---
title: What the hell is CAPI?
slug: what-the-hell-is-capi
docTags: 
createdAt: 2024-10-25T15:36:52.112Z
---

CAPI is an acronym for ***Conversion API. ***Its a relatively new way of sending data to the ad platforms. 

Marketing Pixels are a way for data to be sent from a **browser** to **Facebook/Google/Etc**. Conversion API are a way for data to be sent from a **server** to **Facebook/Google/Etc**.

Any Conversion API tool/tech out there, in order to work, tends to have 3 pieces:

1. A **Server** that receives & sends data
2. A **Server** **Pixel** that sends data from the **browser** to the **server**
3. A **Server** to **Conversion API** *integration* that sends data to from the **server** to  **Facebook/Google/Etc*.*

The image below more or less shows the difference between your normal marketing pixel and a Conversion API tech:

::Image[]{src="https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXeK5YVBqrHpV2W1RCwi7E797I2Nqpa2HUNOOu_Pknsjv3BkKNACWP05bgrih9YA3xCZ66grkSHuZWhM8kBbolwKLeygjqDhALmIqx8VtwJN8lvIlP0XqZbH7hv1cySgSveWIWcTAQ2mHzSBO8nfoSokzsw1?key=fPU4xzYBoto4qwcefiv73g" size="60" width="512" height="314" position="center" caption="Pixel vs CAPI" showCaption="true"}

These Conversion API tech/tools do tend to have a few advantages compared to just the marketing pixels. 

- Its possible to make them not get blocked by safari/ad blockers
- They let you control much more clearly what you're sending. For example, no sending email/phone if you're dealing with HIPAA
- They let you add extra things to send. For example, its possible to send Customer Lifetime Value if you have it in the server

That said, CAPI tools/tech do tend to have some difficulties to set up. Lets go into those for a bit next 🙂