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CPI (cost per install)

CPI is a payment model where the advertiser pays for each app install. Common in mobile app campaigns, often combined with later in-app events.

CPI (cost per install) is a payment model used by mobile apps: the advertiser pays a fixed amount each time a user installs the app after clicking an affiliate's link.

How CPI is tracked

Installs happen in the app store, so a mobile measurement partner (MMP) such as AppsFlyer, Adjust or Branch matches the install to the click and sends the result to the network by postback, with the click ID.

CPI and later events

An install alone says little about the user. Many app campaigns pay for a later event instead, or as well: a registration, a purchase, a subscription. This is CPA with the install as one of the goals.

Typical risks

Install fraud is common: device farms, emulators and click injection. Watch for installs from data centres, many installs from the same device or IP, and installs that happen seconds after the click.

In RastroAff

An offer can have several goals (install, registration, purchase), each with its own payout, sent by the MMP to the advertiser postback. Fraud checks flag repeated devices, data-centre IPs and conversions that come too fast.