It is one question, not a preference
CPA pays once, now. RevShare pays a little every month, indefinitely. So there is a crossing point, a number of months after which the share has paid more than the flat fee would have. Everything else is detail.
Break-even months = CPA rate ÷ (monthly net revenue per player × share %)If your players typically stay longer than the break-even, take the share. If they do not, take the fee. The CPA vs RevShare calculator works it out from your own numbers and shows where the two lines cross.
A worked comparison
100 first-time depositors, a €300 CPA, and a 40% share of €200 net revenue per player per month, which is €80 per player per month:
| After | CPA | RevShare | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 1 | €30,000 | €8,000 | CPA |
| Month 3 | €30,000 | €24,000 | CPA |
| Month 4 | €30,000 | €32,000 | RevShare |
| Month 12 | €30,000 | €96,000 | RevShare |
| Month 24 | €30,000 | €192,000 | RevShare |
The CPA column never moves. That is the trade in one table: certainty against an open-ended upside you only collect if the players stay.
What the arithmetic leaves out
- Cash flow. RevShare's upside arrives long after you have paid for the traffic. If you buy media, the break-even month may sit further out than your budget can survive.
- Retention is a guess until you measure it. Your first months on a new casino are the measurement. Until then a flat fee is priced on facts and a share is priced on hope.
- Negative carryover can push the break-even out indefinitely on a share. See RevShare.
- Concentration risk. A revenue share ties your income to one operator's decisions: their bonus policy, their game mix, their tax position.
Hybrid: taking both
A hybrid pays a smaller flat fee per depositor and a smaller revenue share. It funds the media buy while keeping the long tail, at the cost of the best of either model. It is the usual answer when you trust the traffic but not yet the retention.
The earnings calculator prices all three models from one funnel, which is the quickest way to see what a hybrid costs you against the pure alternatives.
