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Imagine: you just decoded what CPA is, and you almost feel like you’re “in the know.” But then three new abbreviations appear on the horizon — CPL, CPS, CPI. And again, that same vibe, as if you were called to the board in an algebra lesson: everyone confidently nods, and you sit and think whether you can just “scroll through” this moment.
Spoiler: you can’t. Because it’s these letters that determine how much you’ll actually earn and whether you’ll blow your budget. So let’s understand in simple words, with examples and even typical fake-outs — so that after this article you can calmly talk about CPL, CPS and CPI without Google Translate in your head.
Three letters that decide the fate of your advertising campaigns: CPL, CPS and CPI. It sounds like a spell from Harry Potter, but in fact they are just different ways of paying for results in advertising. Let’s put it in human terms:
In short: CPL — data, CPS — money, CPI — application.
To understand the difference between CPL, CPS and CPI, let’s look at real scenarios.
It’s simple: the advertiser needs contacts of potential customers. You launch an advertisement for the course “English in 30 days”, the person goes to the landing page and leaves an e-mail and phone number to receive a free webinar. For the company, this is already a “lead” that can be further nurtured. For you, it is a payment for each contact. Usually it is from $1 to $5 per lead, depending on the niche and geography.
Here you pay only when there is a real sale. For example, you drive traffic to a website with sneakers. A person sees the advertisement, goes and buys a pair of Nike for $100. The advertiser is happy with the new customer, and you get your commission – let’s say 10% ($10 from each purchase). Profitable, but more difficult: the user needs to not just click, but actually place an order.
This is a story about mobile applications. Conventionally, a company releases a new farm game and wants it downloaded. You create a creative like “Plant your first virtual cucumber right now”, the user installs the application – and for that you get money. Rates are usually $0.5–2 per install. It’s easy to start, but the advertiser often looks not only at downloads, but also at whether the player stayed for at least a few days.
In short: CPL is when a contact is important, CPS is when there is a purchase, and CPI is when the application was downloaded.
At first glance, it seems: CPL, CPS, CPI are just different price tags for user actions. But in practice, each model has its own nuances, which it is better to know about from the very beginning, so as not to burn through the budget.
You can get hundreds of leads for $1, but if half of them are students who left fake emails, the profit from this is zero. Quality is important here, not quantity. Leads are not money, they are just a chance to push them to buy.
Getting a percentage of a real sale is sweet, because this is where the biggest profit is. But it is much more difficult to “pull” a user to buy: you need strong creatives, warmed-up traffic and an adequate product that actually sells.
Here it all comes down to the user installing the application. The easiest way to do this is with motivated traffic (for example, “download – get a bonus”). But there is a nuance: advertisers look at retention – whether the user stayed in the game or application for at least a few days. If everyone deletes after an hour – there may be no money.
The classic: you load traffic from TikTok, and then find out that it is prohibited for this offer. Geo, platforms, rules – be sure to check before launching. This will save you nerves and money.
A high payout looks attractive, but the reality is different: an offer of $100 for CPS may not give conversions, while a CPL of $2 may bring stable income. Look at the conversion and test. Only then will you understand what works in your relationship.
In short: for a beginner, the best strategy is to test with small budgets, look at the quality of traffic and not chase the numbers in the payouts.
In arbitrage, the main thing is not just to “get an action”, but to understand whether it really brings money. Therefore, each model has its own indicators that need to be monitored.
It’s not how many leads you get that matters, but their quality. If out of 100 leads, only 5 lead to a purchase, that’s a signal. Look at the CR (conversion rate) from a lead to a customer. Otherwise,
You can pay $2 for “dead souls”.
Here the king of metrics is ROI. Calculate: how much you invested in advertising and how much you received from sales. The average check and repeat purchases are also important: if customers return, your traffic is really high-quality.
Downloading an application is easy, but staying in it is more difficult. Therefore, look at retention (how many users remain in a day/week/month). Another key metric is LTV (lifetime value): how much money one user brings in over the entire time. If LTV is lower than the cost of installation, a business with such traffic will not work.
Do not be carried away by “superficial numbers”. You can have 1000 leads, but without sales it is a soap bubble. Always calculate not only payments per action, but also net profit.
The winner in arbitration is not the one who drives the most traffic, but the one who knows how to count the numbers after the first click.
In order not to get lost among the abbreviations and not waste budgets, it is worth keeping a brief summary in mind.
This can be an e-mail, phone or simple registration. The model is convenient for starting, because a lead is usually cheaper than a sale. However, the main trap is quality. If the contacts turn out to be fake or people who are not interested in the product, the advertiser will not count them. Here it is important to look not at the quantity, but at how these leads are further converted into buyers.
This model gives the most understandable result, because you pay for a specific action — a purchase. It can be very profitable: commissions are often large, and repeat orders from customers bring additional income. At the same time, CPS requires high-quality work with traffic: strong creatives, proper campaign settings, a product that is actually purchased. Here it is worth monitoring ROI and the ratio of costs to profits.
A simple model at first glance: the user downloaded the application — the arbitrageur received money. However, advertisers almost always evaluate not only the fact of installation, but also how long the user stayed in the application, whether they spent money there, or returned the next day. Therefore, the key metrics here are retention and LTV. If users massively delete the application immediately after installation, the campaign may not be counted.
Before launching, carefully check the terms of the offer: allowed traffic sources, countries, advertising formats. Do not choose an offer only by the rate: the figure in the payments looks attractive, but may have nothing to do with real profit. Always test and look at conversion. The main indicator of success is not the number of clicks or installs, but the net profit after all expenses.
In short: CPL is about contacts, CPS is about money, CPI is about installs. All three models work, but each has its own risks and peculiarities. Beginners should start with small budgets, experiment and gradually hone their skills, instead of chasing the biggest payouts right away.
CPL, CPS and CPI are not just acronyms, but three different approaches to how your work is counted in the world of arbitrage. Your risk and your profit depend on which model you choose. CPL is convenient to start with, but requires quality control. CPS brings the most money, but requires strong skills and experience. CPI seems simple, but without good retention and real value to the application turns into a drain.
Your strategy as a beginner is not to try to immediately “shoot” at the highest rates, but to gradually test models, compare their results and build your own system. Start with a small budget, track metrics, experiment with offers and traffic.
Arbitrage is always practice. Theory provides the basis, but only your own tests will show what exactly works in your niche and with your audience.
And most importantly: do not treat CPL, CPS or CPI as “magic buttons”. They are just tools. How exactly they will bring profit depends on how competently you work with them.