ARPU (Average Revenue Per User)

ARPU is the blended revenue-per-user metric. Take total revenue in a window and divide by the user count for that same window. If you earned $100,000 last month from 50,000 monthly activesGlossaryMonthly Active Users (MAU)The count of unique users active in the app across a 30-day window. The denominator of stickiness and the top-of-funnel reach metric., your monthly ARPU is $2. Because the denominator includes every user — free-riders, casual payers, whales — ARPU averages over the entire revenue distribution and hides where the money actually comes from.

Variants you'll see in the wild: ARPDAUGlossaryARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User)Total revenue in a period divided by the average daily active users in that period — the per-day-per-active-user revenue rate. (ARPU per daily active user — common in free-to-playGlossaryF2P (Free-to-Play)A mobile-game business model where the game is free to download and play, with revenue generated through in-app purchases, advertising, and battle passes. games), ARPMAU (per monthly active), ARPU paid or ARPPUGlossaryARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User)Total revenue divided by the number of users who paid at least once in the period — the monetization-per-payer metric, excluding free-tier dilution. (revenue divided only by paying users), and time-windowed forms like ARPU 30d (revenue in the last 30 days divided by D-30 installs or D-30 actives). The denominator and the window matter more than the metric name — two apps quoting "ARPU $5" can be measuring 10× different things.

Across the catalog MWM tracks (apps with measurable revenue and ≥1,000 downloads in the last 30 days), the median revenue per installer is $0.15 in a 30-day window. That number surprises most operators on the low side. It reflects how mobile economics actually work: the install baseGlossaryInstall BaseThe cumulative count of devices that currently have the app installed — the "device footprint" of the app, distinct from lifetime downloads. is huge and mostly free, the paying tail is small, and the distribution is heavily long-tailed.

The long tail is where the action is. The 90th-percentile app earns $4.62 per installer — about 30× the median. The top 1% earn $43+ per installer — roughly 280× the median. A single high-LTVGlossaryLifetime Value (LTV)The total revenue (or gross profit) you expect a single user to generate over their entire relationship with the app — the denominator of every UA decision. subscriptionGlossarySubscriptionA recurring in-app purchase that charges the user on a fixed cadence (weekly, monthly, annual) until they cancel. app sitting above $30/installer can carry a portfolio the size of dozens of free-with-IAPGlossaryIn-App Purchase (IAP)Any purchase made inside an app after installation — consumables, non-consumables, or subscriptions. Processed by Apple or Google, who take a 15-30% commission. apps below it.

Category matters too. Social & Communication apps top the median ARPU table at $0.36 per installer, followed by Lifestyle & Well-being at $0.34. Education sits at $0.24. Games — despite their reputation for monetization — trail at $0.07 median because the modal game earns very little; the famous whaleGlossaryWhale (High-Spending Player)A player who spends substantially more than the average paying user — typically the top 2-5% of paying players by lifetime spend, who generate ~80% of F2P revenue.-economy ARPU numbers come from a thin layer of top-grossing titles.

How to read your own ARPU: trends matter more than absolute levels. ARPU often trends down as a freemiumGlossaryFreemiumA business model where the app is free to install and use at a baseline level, with premium features, ad removal, or higher quotas gated behind a one-time or recurri... app scales — free-tier acquisition outpaces paid conversion in any healthy ramp-up. That's fine if total revenue and paying-user counts are growing in absolute terms. Watch ARPPU (revenue per paying user) and paying-user share alongside ARPU. ARPU flat + ARPPU rising = shrinking payer base, each paying more. ARPU flat + ARPPU falling = democratized monetization. Both can be good or bad — context decides.

For unit economics modelling, ARPU sets the floor for what you can afford to pay in user acquisition. Blended CPIGlossaryCost Per Install (CPI)The average amount an advertiser pays for a single install attributed to a campaign — total spend divided by attributed installs. needs to clear ARPU × expected user tenure × gross margin to be profitable. With median ARPU at $0.15 and a 6-month average tenure, the median monetizing app can sustainably afford only ~$0.50-1 in blended CPI — which is why the long-tail dies on paid acquisitionGlossaryPaid UA (Paid User Acquisition)Mobile app user acquisition via paid advertising channels — Meta, TikTok, Google, AppLovin, ironSource, and other ad networks..