Cost per acquisition
CPA calculator
Enter your ad spend and conversions to see what each customer, lead or sign-up costs — or plan the budget for a target CPA.
Your CPA
$25.00
cost per acquisition
$500.00 ÷ 20 = $25.00
The CPA formula
CPA = total cost ÷ conversions
Cost per acquisition is the metric closest to money: it says what you paid for each result that matters to the business. Impressions and clicks are steps on the way; CPA is the price of the outcome.
Two ways to lower CPA
Because CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate, there are only two levers:
- Pay less per click — better targeting and stronger creative usually lower CPC.
- Convert more visitors — a faster, clearer landing page with one obvious next step raises the conversion rate.
Target CPA
Set your target from the profit per customer, not from industry averages. If a customer is worth $60 in profit and you want to keep at least half, your target CPA is $30. Switch the calculator to Conversions to see how many you need from a given budget at that price.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate CPA?
Divide total ad spend by the number of conversions. $500 that produced 20 sales is $500 ÷ 20 = $25 per acquisition.
What counts as a conversion?
Whatever action you are paying to get — a purchase, a sign-up, a lead form, an app install. Define it once and keep it the same when you compare campaigns.
What is a good CPA?
Any CPA below the profit a customer brings in. If an order earns you $60 in profit, a $25 CPA leaves $35; a $70 CPA loses money on the first order (it may still pay off if customers come back).
How are CPA, CPC and conversion rate related?
CPA = CPC ÷ conversion rate. At $1.25 per click and a 5% conversion rate, each conversion costs $1.25 ÷ 0.05 = $25.