Rev share vs CPA break-even

A flat CPA pays once. Revenue share pays every month a referred user keeps generating revenue. Which is worth more is not a matter of opinion — it is a division, and the answer turns on retention.

What the break-even means

The break-even is the number of months a referred user must stay before revenue share has paid you more than the CPA would have. Below it the CPA wins; above it revenue share wins. It is CPA divided by your monthly share, and nothing else.

Why churn decides the argument

Expected lifetime here is 1 / monthly churn. At 10% monthly churn the average referred user stays ten months; at 25% they stay four. That single input moves the answer more than the commission rate does, which is why programs advertising a high revenue share rarely publish their churn.

At 0% churn the calculation has no finite answer — a user who never leaves has no lifetime — so the tool leaves those outputs blank rather than printing infinity.

What this does not model

Payment delays, minimum payout thresholds, negative carryover, and the possibility that a program changes its terms are all excluded. Each of those reduces what revenue share actually delivers, and none of them reduce a CPA that has already been paid. Read the agreement before treating a break-even as a decision.