Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)

CPA is the average ad or marketing cost per attributed conversion. It focuses on the price of volume in paid growth.

CPA is the average marketing or ad cost per attributed conversion.

Track by channel, creative, and audience. Pair CPA with conversion quality and downstream CAC and payback so spend scales sustainably.

Cost Per Acquisition is the average ad or marketing cost per conversion within a defined attribution window. Track CPA by channel, creative, and audience. Pair CPA with conversion quality and downstream metrics like CAC and payback to ensure paid growth is sustainable.

Use attributed conversions.

Divide attributed ad spend by the number of conversions within a consistent attribution window.

$5k spend, 200 signups → $25 CPA.

Provide a spend and conversions example and clarify definition of conversion (signup vs customer).

Last‑click bias, mismatched windows, and counting low‑quality conversions will distort CPA.

Benchmarks depend on ARPU and CLTV; ensure paid CAC remains viable.

Benchmarks depend on ARPU and CLTV; ensure paid CAC remains viable when scaling.

Track CPA by channel and creative and pair with conversion quality metrics.

CPA connects to CAC and conversion rate and informs paid acquisition budgeting.