Glossary
ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)
The average revenue an app generates per acquired user over a defined window. ARPU is the inverse of unit economics — combined with CPI, it determines whether paid acquisition is profitable.
Also known as: Average revenue per user, ARPDAU (daily variant)
What is ARPU?
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) is total revenue divided by user count over a defined window. It is the most-cited monetization metric for mobile apps because it directly maps to the ceiling of profitable paid acquisition spend.
The formula:
ARPU = Total Revenue / Total Users (in window)If 10,000 users generated $20,000 in revenue over 30 days, Day 30 ARPU = $2.00.
ARPU vs LTV
The two are commonly confused but distinct:
| Metric | What it captures | Time scope |
|---|---|---|
| ARPU | Average revenue per user in a single window | Snapshot |
| LTV | Total revenue per user across full lifetime | Integral over time |
Day 30 ARPU is the most common single ARPU number. LTV is approximated by integrating the ARPU curve over the retention curve out to your payback horizon (usually Day 90 or Day 365).
ARPU benchmarks by vertical (2026, US market)
| Vertical | Day 30 ARPU range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Casual mobile games | $0.50 – $1.50 | Mostly ads + occasional IAP |
| Mid-core games | $2 – $5 | IAP-driven; mid-funnel monetization |
| Hardcore / RPG / strategy | $5 – $20+ | Strong IAP + battle pass economy |
| Subscription apps (post-trial) | $5 – $20 | Highly dependent on price tier |
| E-commerce | $10 – $50 | Depends on AOV and purchase frequency |
| Social networking | $0.50 – $3 | Ad-monetized, very high MAU dependence |
| Utility (free + IAP) | $1 – $5 | Mostly upgrade/pro tier monetization |
| Finance | $3 – $10 | Often subscription-based services |
These are very rough. ARPU in non-US markets is typically 30-70% of US figures.
How ARPU drives paid acquisition decisions
ARPU sets the ceiling for sustainable CPA. Rough rules:
Sustainable CPA ≤ (LTV) / Target Ratio
LTV ≈ ARPU × Retention Multiplier
Target Ratio: 3× (healthy) to 2× (lean)If your Day 30 ARPU is $4 and your Day 90 retention multiplier is 1.6× (revenue tail), then Day 90 LTV ≈ $6.40. Sustainable CPA at a 3× ratio is ~$2.10.
If your actual ASA-driven CPA is $5, you have a unit economics problem regardless of how many installs you buy.
How to improve ARPU
ARPU lives outside ASA’s direct control — but ASA traffic quality affects it. Three levers:
- Improve onboarding / monetization in-app. Outside ASA’s scope but the biggest lever.
- Target higher-ARPU user segments. Brand and high-intent Category keywords typically produce users with 30-50% higher ARPU than broad Discovery.
- Skip low-ARPU markets. ARPU in some emerging markets is 10-30% of US. Country targeting in ASA campaigns matters as much as keyword targeting.
How ASAPilot helps
ASAPilot can join ARPU data from your backend or MMP and compute LTV-to-CPA ratios per campaign and per ad group. Findings appear in the account audit with explicit “this campaign is unprofitable at current ARPU” callouts.
See audit guide and pricing.