Cost per Trial vs Cost per Demo for Creator Campaigns
By Lucas Sahli, Founder, MezzoriPublished Last updated
TL;DR: Use cost per trial if buyers can sign up themselves, and cost per demo if sales has to be involved. Use CPA when you can track all the way to a paying customer. Pick one primary metric before the campaign starts so every placement is judged the same way.
What is cost per trial?
Cost per trial is creator spend divided by attributed trials or sign-ups. It suits product-led companies.
What is cost per demo?
Cost per demo is creator spend divided by attributed demo bookings. It suits sales-led companies with a demo step.
When should you use CPA?
Use CPA, cost per paying customer, when you can connect sign-ups to revenue. It is the strongest metric but needs the longest time to measure.
| Metric | Best for | Time to read |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per trial | Product-led SaaS and AI tools | Short |
| Cost per demo | Sales-led SaaS | Medium |
| CPA | Any, with revenue tracking | Longer |
Related: UTM links and promo codes and the measurement guide.