How Basic and Advanced differ

The two solutions in one paragraph#

Apple Ads ships in two solutions for different levels of expertise, resource and budget. Basic drives installs with minimal effort at a predictable CPI: no keywords, no audience settings, automation matches the ad to interested users. Advanced hands you the controls: keywords, bids, audiences and all four placements including Today tab, Search tab and product pages. Apple own solutions comparison sets them side by side. Orient yourself at the Apple Ads hub before choosing.

The choice is rarely permanent, and many teams start Basic then graduate individual apps to Advanced once install volume funds learning. What matters is matching the solution to the question you can currently answer: if you know your keywords and payers, take Advanced; if you want installs while you learn, take Basic. Switching between them has its own entry when the time comes.

Cost models: CPI against CPT#

Basic bills on CPI, cost per install: you set a maximum CPI and a monthly budget, and Apple maximises installs within both. Advanced bills on CPT, cost per tap: you bid per tap on chosen keywords and pay for the taps you win. CPI feels predictable because spend tracks installs directly; CPT rewards skill because sharper keywords and stronger product pages convert taps into installs more cheaply. Neither model is cheaper in itself; efficiency decides.

Set the numbers from unit economics, not from wishful thinking. Basic needs a max CPI below the margin an install can repay; Advanced needs keyword bids that leave room between tap cost and install value at your conversion rate. Our TTR and CPT glossary defines every rate in the maths.

Ceilings, floors and hard limits#

Basic carries a $10,000 per app per month ceiling, a single budget across every country where the promotion runs, and there is no published minimum spend, so ignore any third party figure quoted as official. Basic also caps each account at 50 promoted apps and measures on a 30 day attribution window. Apple own Basic promotion help states the ceiling and the setup steps plainly.

Advanced budgets work differently: a daily budget with monthly spend capped at the daily figure times 30.4, the average days in a month, continuing monthly until paused. Keyword capacity runs deep at 5,000 keywords and 5,000 negatives per ad group, so structure is the constraint, never headroom. Check account structure before scaling past a handful of themes.

Control: what Advanced unlocks#

Advanced unlocks keywords with exact and broad match, Search Match automation, negative keywords, audience refinement by device and customer type, scheduling, and ad variations built on custom product pages. It also opens the Today tab, Search tab and product pages placements that Basic never touches. With control comes responsibility: harvesting search terms, pruning waste and splitting brand from discovery all sit with you. The first campaign walkthrough shows a sensible starting shape.

Basic deliberately withholds all of that in exchange for simplicity: choose the app, choose markets, set budget and max CPI, and automation does the rest. Teams without keyword hypotheses or creative variants often perform better under Basic than under a neglected Advanced build. Honest self assessment at this step saves real money.

Which solution fits your app#

Choose Basic when the app is new, budgets are small, the team is thin, or paid search is an experiment rather than a channel. Choose Advanced when installs already flow, when brand defence matters, when keyword knowledge exists in house, or when Today tab and product pages belong in the plan. Portfolio teams often run both: Basic for the long tail of apps, Advanced for the earners. Review the split quarterly as apps graduate.

Whichever you choose, link App Store Connect cleanly and confirm the app is live before spending a penny, since neither solution can promote what the store cannot show. If the decision still feels close, ask our team for a ten minute steer with your numbers in front of us.

Frequently asked questions#