Average Revenue Per User

Also called ARPU

Average revenue per user: the total revenue over a period divided by the number of users. A quick read on how much each user is worth to you.

ARPU = total revenue in a period / number of users

Why it matters

ARPU shows whether you are monetizing your base well and how much room there is to grow revenue without adding users. Rising ARPU alongside growth is a healthy sign; flat ARPU caps how big the business can get.

For example

A consumer app earns 10 lakh a month from 1,00,000 users, so its ARPU is 10 rupees per user.

Go deeper

16 More Startup Metrics a16z · article Average Revenue Per User is defined here among the core startup metrics investors actually track, with how to read it honestly. Open a16z.com →

Related terms

Also in Starting Up

See how founders actually handle this on Money, pricing and metrics, part of the Starting Up hub.

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