ARPU measures the average revenue generated per user over a specific time period, reflecting monetization efficiency across your user base.
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) divides total revenue by total active users in a given period. For mobile apps, ARPU is typically calculated over daily, monthly, or cohort-based windows. It captures the average monetization value of each user and is a key input into LTV projections.
ARPU is often segmented by acquisition source to reveal which channels bring higher-value users, a direct link between UA creative strategy and monetization. Creatives that accurately represent the product's core value tend to attract users with higher ARPU because they arrive with appropriate expectations and intent.
For free-to-play games, ARPU is dominated by a small percentage of paying users (sometimes <5% of the total user base), making ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User) a complementary metric for understanding the paying segment specifically.
ARPU determines how much you can sustainably pay to acquire users. Higher ARPU directly raises your profitable CPI ceiling, enabling more aggressive UA spend. Creative strategies that attract users predisposed to monetize (not just install) compound over time into meaningfully higher revenue per cohort.
LTV is the total net revenue a user is expected to generate over the full course of their relationship with your app, used to determine how much you can profitably spend to acquire them.
Learn moreMobile User AcquisitionROAS measures revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising, serving as the primary efficiency metric for paid user acquisition.
Learn moreMobile User AcquisitionDAU is the number of unique users who open and engage with an app on any given day, a primary metric for measuring app health and engagement.
Learn moreMobile User AcquisitionRetention rate measures the percentage of users who return to an app on a specific day after install, with D1, D7, and D30 retention being the most critical benchmarks.
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