Use the tool. Keep your work.
Calculate the ROI of each influencer deal for your app
Enter each creator's fee, installs and paying customers. Get cost per install, ROAS, ROI after the store fee and the break-even point of every deal.
Start here
Enter what a paying customer brings you
Add each creator's deal and results
Take installs and paying customers from the campaign link or offer code you gave each creator. Further down, you see how to set those up.
See what each creator returned
Enter your revenue per paying customer and your store fee first. Or .
Check the formulas
I follow the two definitions Google Ads Help publishes. ROI compares profit with what you spent: ROI = (revenue − cost of goods sold) ÷ cost of goods sold, with your ad costs inside the cost of goods sold. ROAS divides revenue by ad cost: Google calls it conversion value per cost.
- Cost = creator fee + other costs
- Revenue = paying customers × revenue per paying customer
- Store fee = revenue × store fee rate
- ROI = (revenue − cost − store fee) ÷ (cost + store fee)
- ROAS = revenue ÷ cost
- Cost per install = cost ÷ installs
- Cost per paying customer = cost ÷ paying customers
- Paying customers to break even = cost ÷ (revenue per paying customer × (1 − store fee rate))
The store fee counts as a cost of each sale, the way Google counts production costs for a physical product. Apple charges 15% in its App Store Small Business Program, 30% at its standard rate, and 15% on subscription renewals after a customer's first paid year (Apple Developer Program License Agreement). Google lists its rates in Play Console Help. Enter the rate your own payout report shows.
Follow a worked example
Your app sells a $39.99 yearly plan, and you pay Apple 15%. A running coach charges $800 and brings 640 installs and 32 paying customers. A fitness filmmaker charges $1,500 and brings 900 installs and 27 paying customers.
- Running coach: 32 × $39.99 = $1,279.68 revenue, $191.95 store fee. ROI = ($1,279.68 − $991.95) ÷ $991.95 = 29%. You needed 24 paying customers to break even.
- Fitness filmmaker: 27 × $39.99 = $1,079.73 revenue, $161.96 store fee. ROI = ($1,079.73 − $1,661.96) ÷ $1,661.96 = −35%. You needed 45 paying customers to break even.
The filmmaker brought 260 more installs and still lost money, because 3% of those installs paid against 5% for the coach. Judge creators on paying customers, and pay the next one with the break-even number in mind.
Count installs and paying customers per creator
Your ROI only holds when each install traces back to one creator. Give every creator their own link or code before they post.
- On iOS, create one App Store Connect campaign link per creator. The campaign token can hold up to 30 characters, so use the creator's handle. Analytics then shows impressions, product page views, downloads, sales and subscriptions for each token (Apple).
- Expect gaps. Apple counts a first-time download when someone downloads your app within 24 hours of using the link, and shows a metric only once it reaches 5 in the date range you pick (Apple).
- On Android, add utm_source and utm_campaign to the Google Play link you give each creator. Play Console lets you filter its store listing acquisition data by UTM source and campaign (Play Console Help).
- For subscriptions, add a custom offer code per creator, such as the creator's name. Apple lets up to 25,000 people redeem one custom code at a time (Apple), and each redemption ties a subscriber to that creator.
- Read installs and paying customers for the same dates, then enter them above.
Still choosing creators? Price the deal first with the CPM calculator, then come back here once the results arrive. For the full measurement plan, read how to measure influencer marketing ROI for an app.
Get quick answers about influencer ROI
How do you calculate influencer marketing ROI?
Subtract every cost from the revenue the creator brought, then divide by those costs. For an app, count the creator fee, other costs and the store fee on those sales. Google Ads Help uses the same structure: (revenue − cost of goods sold) ÷ cost of goods sold (Google).
What is the difference between ROI and ROAS?
ROAS divides revenue by what you spent on the campaign, so $1,280 of revenue on $800 gives you 160%. ROI subtracts all costs first, the store fee included, so the same deal gives you 29%. A ROAS above 100% can still hide a loss.
How do you track app installs from an influencer?
Give each creator their own App Store Connect campaign link, a Google Play link with utm_source and utm_campaign, or an offer code. Each one maps installs or subscriptions back to one creator in Apple's or Google's own reports.
When does an influencer deal break even?
When your proceeds after the store fee cover the deal's cost. Divide the cost by what one paying customer leaves you after the store fee: $800 ÷ ($39.99 × 0.85) means 24 paying customers.
Check the method
Understand your result
I follow Google Ads Help: ROI = (revenue - cost of goods sold) / cost of goods sold, and ROAS = revenue / cost. For an app, revenue is paying customers times what one paying customer pays you, and the costs are the creator fee, your other costs and the store fee on those sales. Enter the store fee your payout report shows. Apple publishes 15% for its Small Business Program and 30% as its standard rate.
Read the related guide