Ads Growth Tools
SEOSEOPaid AcquisitionPaid acquisitionProgrammaticWebsite MonetizationProgrammaticApp UAApp MonetizationWebsite monetizationKeyword ResearchSearch IntentApp acquisitionROASCPAApp monetizationCPCLTVAffiliateeCPMRPMRetail MediaAttributionConversion TrackingCreative IntelMMPHeader BiddingDSPSSPRTBAd ViewabilityFill RateASOSKAdNetworkARPDAURewarded VideoAd MediationAffiliateCreative TestingA/B TestingRetargetingLookalike AudiencesCampaign OptimizationBrand SafetySupply Path
SEOSEOPaid AcquisitionPaid acquisitionProgrammaticWebsite MonetizationProgrammaticApp UAApp MonetizationWebsite monetizationKeyword ResearchSearch IntentApp acquisitionROASCPAApp monetizationCPCLTVAffiliateeCPMRPMRetail MediaAttributionConversion TrackingCreative IntelMMPHeader BiddingDSPSSPRTBAd ViewabilityFill RateASOSKAdNetworkARPDAURewarded VideoAd MediationAffiliateCreative TestingA/B TestingRetargetingLookalike AudiencesCampaign OptimizationBrand SafetySupply Path

App User Acquisition

Branch

Freemium

Branch is a mobile linking and measurement platform for connecting user journeys across apps, websites, QR codes, email, paid media, and owned channels. Its products create and manage deep links, deferred deep links, smart banners, and routing experiences while attributing conversions, analyzing cross-channel performance, preventing link fragmentation, and integrating with advertising and analytics partners. It is best for organizations with complex web-to-app or cross-platform journeys that need reliable destination handling and measurement from the same infrastructure.

Analyticsdeep linkingmobile measurementweb to appcross-channel journeys

What it does

Branch is the deep linking layer that makes a link behave the same whether it opens a website, the app store, or a specific screen inside an already installed app. Its core strength is deferred deep linking that survives the install gap, so a user who taps a link, downloads the app, and opens it lands exactly where they intended. On top of routing, Branch attributes the resulting installs and events across paid media, email, SMS, QR codes, and owned channels, and its Journeys product shows smart banners that convert web visitors into app users. Engineering teams adopt it because the linking infrastructure rarely breaks, while marketers value cross-channel attribution from the same SDK. Pricing is freemium and scales with monthly active users and add-on products.

Where it fits

Branch sits between your channels and your app, handling link routing and feeding attribution back into acquisition and lifecycle campaigns.

Core features

  • Deferred deep linking that survives the install gap
  • Universal links and routing across web, app store, and app
  • Cross-channel install and event attribution
  • Journeys smart banners for web-to-app conversion
  • Fraud controls and paid-media partner integrations

Best for

  • Apps with heavy web-to-app or cross-platform user journeys
  • Teams that need deep linking reliability as table stakes
  • Marketers attributing owned channels like email, SMS, and QR

Beginner notes

  1. Implement universal links and the SDK together; a misconfigured domain association is the most common reason deep links silently fall back to the store.
  2. Test deferred deep links on a clean device with the app uninstalled, because behavior differs from a simple already-installed tap.
  3. Decide early whether Branch or a separate MMP is your source of truth, so partner postbacks and reporting do not double count.
Visit official website

Comparisons & guides featuring this tool

Concepts behind this tool

Mobile Measurement Partner

An MMP measures mobile app acquisition and post-install outcomes across channels.

SKAdNetwork

SKAdNetwork is Apple's privacy-preserving framework for measuring app advertising outcomes.

AdAttributionKit

AdAttributionKit is Apple's 2024 replacement for SKAdNetwork, offering privacy-preserving mobile attribution with improved measurement capabilities for iOS app install campaigns and re-engagement.

More tools: App User Acquisition

Freemium

AppsFlyer

AppsFlyer is a measurement, analytics, deep linking, and data collaboration platform built for mobile-first marketing teams. It attributes installs and downstream events across paid and owned channels, supports privacy-preserving measurement frameworks, connects campaign data to business outcomes, and offers fraud prevention through Protect360 plus audience, clean-room, and cross-platform capabilities. It suits app businesses that need an independent measurement layer across many media partners and can invest in disciplined SDK implementation, event governance, consent, and data validation.

App User Acquisition
Freemium

Adjust

Adjust is a mobile measurement and analytics platform owned by AppLovin for app marketers and growth teams. It provides campaign attribution, cost and revenue analysis, fraud prevention, deep linking, audience workflows, incrementality tools, and privacy-focused measurement across mobile and connected environments, with integrations to major advertising and data partners. It fits organizations that need centralized acquisition reporting and optimization signals, especially when teams can maintain accurate event schemas, partner mappings, consent controls, and reconciliation against internal revenue data.

App User Acquisition
Freemium

Tenjin

Tenjin is a mobile measurement and marketing analytics platform focused on games and growing app businesses. It combines install attribution, campaign cost aggregation, return-on-spend reporting, user-level and aggregated privacy measurement, ad revenue attribution, data warehousing exports, and integrations with advertising and monetization partners. It is particularly useful for small and midsize teams that need practical acquisition and monetization analysis without a large enterprise implementation, while still requiring careful SDK setup, event mapping, privacy configuration, and revenue reconciliation.

App User Acquisition