Pokemon GO IAP and Item Conversion Rates

This is a set of tables for deriving costs of items in Pokemon GO based on the IAP conversion rates. The larger the IAP the better the conversion rate and so you want to optimize for larger one time purchases over smaller, multi session purchases. There is additionally a tax applied at of ~8.6%.

Following are the tables I've prepared that will later be referenced in my articles on Pokemon GO Three Ways. This data will be relevant to both the power leveling guide where we discuss optimal consumption of resources for conversion into experience. However, I'll also talk about it in the gamification analysis since this is relevant to merchant costing when leveraging Pokemon GO as a marketing tool.

The first table is a basic table converting dollar values into Poke Coins through each of the IAP options.

IAP Conversion costs for Poke Coins (tax rate 1.086)
IAP Cost	Tax	Coins	Coins per Dollar	Cost Per Coin	Cost Per Coin Taxed
0.99	1.08	100	101	0.0099	0.0108
4.99	5.42	550	110	0.0091	0.0099
9.99	10.85	1200	120	0.0083	0.009
19.99	21.71	2500	125	0.008	0.0087
39.99	43.43	5200	130	0.0077	0.0084
99.99	108.59	14500	145	0.0069	0.0075

Once you have Poke coins you can exchange them for powerful in game items. These items generally increase the rate of some other mechanic. For example, a Lure Module will increase the spawn rate of Pokemon allowing you to catch more of them in a shorter period of time. Items like the Lucky Egg will double the rate at which you get experience points allowing you to level much more quickly. Often combining these items can result in an optimal time to value ratio.

This second table establishes a baseline coin per item value for each in game item purchase you can make. Like with the monetary IAP, you benefit by buying in bulk. So you can achieve two conversion factors that help you reduce the cost of the game. First, buy large IAP to get the best dollar to coin ratio, then buy the largest in game item groups to get the best coin to item ratio. I've computed for you the fully loaded, taxed cost at 99 cents, 9.99 (which is where most people are comfortable buying IAP), and at 99.99 if you plan on playing the game for a long time or you are a whale ;-)

Item Values Adjusted by IAP Conversion Costs (taxed value)
Item	Count	Coins	Coins Per Item	Cost Per Item (.99)	CPI (9.99)	CPI (99.99)
Poke Balls	20	100	5	0.05	0.05	0.04
Poke Balls	100	460	4.6	0.05	0.04	0.03
Poke Balls	200	800	4	0.04	0.04	0.03
Incense	1	80	80	0.86	0.72	0.6
Incense	8	500	62.5	0.68	0.56	0.47
Incense	25	1250	50	0.54	0.45	0.38
Lucky Eggs	1	80	80	0.86	0.72	0.6
Lucky Eggs	8	500	62.5	0.68	0.56	0.47
Lucky Eggs	25	1250	50	0.54	0.45	0.38
Lure Module	1	100	100	1.08	0.9	0.75
Lure Module	8	680	85	0.92	0.77	0.64
Egg Incubator	1	150	150	1.62	1.35	1.13
Bag Upgrade	50	200	4	0.04	0.04	0.03
Pokemon Storage	50	200	4	0.04	0.04	0.03

The most durable items are going to be Bag and Pokemon Storage upgrades. These are the only permanent items in the game. I highly recommend making a $10 purchase and spend on 4 bag upgrades and 2 Pokemon Storage upgrades. I'll expand on this in my Pokemon GO power leveling tutorial and explain why.

Here is one last table that describes the cost per hour, 4 hours and 8 hours at various IAP conversion rates and bulk item purchase rates. This is mainly for the discussion on merchant marketing value of supplying Lure Modules to areas near their business.

Item Cost at Various Hourly Rates
Item	Cost/hour (@9.99)	4 Hours	8 Hours	Cost/hour (@99.99)	4 Hours2	8 Hours2
Incense @1	1.44	5.76	11.52	1.2	4.8	9.6
Incense @8	1.12	4.48	8.96	0.94	3.76	7.52
Incense @25	0.9	3.6	7.2	0.76	3.04	6.08
Lucky Eggs @1	1.44	5.76	11.52	1.2	4.8	9.6
Lucky Eggs @8	1.12	4.48	8.96	0.94	3.76	7.52
Lucky Eggs @25	0.9	3.6	7.2	0.76	3.04	6.08
Lure Module @1	1.8	7.2	14.4	1.5	6	12
Lure Module @8	1.54	6.16	12.32	1.28	5.12	10.24