Average revenue per user (ARPU)
Monetisation metric. Do they pay, and is it worth what they cost?
What is average revenue per user?
Average revenue per user (ARPU) is the revenue an app earns in a period divided by its active users in that period.
Net revenue: revenue after app store commission, refunds and taxes.
ARPI: average revenue per install, measured on an install cohort.
How to calculate ARPU
ARPU = Revenue in the period ÷ Active users in the period- Revenue
- in-app purchases, subscriptions and ad revenue in the period, gross or net (say which)
- Active users
- MAU for monthly ARPU, or the users your report is about
Where definitions differ
| Variant | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly ARPU | Monthly revenue ÷ MAU | The usual form. |
| ARPDAU | Daily revenue ÷ DAU | Common in games; see its own page. |
| ARPI (per install) | Cohort revenue ÷ Cohort installs | Used for acquisition maths and close to cohort LTV. |
| Identity | ARPU = ARPPU × Paying user share | Shows whether ARPU moved because of price or conversion. |
ARPU calculator
Example inputs: change them to your own numbers. The examples only make the calculator show a worked answer; they are not benchmarks or targets. Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
- ARPU (monthly)
- $2
- ARPPU
- $40
- Paying user share
- 5%
Should ARPU use gross or net revenue?
Use net revenue (after app store commission and taxes) for profit and LTV maths, and gross revenue only when matching store or ad platform reports. Mixing the two is a common reason ARPU figures disagree.
How ARPU differs by vertical
| EdTech | Low ARPU with high ARPPU is typical of freemium learning apps. |
|---|---|
| Fintech | Revenue is often fees, interest or interchange; define revenue before ARPU. |
| OTT and streaming | Includes subscription and, for ad-supported tiers, ad revenue. |
| Gaming | Usually tracked daily as ARPDAU. |
Common mistakes
- Dividing by installs in one report and by MAU in another.
- Leaving out ad revenue in apps that earn from ads.
- Mixing gross and net revenue.
Questions
How do you calculate ARPU?
Divide revenue in a period by active users in the same period. $120k of revenue across 60k MAU is a monthly ARPU of $2.
What is the difference between ARPU and ARPPU?
ARPU divides revenue by all active users; ARPPU divides it only by users who paid. ARPU equals ARPPU multiplied by the share of users who pay.
Does ARPU include ad revenue?
It should if the app earns from ads, because ad revenue comes from all users, paying or not. Some teams report it separately as ad ARPU.
Are the calculator's example inputs benchmarks?
No. The example inputs only make the calculator show a worked answer when the page loads; they are not typical, good or target values. Replace them with your own numbers.
Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?
No. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.
Why do tools report different values for the same metric?
Because definitions differ: what counts as active, which attribution window applies, whether organic users are included and how days are cut by timezone. Align the definition before comparing numbers.