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Cost Per Install Calculator

Work out cost per install instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Cost Per Install Calculator

Cost per install is the cheapest number to report and the least useful, because most installs never activate. Dividing spend by activated and paying users gives the acquisition cost that actually matters for unit economics.

Formula

Install economics

CPI = spend / installs; cost per paying user = spend / (installs × paying rate)

Worked example

With the default values below, Cost Per Install Calculator returns Cost Per Install of $50.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Advertising Spendminimum 0
800,000
Installs Generatedaccepts 1–100,000,000
16,000
Share Who Complete Onboardingaccepts 1–100 %
42 %
Share Who Become Payingaccepts 0.1–100 %
6 %

Results

Cost Per Install
$50.00
Cost Per Activated User
$119.05
Cost Per Paying User
$833.33
Paying Users Acquired
960

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Install economics
  3. 3Cost Per Install= 50.00
  4. 4Cost Per Activated User= 119.05
  5. 5Cost Per Paying User= 833.33
  6. 6Paying Users Acquired= 960

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 4 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Figures are estimates based on the inputs given. Marketing performance, platform fees and conversion behaviour vary by audience, channel and season. Use this as a planning guide, not a forecast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can a low cost per install be bad?

Cheap installs often come from low-intent inventory that never activates, so the cost per paying user is worse.

Which metric should campaigns optimise for?

The furthest-down-funnel event with enough volume to be statistically reliable.

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Cost Per Install Calculator – Calculate Cost Per Install