Understanding CPE vs. CPL

Last updated: November 7, 2026

What this is

Audyence's current pricing term is CPE (cost per engagement). Here's what it means, how it's calculated, and how it lines up with the "Qualified Lead" wording in the Publisher Terms.

Key takeaway: CPE is the per-unit price the advertiser pays and you earn for every accepted engagement. The Publisher Terms call the same unit a "Qualified Lead." The money works the same either way: per-unit fee × accepted units = your Campaign Order Fees.

The short version

CPE is the customer-facing name for the per-unit price the advertiser pays and you earn for every accepted engagement. In the Publisher Terms and Conditions, the same unit is called a "Qualified Lead." The accounting is identical. The name changed from CPL to CPE to better reflect what an engagement actually is on the Audyence marketplace.

Note: Your CPE is a price per engagement, not per contact. An engagement is one time a lead engages with a piece of the advertiser's gated content. On multi-touch campaigns, one lead may need several engagements to qualify, so a lead is worth your CPE × its engagements.

What changed: CPL → CPE

CPL (old term)

CPE (current term)

Stands for

Cost Per Lead

Cost Per Engagement

What's being bought

A contact record matching the buyer's filters

A verified, opted-in engagement with the buyer's asset that meets the filter criteria

Quality bar

Implied

Stated: real engagement, real consent, real qualification

How the unit is priced

Per accepted lead

Per accepted engagement (same unit, clearer name)

Note: The legal contract (Section 4.3 of the Publisher Terms) still sets fees "on a per-Qualified Lead basis." The platform, the customer experience, and conversations with advertisers use CPE. Treat the two terms as the same for billing: the dollar amount you earn per accepted unit doesn't change.

How cost-per-engagement pricing works

  1. The buyer sets a budget and a target CPE. An advertiser creates a Lead Generation Campaign with a fixed budget and a target CPE.

  2. You bid on the RFP. You respond with your own CPE and a lead quantity. If the advertiser picks you and confirms the budget allocation, the request becomes a binding Campaign Order.

  3. You deliver engagements. Each engagement must meet the three Qualified Lead criteria: - all required fields completed truthfully and accurately - opt-in to receive an asset from the advertiser - matches the advertiser's filter criteria in the Campaign Order

  4. You're paid the CPE for every accepted engagement. Per-engagement fee × accepted engagements = your Campaign Order Fees.

Warning: Engagements rejected by Audyence or the advertiser for duplication, not qualifying, or invalid email addresses must be replaced. They don't earn the CPE.

Worked example

Tip: Scenario: you win a Campaign Order at a CPE of $42 for 100 engagements (total ceiling: $4,200).

  • You deliver 105 engagements. 100 are accepted and 5 are rejected for duplicate email addresses.

  • You replace the 5 rejections within 7 business days, and the replacements are accepted.

  • Result: you earn 100 × $42 = $4,200 in Campaign Order Fees. The replacements complete your obligation without separate billing.

What CPE doesn't include

Under Section 4.3, the CPE you agreed to is the only amount you're owed under a Campaign Order. You don't get a share of:

  • Audyence's margin on the same engagement

  • any commission or platform fee charged to the advertiser

  • any extra the advertiser pays Audyence above your CPE

Source

Sections 1.6 (Campaign Order), 1.20 (Qualified Leads), 2.3 (Lead Generation Campaigns), 3.3 (Qualified Leads), and 4.3 (Campaign Order Fees) of the Publisher Terms and Conditions.