Download Effective CPI (Cost Per App Install) Calculator - Find Out How To Find The Real Cost Of An App Install

Deepak Abbot
Deepak is AVP at Paytm. He had previously worked with companies like Reliance Entertainment-Digital, Zapak & Satyam computers.

Finding the cost of your app install is simple — price (CPI) you pay to a network? Think again — is it the actual cost of each net install? Here is a quick math on how to calculate it accurately (excel calculator available below to download):

You need to have the following 3 basic numbers available to start with

Price you pay per install: CPI paid to network
Average uninstall rate: Available from Android App Store dashboard
K Factor (How many organic install brought in by a paid one): Varies as per the rank bucket— check the table below.

K Factor Table

Apps ranked between 1 to 10 = 2.5
Apps ranked between 11 to 25 = 1.5
Apps ranked between 26 to 50 = 1
Apps ranked between 51 to 100 = 0.5
Apps above 101 = 0.1
(Note: Rank in overall Free or Overall Paid section)

So now lets take an example and find App’s effective CPI:

Example 1: App ranked between 11 to 25

(A) Install Recd: 1
(B) CPI Charged by Network: $2.5
(C) Total Paid to Network: A x B = $2.5
(D) Uninstall Rate: 40%
(E) Net Installs: A/(1-D) = 0.6
(F) K Factor: 1.5 (Refer table above)
(G) Organic Install: E x G = 0.9
(H) Total Installs = E + G= 1.5

Effective CPI = H/ C= $1.67

So in above example your effective cost of getting an install is $2.08

Now lets see how the math changes if your app is ranked below 100:

Example 2: App ranked below 100

(A) Install Recd: 1
(B) CPI Charged by Network: $2.5
(C) Total Paid to Network: A x B = $2.5
(D) Uninstall Rate: 40%
(E) Net Installs: A/(1-D) = 0.6
(F) K Factor: 0.1 (Refer table above)
(G) Organic Install: E x G = 0.06
(H) Total Installs = E + G = 0.66
Effective CPI = H / C = $3.79

To make things easy, I am attaching a CPI calculator made in excel which helps you input your app’s details and find out the true CPI.

Download here — http://bit.ly/CPIcalc

Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out to me at dabbot@gmail.com Or connect with me at twitter.com/deepakabbot