App retention and churn rates
Retention and churn figures guests gave for their apps or as the norm across apps. Check each row for which day or period it measures.
67 figures · updated 2026-10-27
Day 1 to day 7 retention
| Who | Metric | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Natal | retention | 14% approximate | D3 return rate among users who enter the in-app community | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-05-27 |
| One of BlueThrone's first acquired apps | retention | 18% | D7 retention before adding gamification and streaks | App Masters 2026-04-1147:53 |
| One of BlueThrone's first acquired apps | retention | 34% | D7 retention after adding gamification, streaks and daily login rewards; higher since | App Masters 2026-04-1147:53 |
Day 30 retention
Median 35% across 11 figures, from 0.8% to 64%.
| Who | Metric | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flamme | retention | 0.8% | D30, first version (Sparks date-planning app) | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-149:24 |
| benchmarkAppsFlyer data: average Day-30 retention on iOS | retention | 4% | D30, iOS average | App Masters 2026-02-2817:45 |
| Flamme | retention | 4.2% | D30 after pivoting to Flamme AI (AI relationship coach) | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1410:44 |
| Flamme | retention | 30% approximate | D30, intermediate step after making the daily question core and adding carrot/stick notifications | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1412:44 |
| benchmarkX (Twitter) day-30 retention, guest's recollection | retention | 30% estimate | D30 | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1413:19 |
| benchmarkInstagram day-30 retention, guest's recollection | retention | 35% estimate | D30 | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1413:19 |
| benchmarkTikTok day-30 retention, guest's recollection | retention | 40% estimate | D30 | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1413:19 |
| Flamme | retention | 50% approximate | D30, from 4.2% baseline | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1412:44 |
| Praycreen | retention | 60% approximate | D30 retention of users praying 4 times a day | The Superwall Podcast 2025-11-035:28 |
| The Wellness Company | retention | 61% | 'Day 30 free to paid retention' (likely D30 retention of paying subscribers) | Starter Story 2025-12-041:39 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, monthly subscriptions, median | retention | 64% | Month 1 retention (45% at month 2) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1745:36 |
Longer-term retention
Median 29% across 38 figures, from 3% to 99%.
| Who | Metric | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, weekly subscriptions, median | retention | 3% | Share of weekly subscribers still subscribed after one year | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1745:36 |
| Host's side-project weather app | retention | 8–12% approximate | Long-term cohort retention where the curve flattens | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-04-1634:52 |
| Host's side-project weather app | retention | 10% approximate | Share of monthly subscribers still subscribed from 8 years ago (annual a little higher) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-04-1624:57 |
| Host's side-project weather app | retention | 10–15% approximate | Share of the original launch cohort still subscribed after 7 years | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-12-1136:03 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, monthly subscriptions, median | retention | 11% | Share of monthly subscribers retained after one year (~4x weekly) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1745:36 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, annual subscriptions | retention | 16% | Annual first renewal rate, lower quartile | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1750:07 |
| aggregateSubscription apps the host has seen doing really well (office hours) | retention | 20–25% approximate | Level where long-term cohort retention flattens | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-04-1625:25 |
| Host's long-running subscription app | retention | 20% approximate | Share of subscribers from the first month still subscribed 7 years later (M84) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-09-0439:30 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, AI-powered apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 21% | Year-one retention, AI apps | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| PadSplit | retention | 25% approximate | Share of each resident cohort staying more than 12 months (M12) | Top Founders with Nathan Latka 2026-10-275:34 |
| aggregateSubscription apps the host sees | retention | 25% approximate | Share of users who come back for a second open | App Masters 2026-01-1744:19 |
| Lobby | retention | 25–30% approximate | D90 retention in Israel during the 2022 breakout | The Superwall Podcast 2026-01-1320:09 |
| benchmarkMedian one-year retention of annual subscriptions across apps (RevenueCat annual report) | retention | 25% approximate | Annual plan subscribers retained at 1 year (renewal); median | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-04-0530:39 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, annual subscriptions | retention | 25% | Annual first renewal rate, median | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1750:07 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, median hard paywall apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 26.8% | Year-one retention, median, hard paywall (host says 'yearly' but means hard paywall) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| aggregateMedian annual subscription across all categories (RevenueCat report) | retention | 27% | Year-1 retention of annual subscriptions; drifting lower year over year | App Masters 2026-03-1453:40 |
| aggregateMedian annual-plan year-one retention across subscription apps | retention | 27%/year approximate | Median annual retention (host: 'near 30%... I think it's 27') | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, median freemium apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 27.7% | Year-one retention, median, freemium | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| aggregateAnnual subscriptions, RevenueCat apps | retention | 28% | First-year renewal rate for annual plans: 30.5% last report -> 28% this report (~8% relative drop per Jacob) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-03-1135:26 |
| aggregateSubscription apps on RevenueCat, year-one retention 2021-2024 | retention | 30–49% approximate | Year-one subscriber retention, trending down each year | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-03-1720:54 |
| App with 30% annual retention and D45 ROAS | retention | 30% estimate | Annual subscriber retention, below median | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-12-2335:03 |
| aggregateMedian consumer subscription app, annual plan (RevenueCat State of Subscription Apps) | retention | 30% approximate | Annual plan renewal retention, median | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-09-0611:43 |
| Natal | retention | 31% approximate | D2 return rate among users who enter the in-app community | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-05-27 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, non-AI apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 31% | Year-one retention, non-AI apps | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| aggregateConsumer subscription apps (RevenueCat data) | retention | 35% approximate | Median renewal of an annual plan in consumer apps | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-10-15 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, annual subscriptions | retention | 41% | Annual first renewal rate, upper quartile | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1750:07 |
| benchmarkYear-one subscriber renewal (resubscribe) rate in consumer apps; not for dating apps | retention | 50% approximate | Year-one resubscribe: 50% amazing, 40% good, 30% okay, 20% bad | The Superwall Podcast 2026-07-1017:08 |
| Ladder | retention | 50% approximate | Month-two retention of users who took the $5 first-month intro offer (non-activated trialists); survivors move to $29.99/month | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-03-0916:11 |
| benchmarkGood blended annual subscriber retention for mobile subscription apps | retention | 50%/year approximate | Blended across plan durations; later years retain much higher | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-12-1121:50 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, P90 hard paywall apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 54% | Year-one retention, 90th percentile, hard paywall | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| aggregateYear-one retention, P90 freemium apps (RevenueCat dataset) | retention | 58% | Year-one retention, 90th percentile, freemium | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2026-03-06 |
| benchmarkReally good first-year annual retention for a consumer subscription app | retention | 70% approximate | First-year annual plan retention | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-09-2025:01 |
| aggregateRevenueCat-tracked apps, weekly subscriptions, median | retention | 73% | Share of weekly subscribers retained at week 1 (55% at week 2, 45% at week 3) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-01-1745:36 |
| marketCell phone plans, year-over-year customer retention | retention | 80–90%/year estimate | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-04-1627:36 | |
| V1 Sports | retention | 85–89% approximate | B2B (instructor) retention, 'high-80s percent' | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-11-273:50 |
| aggregateTop-retaining paid Substack newsletters | retention | 90% approximate | Some writers retain 90% of paid subscribers after one year | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-09-0612:41 |
| Content app where six stories meant hard activation | retention | 98% approximate | Share of users who listened to six stories who went on to listen to a seventh (and similar step to step after) | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-10-1826:48 |
| Cents | retention | 99% approximate | Customer (logo) retention | Top Founders with Nathan Latka 2026-09-176:24 |
Churn and cancellation
Median 27.5% across 15 figures, from 5% to 70%.
| Who | Metric | Value | Context | Said in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Bot | churn | 5% approximate | Period not stated | Starter Story 2024-02-1114:12 |
| BlogToPin | churn | 10%/month approximate | Stated as 'around 10%'; monthly period assumed from context of his churn math | Starter Story 2026-02-052:27 |
| aggregateAnnual subscriptions on RevenueCat, most categories | churn | 10–12% approximate | Size of the last-month cancellation spike for most categories | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-03-1732:36 |
| PadSplit | churn | 11% approximate | Share of residents who move out within the first month to month and a half | Top Founders with Nathan Latka 2026-10-275:34 |
| Postiz | churn | 19% | Period not stated; founder calls it very high and is working to lower it | Starter Story 2026-01-282:55 |
| Guest's earlier subscription app with a 7-day trial | churn | 25–30% approximate | Share of 7-day trial starters who cancel within the first 12 hours of starting the trial | App Masters 2026-10-0317:10 |
| TalkingParents | churn | 25%/one-time estimate | Share of subscribers actually lost after the $4.99 to $9.99 increase; some later came back | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2023-08-0918:45 |
| aggregateAnnual subscriptions on RevenueCat, all categories | churn | 27% estimate | Share of annual-plan customers who cancel in the first month; the last month is the next most common | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-03-1734:19 |
| SuperX | churn | 30% approximate | Period not stated; founder says they are working to lower it | Starter Story 2025-12-212:35 |
| Weather Up | churn | 30%/month approximate | Share of launch monthly subscribers who had already turned off auto-renew before the first renewal ('above 30%') | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2024-03-2049:43 |
| Career Hound | churn | 31% | Period not stated; high because job seekers leave once hired | Starter Story 2026-09-062:02 |
| aggregateAnnual subscriptions on RevenueCat, shopping category | churn | 40% approximate | Share of annual-plan cancellations (final auto-renew turn-off) happening in month one; shopping is the highest category, over 40% | Sub Club by RevenueCat 2025-03-1732:36 |
| SMB Market | churn | 45% approximate | churn of sign-ups from the early Gen Z get-rich-quick content, surfaced 2-3 months in | The Superwall Podcast 2026-10-0717:15 |
| aggregateTrial starters on Superwall customer paywalls | churn | 50% approximate | Share of users who cancel after starting a free trial, on average | The Superwall Podcast 2026-03-1012:10 |
| Weather Up | churn | 70%/year approximate | Share of users churned in 2025 (about the median) | App Masters 2026-03-1415:53 |
Figures are as stated in each interview and aren't independently verified. Goals, projections, illustrative numbers and before/after changes are left out. Ranges count as their midpoint in the median.