eCPI

What is eCPI?

Effective Cost Per Install (eCPI) is a comprehensive marketing metric that calculates acquisition costs while accounting for organic factors like viral growth, providing a more complete picture of user acquisition economics.

How does eCPI work?

Unlike standard Cost Per Install (CPI) measurements that focus exclusively on direct advertising expenses divided by resulting installations, eCPI incorporates secondary acquisition channels that emerge from initial marketing investments. These include organic installations driven by word-of-mouth recommendations, social sharing, app store visibility improvements, and other network effects that amplify the impact of paid campaigns without incurring additional costs.

By calculating this more holistic measurement, application developers gain deeper insights into the true efficiency of their marketing strategies beyond immediate conversion metrics.

How is eCPI used?

For software companies launching new products, understanding eCPI enables more accurate budget allocation by recognizing campaigns that might show higher upfront costs but ultimately deliver superior long-term value through stronger viral coefficients.

This nuanced perspective helps marketing teams optimize their acquisition strategies by identifying channels that generate the most favorable combination of direct conversions and organic growth multipliers, ultimately lowering overall user acquisition costs while maximizing sustainable growth.