Cost per install (CPI) is a type of CPA model. It implies charging for an instance when a mobile app copy is installed on a smartphone or tablet computer.
To calculate the cost per install total, expenditure on ads to drive app installs should be divided over a total number of installs that were generated with those ads. Currently, the average cost per install is roughly $1.24 / per install.
Top CPI Advertising Networks
Among all payment models established in mobile advertising, this is one of the most important for app developers, because it allows them to calculate ROI of their investments in-app advertising.
Wondering how to increase engaged, qualified new users? Get in touch with our team of user acquisition experts to discuss a custom outcome-based strategy.
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In this directory, we’ve curated all the best CPI Advertising Networks for you.
CPI formula
Source: The Online Advertising Guide
The best CPI advertising networks
CPI ad networks are platforms that connect app advertisers with publishers using a ‘Cost Per Install’ model, where payment occurs only when a user installs the advertised app.
These networks play a key role in user acquisition because they align spending with tangible results. They often provide advanced targeting tools, creative optimisation, and analytics to track install sources, user engagement, and return on ad spend.
We’ve listed the best CPI advertising networks below.
1. Moburst
Moburst offers a range of services, including comprehensive app store optimisation, social media marketing, and CPI advertising, to help both app developers and publishers increase their apps’ overall visibility and boost user acquisition.
From concept to application, they design and develop user-focused, award-winning apps that stand out and build genuine connections by blending aesthetics with innovative behavioural science.
Overview
Moburst was founded in 2013 by Gilad Bechar. With a focus on user experience, innovation, and measurable results, Moburst helps brands turn their app ideas into successful, user-centric products while scaling them effectively in the competitive app market.
Their product consultants employ a methodical approach, refined over time through experience with over 200 products.
Services
Moburst provides its customers with the following services:
- Uses CPI advertising to drive app installs efficiently by paying only for verified user downloads, ensuring performance-based user acquisition
- Establishes consistent visual elements and patterns to maintain brand identity across the app
- Analysing competitors and industry trends to understand market positioning
2. Perform[cb]
Perform[cb] is a performance marketing company that focuses on outcome-based customer acquisition. The company specialises in helping brands grow by delivering measurable results—such as app installs, sales, or leads—using a cost-per-action model where clients only pay for successful outcomes.
Using specialist tools and a wide network of affiliates and media partners, Perform runs highly targeted campaigns across digital channels. Their services include media buying, affiliate program management, and conversion optimisation, all aimed at scaling customer acquisition efficiently.
Overview
Perform[cb], founded initially as Clickbooth in 2002, is a performance marketing company focused on outcome-based customer acquisition. It was established by John Lemp, who envisioned creating a platform that allowed businesses to grow through measurable, results-driven advertising.
Under Lemp’s leadership, the company became known for pioneering cost-per-action (CPA) marketing strategies, where clients only pay for actual outcomes like leads, installs, or sales. This approach positioned Perform[cb] as a major player in the performance marketing space.
Services
Perform[cb] provides its customers with the following services:
- Uses CPI advertising to acquire high-quality app users by paying only when an install occurs, aligning ad spend directly with performance outcomes
- Connects brands with vetted affiliate partners to drive quality customer acquisition
- Designs and manages cost-per-action campaigns to acquire customers efficiently
3. Hitapps
Hitapps is a mobile ad and game development company specialising in performance marketing and real-time bidding. The company’s key strength lies in combining advertising expertise with in-app monetisation strategies.
The network partners with more than 50 top global brands and leverages programmatic bidding tools to optimise campaigns, often achieving measurable boosts in return on investment (ROI) and user lifetime value (LTV).
Overview
Hitapps was founded in 2017 and launched its gaming division, Hitapps Games, gaining traction in casual and puzzle genres and achieving over 100 million downloads across its titles.
They’re known for being a team of highly motivated specialists who combine experience and best practices that deliver time and time again.
Services
Hitapps provides its customers with the following services:
- A/B testing and analytics to optimise frequency, timing, and format
- Integration of static, video, and interactive interstitials to balance user experience with monetisation
- Campaign management, targeting, fraud prevention, RTB, analytics
4. Zoomd
Zoomd is a marketing tech and user acquisition platform that helps brands, app developers, and publishers manage (and optimise) their digital advertising in one place.
A key strength of Zoomd lies in its automation and performance solutions. The platform can automatically optimise campaigns, allocate budgets, and refine targeting to maximise ROI. It also supports influencer- and creator-generated content strategies, providing brands with new ways to connect with audiences in authentic, engaging formats.
Overview
Ido Almany officially joined Zoomd as the company’s new CEO in March 2023 after half a decade of leading American Express in Israel as its General Manager and the CEO of the local exclusive licensee, Premium Express LTD. Ido has a proven track record of achieving growth targets.
Their vision was to unify campaign management across multiple channels into a single system, making it easier for brands and publishers to acquire users and scale their growth.
Services
Zoomd provides its customers with the following services:
- Access to top ad networks and premium platforms
- Real-time performance insights and fraud prevention
- Campaigns leveraging authentic creator content
5. SmadexÂ
Smadex is a mobile-first programmatic DSP that helps advertisers and agencies run performance-driven and brand campaigns across mobile apps and mobile web.
The platform emphasises transparency, privacy, and control, giving advertisers complete visibility into their campaigns and inventory. Smadex also provides creative tools for building engaging ad experiences, robust reporting dashboards with detailed analytics, and support for privacy frameworks such as Apple’s SKAdNetwork.
Overview
Smadex was founded in 2011 in Barcelona, Spain, by Jordi de los Pinos. He set out to create a programmatic ad platform explicitly designed for the growing mobile market at a time when traditional ad tech solutions were not yet optimised.
Under the leadership of Jordi de los Pinos as CEO, Smadex has grown into an internationally recognised DSP.
Services
Smadex provides its customers with the following services:
- App retargeting to re-engage and retain existing users
- Creative and analytics solutions, including dynamic ad creation and real-time performance reporting
- Programmatic user acquisition campaigns across mobile, web, and CTV
6. InMobi
InMobi is a mobile marketing platform that enables brands to engage their audiences through targeted ads across mobile apps and websites. The company offers demand-side tools for advertisers and supply-side services for publishers, enabling the launch and management of campaigns at scale while providing access to premium mobile inventory.
InMobi also focuses on artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve audience segmentation and bid optimisation.
Overview
InMobi was founded in 2007 (originally as a mobile search service called mKhoj) by a team of IIT Kanpur graduates — Naveen Tewari, Amit Gupta, Abhay Singhal, and Mohit Saxena — based in Bengaluru, India.
While Naveen Tewari often takes public credit as the visionary behind InMobi and later Glance, it was a very much a co-founder effort.
Each member brought tech expertise and strategic direction, helping position InMobi as a leading global player in mobile advertising, with products spanning programmatic buying, native ads, in-app engagements, and AI-powered targeting across hundreds of markets.
Services
InMobi provides its customers with the following services:
- Interstitial and banner ads appear within mobile apps or sites for high visibility
- Rewarded video ads incentivise users with in-app rewards
- Native ads deliver seamless, app and content-integrated promotions
7. EvaDav
EvaDav is a global mobile ad network that provides a platform for publishers, app developers, and advertisers to buy and sell advertising inventory across mobile devices.
The platform focuses on providing mobile-first advertising solutions, offering a variety of ad formats, including banner ads, video ads, native ads, interstitials, and more.
Overview
EvaDav was founded by German Ovcharenko. He created the platform to provide an innovative mobile ad solution that connects mobile app developers and publishers with advertisers, allowing them to monetise their apps and sites effectively through different ad formats.
Since its launch, EvaDav has focused on offering a range of ad formats, such as interstitials, native ads, and video ads, and has expanded globally to support mobile-first marketing campaigns.
Services
EvaDav provides its customers with the following services:
- Supports a variety of mobile ad formats, providing flexibility for publishers and advertisers
- Helps advertisers acquire high-quality users for their apps by running targeted user acquisition (UA) campaigns
- Offers a range of monetisation options for app developers and website owners, as well as user acquisition and campaign management tools
8. OGAds
OGAds closely aligns with CPI advertising. Many of OGAds’ offers are CPI-based, particularly for mobile games and utility apps, allowing affiliates to earn commissions when users download and install these apps through their locked content.
OGAds effectively bridges user motivation (unlocking desired content) with advertiser goals (increasing app installs), creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem for both affiliates and app developers alike.
Overview
OGAds was founded by Tom Voitik. The company quickly gained traction within the affiliate marketing community due to its focus on mobile CPI and content locking offers, appealing especially to affiliates targeting mobile users, gaming audiences, and social traffic.
Voitik designed OGAds to make CPA and CPI monetisation more accessible to independent marketers by providing prebuilt tools, landing pages, and real-time tracking.
Services
OGAds provides its customers with the following services:
- Mobile app install offers for iOS and Android platforms
- Smart link and offer optimisation for higher conversions
- Content locking tools to drive app installs through incentives
CPI Benefits
CPI is a model that is largely specific to mobile applications. Primarily, a brand is charged a fixed rate only when the user installs the app. A key benefit of this model is that advertisers can target an app niche’s audience.
User Acquisition Buyer's Guide
Download our User Acquisition Buyer’s Guide to get a full list of the best service providers on the market to choose from. The guide also covers what is a user acquisition company and how to choose the right one.
For app developers looking to create a quick and reliable buzz around their new app, CPI campaigns are often a great way of achieving fast results for them.
One potential drawback of CPI marketing is that you don’t know how many people are using your mobile app. Just because they installed the app doesn’t always mean they are going to spend money on additional purchases or even stick around for long.
Other benefits include:
- You only pay for results with the CPI model
- App developers will be able to gain visibility on the app stores
CPI Rates
Here are some CPI offers along with their platform and country in the table below.
| Platform/Network | Country | CPI Rates |
|---|---|---|
| Facebook Ads | US | $1.8 |
| X (former Twitter) Ads | US | $2.53 |
| Instagram Ads | US | $2.23 |
| Search Ads | US | $1.00 |
| Average iOS app | US | $2.07 |
Source: Business of Apps
Below we’ve listed the best CPI ad networks and platforms so you can get up and running without a problem.
