Spend / Number of Attributed Installs

If you spend $5,000 on a campaign that generates 2,500 installs, your CPI is $2.00.

CPI Benchmarks

CPI varies dramatically by platform, geography, and category:

  • iOS typically costs more than Android (higher user LTV justifies higher CPI)
  • US/UK/EU costs more than emerging markets
  • Games typically have lower CPI than utility or finance apps
  • Global averages range from $1-5 but can exceed $10 for competitive categories

CPI and Profitability

CPI is only meaningful in relation to Lifetime Value (LTV). If your average user generates $8 in revenue over their lifetime and your CPI is $3, you have a profitable acquisition channel. If your CPI exceeds LTV, you are losing money on every paid install.

Reducing CPI

  • Improve ad creative quality and targeting precision
  • Test multiple ad formats and channels to find the lowest-cost sources
  • Optimize your store listing to improve conversion rate (lower CPI from the same traffic)
  • Use ASO to generate organic downloads that have zero CPI, improving your blended acquisition cost