ARPA (Average Revenue Per Account)

ARPA (Average Revenue Per Account) is the average recurring revenue you earn from one paying account in a period. An account is a customer or organization, not a single seat. That makes ARPA the right per-customer metric for B2B products, where one account can have many users.

How to calculate ARPA

Divide recurring revenue for the period by the number of active paying accounts.

Use MRR to get monthly ARPA. With $28,000 in MRR across 350 accounts, ARPA is $80/month. Keep both numbers on the same basis, monthly with monthly or annual with annual.

Many teams track ARPA for new accounts separately. If new accounts pay more than your existing base, you are landing bigger customers.

ARPA vs ARPU

The two differ in what you divide by. ARPU divides by users, and ARPA divides by accounts. If every account has one user, they match. If one B2B account has 40 seats, its ARPA is 40 times its ARPU. Report the one that matches how you charge.

Why ARPA matters

• It shows whether growth comes from more customers or bigger ones.
• Rising ARPA usually means expansion revenue, where accounts upgrade, add seats, or use more. Expansion drives net revenue retention.
• Higher ARPA usually means higher LTV, which leaves more room to spend on acquisition.