CPT bids priced from modelled CPA#
Quick answer: Advanced bills per tap, so every CPT bid must trace back to target CPA through tap to install conversion. Category CPT medians span $1.55 in Productivity to $4.21 in Games, and discovery bids stay capped until queries prove themselves.
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What is CPT bidding?#
CPT means cost per tap: Advanced charges when the ad is tapped, while Basic charges per install instead. The auction is dynamic, and practitioner second price shorthand should never be stated as fact. Start at the Apple Ads hub to place this deck in the family.
The pricing formula is simple arithmetic: target CPT equals target CPA times tap to install conversion rate. Read Apple on CPT bids and our measurement deck for the conversion side.
How do you set the first bid?#
Start from category evidence, then adjust to your own conversion: AppTweak US medians run Games $4.21, Finance $3.55, Shopping $2.05, Health $1.59, Education $2.06 and Productivity $1.55, with a global median of $0.92 against $1.91 in the US. SplitMetrics 2025 averages CPT $2.25 with CPA $3.76, all estimated vendor data for modelling, never promises.
Cap discovery a third below proven queries, and hand Maximize Conversions a CPA target only after manual CPT proves the baseline. Our Advanced deck times the handover, and our team audits bid tables monthly.
| Lever | What it means |
|---|---|
| Formula | Target CPT equals target CPA times tap to install rate |
| Category | US medians from $1.55 Productivity to $4.21 Games |
| Discovery | Capped below proven queries until harvests graduate |
| AI bidder | Maximize Conversions on results only, target CPA set |
When do you raise the bid?#
Raise when conversion proves headroom: install rate up, CPA under target, impression share slipping. Bids buy position only where the page converts, so fix screenshots before funding taps.
Hold during learning windows, including the roughly two weeks Maximize Conversions needs after launch. Bid edits mid learning restart the clock you already paid for.
Where does bid pressure differ?#
Brand queries clear cheaply, category queries clear near median, and rival queries clear dearly. Price each pillar from its own conversion maths rather than averaging the account into mush.
Market medians differ too: model the US near $1.91 and global near $0.92 before localising. Our Search tab deck caps the browsing surface separately.
Why does bid discipline beat bid courage?#
Because CPT without CPA maths is hope with a budget, while modelled bids scale: every raise traces to conversion evidence, every cap traces to intent softness. Apple reports top position conversion above 60 per cent, which funds aggression exactly where pages prove it.
Because benchmarks anchor negotiations with finance. Read AppTweak CPT benchmarks and feed winners back to keywords.
Bid Simulator
Turn CPT bids into modelled CPA through your tap to install rate, then judge the headroom against target.
Bid Simulator
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CPT times conversion decides profit, not CPT alone. Read Apple on CPT bids.
Your modelled maths
Run the maths to see modelled CPA and the bid call.
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Fresh bidding wire
Live headlines on CPT movement, auction dynamics and pricing tactics from the folkfox journal.
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