{"id":58493,"date":"2026-05-21T21:55:46","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T18:55:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/affisemmp.com\/?post_type=glossary-term&p=58493"},"modified":"2026-09-14T10:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T07:32:14","slug":"cost-per-install-cpi","status":"publish","type":"glossary-term","link":"https:\/\/affisemmp.com\/es\/glossary-term\/cost-per-install-cpi\/","title":{"rendered":"Cost Per Install (CPI)"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Cost Per Install (CPI)?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Cost Per Install (CPI)<\/b> is a primary pricing model and foundational mobile user acquisition (UA) metric. It measures the exact price an advertiser pays each time a user downloads, installs, and successfully opens their application as a direct result of clicking an advertisement.<\/span><\/p>\n

Unlike broader top-of-funnel metrics like Cost Per Click (CPC) or Cost Per Mille (CPM), CPI strictly ties advertising spend to a concrete, high-intent conversion event. This makes it a vital Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for evaluating campaign efficiency, scaling app growth, and calculating Return on Ad Spend (ROAS).<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Calculate CPI<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Calculating your Cost Per Install is a straightforward process. You divide the total budget spent on a specific advertising campaign by the total number of new app installs generated by that campaign.<\/p>\n

The CPI Formula:<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

CPI = Total Ad Spend \/ Total Number of Installs<\/b><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Example:<\/b><\/p>\n

If an advertiser spends $10,000 on a video ad network and that campaign drives 4,000 new app installs, the calculation is:<\/p>\n

$10,000 \/ 4,000 = $2.50 CPI<\/i><\/p>\n

CPI vs. CPA: What is the Difference?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

While CPI is critical for measuring the cost of initial app growth, it is often evaluated alongside Cost Per Action (CPA)<\/b> to determine the overall quality of the acquired users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/strong><\/td>\nWhat it Measures<\/strong><\/td>\nPrimary Use Case<\/strong><\/td>\nGoal<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
CPI (Cost Per Install)<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nThe cost to get a user to download and launch the app.<\/span><\/td>\nRapid user acquisition, scaling up app store rankings, and measuring top-funnel ad efficiency.<\/span><\/td>\nVolume and initial user base growth.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CPA (Cost Per Action)<\/b><\/span><\/td>\nThe cost to drive a specific post-install event (e.g., registration, in-app purchase, completing a tutorial).<\/span><\/td>\nEvaluating deep-funnel campaign performance and user quality.<\/span><\/td>\nRevenue generation and user engagement.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Why Tracking CPI is Critical for Mobile Marketers<\/strong><\/h2>\n