CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

The cost to acquire one paying customer — the most-watched unit-economics metric in lead generation.

Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is the all-in cost of acquiring one paying customer — calculated by dividing total acquisition spend by the number of customers acquired. In lead-broker contexts, "CPA model" also describes pricing where the buyer pays only when a lead converts to a customer, not on lead delivery.

The two meanings, used in the same sentences

• Metric: CPA = ad spend + intake costs + platform fees ÷ customers acquired.
• Pricing model: CPA deal = buyer pays $X per closed deal, not per lead. Risk shifts to the broker.

Why operators care about the metric

CPA is the central unit-economics number. If your CPA exceeds the customer's gross lifetime value to the buyer, the unit economics don't work. Smart operators track CPA daily and reject channels that drift above their threshold.

CPA model deals — when they're worth taking

CPA-model deals (per-closed-deal pricing) command higher per-unit payouts than per-lead deals — often 3-5x more. But they shift conversion risk to the broker. Worth taking when: (1) you have data on the buyer's actual close rate, (2) the per-deal payout multiplied by close rate exceeds your per-lead price by a meaningful margin, and (3) you trust the buyer's intake process.