IPM (installs per mille) is the creative-performance metric in mobile UA. The formula: attributed installs ÷ (ad impressions ÷ 1,000). A 15-second video ad with an IPM of 10 generated 10 installs per 1,000 impressions; one with an IPM of 2 generated 2. IPM is the metric that decides which of your creatives the ad network shows more often — because at the same CPI bid, a higher-IPM creative generates more network revenue per impression.
Why IPM matters more than CPI for scaling: a higher IPM creative wins more auctions at the same bid, because the ad network's expected revenue per impression for your campaign rises. The math: if your $10 CPI yields an IPM of 10, the network earns $10 × (10 / 1,000) = $0.10 per impression. Bump IPM to 20 (same CPI), the network earns $0.20 per impression. The network now allocates more impressions to your campaign over competitors, so you scale.
IPM benchmarks (rough 2026 anchors, US iOS):
- Hyper-casual games: 30-80 — the entire business model depends on low CPI × very high IPM.
- Casual games "hero" creatives: 15-30.
- Utility apps: 5-15.
- Subscription productivity: 2-8.
- Finance / fintech: 0.5-3.
Benchmark only against your category and platform — cross-category comparisons mislead.
IPM is why UA teams ship dozens of creative variants. Creative production is the highest-ROI investment in modern UA: a winning creative often generates 5-10× the IPM of a baseline. Mature UA teams produce 50-200+ creative variants per quarter, run concept testing, kill losers fast, and treat creative as a compounding competitive moat. The teams that win the creative game scale; the ones that don't burn out.
Common pitfall: optimizing IPM without checking downstream quality. A high-IPM creative might attract low-LTV users — they install easily but don't convert to paid. Always measure IPM jointly with retention, conversion-to-paid, and observed LTV. The right metric is "highest revenue per impression spent", which is IPM × cohort LTV — not IPM alone.