App Revenue Per Install Calculator: Monetization Per Download
Work out the average revenue per install (RPI) of a mobile app — the per-download monetization metric to set against the cost per install you pay to acquire each user.
Adjust the inputs and select Calculate for a full breakdown.
Compare Common Scenarios
How the numbers shift across typical situations for this calculator:
| Scenario | Revenue per install |
|---|---|
| $50k / 100k installs | $0.50 |
| $8k / 5k installs (high RPI) | $1.60 |
| $1M / 5M installs (low RPI) | $0.20 |
| $25k / 250k installs | $0.10 |
How This Calculator Works
Enter total app revenue and total installs over the same period. The calculator divides one by the other to give revenue per install — the per-download monetization figure to compare against cost per install (CPI) for unit profitability.
The Formula
Cost per Unit
Total Amount is the full cost or price, Quantity is the number of units it covers
Worked Example
An app earning $50,000 across 100,000 installs has a $0.50 RPI. If paid acquisition costs $0.30 CPI, the app is profitable on a unit basis with $0.20 of margin per install. If CPI is $0.80, the app is losing $0.30 per acquired user — common in pre-monetization apps and a sign that the business model is not yet working.
Key Insight
RPI vs CPI is the fundamental unit economics question for mobile apps. Free-to-play games at scale often reach $1 to $5 RPI; productivity and subscription apps can clear $10+ for paying cohorts but lower across blended installs. The trap: paid user acquisition only works if RPI exceeds CPI by enough margin to cover infrastructure, support, and overhead. Apps that scale acquisition without verifying RPI > CPI burn the most cash.
iOS ATT and the privacy-attribution era — RPI definitions have changed
Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT), enforced from iOS 14.5 in April 2021, fundamentally changed how mobile app RPI is measured. Pre-ATT, deterministic identifier-based attribution (IDFA) allowed precise install-to-revenue tracing. Post-ATT, only ~25% of iOS users opt in to tracking — the remaining 75% are measured through SKAdNetwork (SKAN), a privacy-preserving framework with material limitations: 24-hour conversion window (extended to 35 days in SKAN 4.0), aggregated reporting, and limited identifier granularity.
Operational impact: paid RPI on iOS is now reported with 24-48 hour reporting delay, lower precision (rounded to integer conversion values), and limited segmentation (campaign-level, not creative-level for most channels). Comparing pre-ATT and post-ATT RPI directly is meaningless — the measurement methodology changed. Android operates on a privacy-permissive model where deterministic attribution remains available; Google's Privacy Sandbox (rolling out 2024-2026) will move Android toward SKAN-like measurement.
Best practice 2024-2026: report paid RPI in two segments — SKAN-measured (the headline number for iOS paid) and full-stack measured (Android + opt-in iOS, used for unit economics modeling). Sensor Tower's industry reports separate these explicitly. Companies that report a single blended RPI without explaining the measurement basis are producing misleading numbers.
Category benchmarks — gaming, social, subscription, and utility
Mobile app monetization spans four primary models with very different RPI profiles. (1) GAMING — IAP-driven, top-quartile D30 RPI for hyper-casual gaming ~$0.20-$0.50, mid-core gaming $2-$10, hardcore gaming $20-$100+ (driven by whales — top 1% of users contribute 50-80% of revenue). (2) SOCIAL — ad-driven, RPI varies by content engagement and ad load; Meta's Reels monetization runs $0.30-$1.00 per active user per month; TikTok similar.
(3) SUBSCRIPTION (dating, productivity, fitness, streaming) — subscription RPI is the highest-converting model. Conversion-to-paid rates run 1-5% on free tier (utility apps), 5-15% on guided onboarding (fitness, language learning), 15-30% on dating (Tinder, Bumble). D365 RPI in subscription apps frequently exceeds $20-$50 per install, vastly more than ad-supported. (4) UTILITY/HYBRID — RPI is the lowest on a per-install basis because monetization intensity is low; relies on volume scale.
Sensor Tower data shows that the top 100 grossing apps globally derive 70%+ of revenue from in-app purchases (gaming, subscription), and the gap between top-quartile and median RPI has widened year-over-year — winner-take-most dynamics dominate mobile monetization. Building for median RPI is a path to mediocrity; building for top-quartile requires deliberate product-monetization design rather than retrofitted ads.
D30 RPI benchmarks by mobile app category (2024)
Reference D30 (30-day) revenue per install by category. RPI is highly variable by region (Tier 1 — US/UK/JP/KR run 2-4× Tier 3 — emerging markets) and operating system (iOS users monetize 2-3× higher than Android on average).
| Category | D30 RPI (median) | D30 RPI (top quartile) | Monetization model |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyper-casual games | $0.15-$0.40 | $0.80-$1.50 | Ad-supported |
| Mid-core games | $1-$5 | $10-$25 | IAP + ads |
| Hardcore RPG / strategy | $10-$40 | $80-$200+ | IAP (whales) |
| Social / utility (ad-supported) | $0.20-$1.00 | $2-$5 | Ad-supported |
| Dating (subscription) | $5-$15 | $25-$60 | Subscription |
| Fitness / wellness (subscription) | $3-$10 | $20-$50 | Subscription |
| Productivity (freemium subscription) | $2-$8 | $15-$40 | Subscription |
| Streaming (subscription) | $8-$25 | $40-$100+ | Subscription |
Benchmarks blend iOS and Android. iOS RPI is typically 2-3× Android RPI in developed markets due to higher willingness to pay. Post-ATT (iOS 14.5+) RPI measurement uses SKAdNetwork which has lower precision than pre-ATT IDFA-based attribution — comparisons across that boundary should be treated with skepticism.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is revenue per install calculated?
Divide total app revenue by total installs over the same period. $50,000 across 100,000 installs is a $0.50 RPI.
What is a good RPI?
Varies enormously by app category. Casual mobile games often clear $1 to $5 across the LTV window. Subscription apps target $20+ per install across 12 to 24 months. Free apps with no clear monetization can run under $0.10.
How is this different from ARPU?
ARPU divides by active users (already engaged); RPI divides by installs (which includes users who churned immediately). RPI is harsher because it includes everyone who downloaded; ARPU flatters the picture by counting only users who stayed.
What is the relationship to CPI?
CPI is what you pay to acquire one install via paid marketing. RPI is what you earn per install. The app is profitable on a unit basis when RPI > CPI; the gap funds infrastructure, support, and profit.
Should RPI be lifetime or first-90-days?
Both useful. Lifetime RPI is more accurate but slower; first-90-days is faster but understates apps with long monetization curves (subscriptions). Pick a window that lets you make decisions quickly enough.
When is this calculator unreliable?
When iOS paid attribution depends on SKAdNetwork (post-iOS 14.5) with its 24-35 day window and aggregated reporting — pre-ATT and post-ATT RPI are not directly comparable. Also unreliable when comparing across regions without segmentation (iOS Tier-1 markets run 2-3× emerging-market RPI), when ad load or subscription pricing changed during the measurement window, or as a single blended number across organic + paid installs (the two should be tracked separately). For unit-economics modeling, use D90 or D365 RPI by acquisition source, not D30 blended.
References & Authoritative Sources
- Apple — App Store Connect — App Analytics — Revenue and Acquisition Reports · consulted June 1, 2026 · Official iOS app revenue reporting; the canonical reference for App Store data
- Google Play Console — Reports and Statistics for Developers · consulted June 1, 2026 · Official Google Play revenue and acquisition reporting
- Sensor Tower — Mobile Insights — Mobile App Industry Reports · consulted June 1, 2026 · Aggregated mobile app revenue and install data; the standard industry benchmark source
Related Calculators
Methodology & Review
App Revenue Per Install (RPI) equals total app revenue divided by total installs over the same period. The metric is reported separately for paid installs (revenue from paid acquisition campaigns / installs from those campaigns) and organic installs (revenue attributable to organic / organic install count, typically lower than paid because intent is weaker). For attribution, RPI is typically measured at a fixed window after install (D7, D30, D90, D365) to allow conversion behavior to mature. D30 RPI is the most common operating metric; D365 RPI is the closest approximation of LTV per install for mobile apps with mature monetization. RELIABILITY: Reliable for stable monetization models with consistent install attribution. Less reliable in the months after a monetization change (new IAP, subscription pricing, ad density adjustment), after a privacy-policy enforcement change (Apple ATT, Google Privacy Sandbox), or when comparing across app categories with very different monetization structures (gaming IAP vs subscription apps vs ad-supported).
Updated