Retention Cheat Sheet · AppFillip 2026
Day-30
Retention Benchmarks
2026 Real Retention Data Across All 24 App Categories
Is your Day-30 retention good, average, or a problem? Real 2026 data — top 10%, industry average, and bottom 25% — for every major app category. Know exactly where you stand before you scale UA.
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24
app categories with 2026 benchmark data
35%
good Day-30 retention threshold for most categories
2026
data updated quarterly from 500+ managed apps
3x
better LTV when D30 retention is above benchmark
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2026 Day-30 Retention — 24 Categories
Day-30 Retentionby Category 2026 Real 2026 data from 500+ managed apps. Top 10% = elite retention through exceptional onboarding and engagement. Average = typical managed apps. Bottom 25% = poor onboarding or no engagement loop.
Top 10%
Industry Average
Bottom 25%
Higher % = better — more users still active at Day 30
🏋️
Health & Fitness
Benchmark threshold
Good if >35%
💳
Fintech
Benchmark threshold
Good if >30%
🎓
Education
Benchmark threshold
Good if >38%
🎮
Casual Gaming
Benchmark threshold
Good if >25%
🛍️
Shopping
Benchmark threshold
Good if >28%
🍔
Food Delivery
Benchmark threshold
Good if >40%
✈️
Travel
Benchmark threshold
Good if >26%
💬
Social
Benchmark threshold
Good if >45%
📊
Productivity
Benchmark threshold
Good if >32%
🎬
Entertainment
Benchmark threshold
Good if >35%
💘
Dating
Benchmark threshold
Good if >26%
🌿
Lifestyle
Benchmark threshold
Good if >32%
🧒
Kids
Benchmark threshold
Good if >38%
🏆
Sports
Benchmark threshold
Good if >35%
🏠
Real Estate
Benchmark threshold
Good if >22%
🎵
Music
Benchmark threshold
Good if >42%
💼
Business / B2B
Benchmark threshold
Good if >30%
📰
News & Media
Benchmark threshold
Good if >38%
🏥
Medical
Benchmark threshold
Good if >34%
₿
Crypto / Web3
Benchmark threshold
Good if >24%
🔭
AR / Spatial
Benchmark threshold
Good if >22%
🐾
Pet
Benchmark threshold
Good if >36%
📱
Utilities
Benchmark threshold
Good if >28%
🗓️
Subscription / SaaS
Benchmark threshold
Good if >40%
Day-30 Retention Audit
Score YourRetention Setup Tick every item you have in place. If your Day-30 retention is below benchmark, the unchecked items below are exactly where users are dropping off.
🛠 Onboarding
✓
User completes core feature use within first session — value delivered before they leave Day 1✓
Onboarding length is under 90 seconds to first value — timed from install to core feature completion✓
Personalisation collected at onboarding and used immediately — not stored and ignored✓
Progress indicator shown during onboarding — users who see how far they have come complete at higher rates✓
Day-1 retention rate tracked and A/B tests running on onboarding to improve it continuously✓
Skip option available but de-emphasised — forced onboarding increases Day-1 churn significantly🔔 Push & Notifications
✓
Push permission requested after first value delivery — not immediately on first open✓
Push notification permission rate above 50% — below this means the permission ask needs redesigning✓
Behaviour-triggered notifications in place — not just broadcast messages on a fixed schedule✓
Day-3 re-engagement push sent to users who have not returned since install✓
Push open rate monitored — below 5% signals irrelevant messaging that is training users to ignore notifications✓
Notification frequency capped — over-notified users unsubscribe and churn at 2x the rate of moderate-notification users🔁 Habit & Engagement Loops
✓
Core habit loop designed intentionally — trigger, action, variable reward cycle is explicit in product design✓
Daily use case exists and is actively promoted — apps used less than weekly have 5x higher 30-day churn✓
Streak or progress mechanics implemented — these are the single most powerful Day-30 retention tools available✓
Social or community layer exists — users with social connections in app churn at 60% the rate of solo users✓
Content or feature freshness maintained — new content, challenges, or features released at least monthly✓
Activation event defined and funnel tracked — percentage of installs that complete your core activation event📊 Measurement
✓
Day-1, Day-7, and Day-30 retention tracked separately — not only DAU/MAU ratio which obscures cohort quality✓
Retention benchmarked against your category — absolute numbers only make sense in category context✓
Cohort retention curves calculated monthly — tracking trend direction is more important than a single data point✓
Retention by acquisition channel tracked — organic, ASA, Meta, and Google users typically retain at different rates✓
Drop-off funnel identified — the specific session or event where most churn occurs before Day 30✓
UA budget paused or reduced when Day-30 retention is below category benchmark — scaling bad retention accelerates losses