ARPU

ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) measures the average revenue generated from all users in a cohort, including total revenue from subscriptions and non-renewing purchases.

ARPU = Total revenue / Total users in cohort

ARPU is a core ROI input — comparing it to CPI (cost per install) tells you whether a paid acquisition channel is profitable. Segmenting ARPU by ad network or campaign surfaces which sources bring the highest-paying users.

Find ARPU under Analytics → Reports → Money in the sidebar.

Chart-specific parameters

Calculate using

Proceeds (default) — average revenue after refunds, store commissions, and VAT.
Sales — average revenue after refunds, but before commissions and VAT.

Switches the numerator. See Proceeds and Sales for the metric definitions.

Cohort Period

Default: Max (no limit). Available options:

Option	What it counts
Day 3	Revenue through day 3 of each user's life.
Day 7	Revenue through day 7.
Day 30	Revenue through day 30.
Day 180	Revenue through day 180.
Day 365	Revenue through day 365.
Enter a value	Opens a popup where you type a custom number of days.

Day 0 = the first 24 hours after install.
Day 1 = the next 24 hours, and so on.

Limits how far into a user's lifetime is counted. Useful for "ARPU by Day N" style payback analysis — for instance, if ARPU by Day 3 is $0.10, the average user brought $0.10 by their 4th day.

Calculate users by events

Defines who counts in the denominator (the user pool):

App Installs (default) — every user who installed in the cohort period. ARPU = Total revenue / Installs.
Trial started — only users who started a trial. ARPU = Total revenue / Trial starters.

Example with App Installs: 100 new users in the period generated $10 → ARPU = $0.10.
Example with Trial started: 100 installs of which 50 started trial generated $10 → ARPU = $0.20.

Supported filters and segments

ARPU supports most standard segments and filters documented in Reports → Filters and segments.

Not supported as Segment by (subscription-product-level dimensions don't apply to ARPU's all-users denominator):

Product
Paywall
Base plan

If you need to break out revenue by these dimensions, use ARPPU (per paying user) or ARPAS (per any subscriber).

Filter-only (not available as Segment by):

Permission group — segment support is planned, currently filter only.
Screen
Experiment variations

FAQ

What's the difference between ARPU, ARPPU, and ARPAS?

The denominator changes:

ARPU — divides by all users (installs).
ARPPU — divides by paying users only.
ARPAS — divides by any subscribers, including users on free trials.

ARPU ≤ ARPAS ≤ ARPPU (usually). Use ARPU for marketing ROI; ARPPU/ARPAS for unit-economics among subscribers.

Why can't I segment by Product on ARPU?

ARPU's denominator is all users, most of whom never bought any specific product. Segmenting revenue from Product X across all users is misleading — use ARPPU (paying users) or ARPAS (any subscribers) for product-level revenue breakdowns.

Why does my ARPU value drop when I switch Calculate users by events from "App Installs" to "Trial started"?

It can go either way — the numerator stays the same but the denominator shrinks (only trial starters). If revenue per trial starter is high relative to the overall install pool, ARPU rises; if revenue is concentrated outside trial starters, it falls.

How is ARPU different from a marketing ARPU number I see elsewhere?

Apphud's ARPU is cohort-based — total revenue from a cohort divided by that cohort's user count, up to the selected Cohort Period. Many ad platforms report a period-based ARPU — revenue in a calendar period divided by active users in that period — which is structurally different. Compare with care.

Which metric should I compare to CAC / CPI / CPA?

Match the denominator to your acquisition metric:

CAC / CPI (cost per install / all acquired users) → compare against ARPU or Cumulative LTV (Calculate using = ARPU). Both divide by the same pool you paid to acquire.
CPA (cost per paying user or trial converter) → compare against ARPPU or ARPAS.
For ROI on a specific campaign / period / geo — compare against the same cohort's value, not the all-time app average. See Cumulative LTV → Should I look at all-time or my cohort?.

Can I compute ARPU only for users who started a trial or made a purchase?

Yes — use Calculate users by events:

App Installs → average across every install (true ARPU).
Trial started → average across users who started a trial (revenue from those users ÷ trial starters).

For paying-user-only or trial-converter-only views, switch to ARPPU instead (Calculate users by events → Purchase or Trial Converted).

Can I segment ARPU by Country, custom user properties, or A/B test variations?

Yes for Country and custom user properties — they're available as both Filters and Segment by dimensions. See Reports → Filters and segments for the full list.

Experiment Variations is currently filter-only on ARPU (not Segment by). To compare variations side-by-side, use A/B test analytics.