CPA Calculator

Calculate Cost Per Acquisition Instantly

Simply enter total advertising costs and number of conversions to automatically calculate CPA (Cost Per Acquisition). Understand how much it costs to acquire one conversion and evaluate the efficiency of your advertising investment.

CPA Calculation Tool

Use Cases

The CPA calculator can be used in the following scenarios:

1. Ad Campaign Evaluation

Enter total costs and conversions from Google Ads or Facebook Ads to compare CPA by campaign. Identify the most efficient advertising channels.

2. Budget Planning

Calculate required advertising budget from target conversions and acceptable CPA. Use for realistic goal setting and budget allocation.

3. Comparison with LTV (Lifetime Value)

Compare CPA with LTV to determine if advertising investment is generating profit. If CPA is below LTV, the business is viable.

4. Agency Performance Evaluation

When outsourcing to an ad agency, set CPA as a KPI to objectively evaluate operational performance.

What is CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is the advertising cost required to acquire one conversion (result). It is one of the most important metrics for measuring advertising cost-effectiveness.

Formula

CPA ($) = Total Advertising Cost ÷ Number of Conversions

Example Calculation

If advertising cost is $5,000 and conversions are 50: CPA = $5,000 ÷ 50 = $100 This shows it costs $100 to acquire one conversion.

Guidelines and Criteria

Appropriate CPA varies greatly by industry and product: • E-commerce: 10-30% of product price is typical • Lead generation (B2B): Ideally less than 1/3 of LTV (Lifetime Value) • App installs: $0.10-$30 (varies by app type) What's important is whether CPA is below the profit gained from customers (LTV). If CPA < LTV, the advertising investment is generating profit.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

If CPA is high, how can I improve it?

There are two approaches to CPA improvement: ①Reduce advertising costs: Narrow targeting and lower cost per click. ②Increase conversions: Optimize landing pages and improve CVR. Usually, pursuing both simultaneously allows efficient CPA reduction.

What is the average CPA by industry?

It varies greatly by industry. For example: low-price e-commerce ($10-30), high-price e-commerce ($30-100), B2B SaaS ($50-500), real estate/finance ($100-1,000+). However, comparing with your own LTV is most important.

What's the difference between CPA and CPC?

CPC (Cost Per Click) is the cost per click, while CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is the cost per conversion. CPC measures ad click efficiency, CPA measures final result (purchase, application, etc.) acquisition efficiency. The relationship is: CPA = CPC ÷ CVR.

Is lower CPA always better?

Not necessarily. If CPA is too low, you may narrow your target too much and decrease overall sales. You may also only be acquiring low-quality customers. It's important to balance CPA with LTV and total revenue.

Should I include costs beyond advertising in CPA calculation?

Generally, only pure advertising costs (media costs) are used. However, calculating "full-cost CPA" including agency fees, production costs, and personnel costs is also useful. It's important to unify definitions internally and use the same criteria when comparing.

How should I set CPA targets?

Basically, calculate backwards from LTV (Lifetime Value). For example, if LTV is $300 and profit margin is 30%, acceptable CPA would be around $90 ($300 × 30%). Depending on business growth phase, strategies may prioritize customer acquisition even at short-term losses.

What should I watch for when comparing CPA across ad channels?

Conversion quality may differ by channel. For example, search ads attract users with high purchase intent, while display ads attract awareness-stage users. We recommend evaluating not just CPA, but also post-purchase LTV and churn rates.

Is data entered in this tool saved?

No, all calculations are performed in real-time in your browser and are never sent to a server. Confidential information like advertising costs and conversions is not saved and is deleted when you close the page. Please use with confidence.