# CPA

> Cost per acquisition (CPA) is the average advertising cost of one conversion, calculated by dividing ad spend by the number of conversions recorded in the same period.

Source: https://adops.id/glossary/cpa/
Last updated: 2026-08-20
Publisher: AdOps (https://adops.id) — an independent product, not affiliated with Meta Platforms, Inc.

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**Abbreviation:** CPA

**Also known as:** Cost per acquisition, Cost per action, Cost per result

**Formula:** CPA = ad spend ÷ conversions in the same period

**In AdOps:** AdOps has no metric labelled CPA. It names the cost of each specific conversion instead — Cost per Purchase (`cost_per_action_type.omni_purchase`), Cost per lead, Cost per add to cart and six more — among the 15 metrics in its cost_efficiency category.

Cost per acquisition (CPA) is what one conversion costs on average: total ad spend divided by the conversions counted in the same period. AdOps does not use the label CPA. Its rule builder names the cost of each specific conversion instead, such as Cost per Purchase, Cost per lead and Cost per add to cart.

## How is CPA calculated?

Divide spend by conversions over the same window. A campaign that spent Rp 15,000,000 in the last 7 days and recorded 250 purchases has a CPA of Rp 60,000. If gross margin on an order is Rp 75,000, that campaign clears Rp 15,000 per order. At 180 purchases the CPA rises to Rp 83,333 and every order loses money.

## When is CPA a better threshold than ROAS?

CPA is an absolute amount, so it maps straight onto unit economics: a margin of Rp 75,000 per order gives a hard ceiling of Rp 75,000. ROAS is a ratio and travels better across campaigns with different order values. Writing both into one AND group means a campaign has to fail on cost and on return before it is paused.

## Which cost metrics does AdOps offer?

The cost_efficiency category holds 15 of the 45 rule metrics, including Cost per Purchase, Cost per Website Purchase, Cost per lead, Cost per add to cart, Cost per checkout initiated, Cost per content view, Cost per landing page view and Cost per registration completed. Each accepts any of the 11 reporting periods and all 6 comparison operators.