Guide
How to measure Apple Search Ads ROAS with RevenueCat
Updated 2026-11-02 · 3 min read
Short answer: ROAS = revenue from users attributed to Apple Ads ÷ Apple Ads spend, over the same cohort. Use proceeds (after Apple's cut), not gross; pick a fixed window like 7 or 30 days after install; and remember unattributed installs land in organic, so ROAS is a floor, not an exact number.
The inputs
- Spend: from the Apple Ads API (or the Apple Ads dashboard) per campaign and day.
- Attributed revenue: from RevenueCat, filtered to users whose attribution is Apple Ads. Requires the RevenueCat Apple Ads integration.
Do it the honest way
- Use proceeds, not customer price. Apple keeps 15–30%. A 1.2 ROAS on gross can be a loss after Apple's cut.
- Use a cohort window. Compare spend on installs from a given week with revenue those users generated in their first 7 or 30 days. Mixing this week's spend with this week's revenue from older users flatters bad campaigns.
- Know what's missing. Installs whose token wasn't posted in time, or campaigns with age/gender targeting, show up as organic. Your measured ROAS is a lower bound.
- Look at cost per purchase too. Cost per install is easy to optimize and says nothing about revenue.
A kill rule that works
Decide what a purchase is worth to you (for example, first-month proceeds), then set a rule: "if cost per purchase for a campaign is above that for 7 days, pause it". WhyItChanged runs exactly this kind of rule and posts it to Discord once.
Questions
What's a good ROAS for Apple Search Ads?
Above 1.0 on proceeds within the window you can afford to wait for. For subscription apps, compare against expected lifetime value, not just the first week.
Can RevenueCat import my Apple Ads spend?
RevenueCat shows Apple Ads attribution as chart segments; we found no documented import of ad spend. You need spend from the Apple Ads API separately.