App retention benchmarks by industry and platform 2025

Retaining users is the core challenge for every app creator today. With so many choices, most users drop off within days of installing an app. That makes retention rates a key metric for app success. 

This guide breaks down the latest 2025 app retention benchmarks by industry and platform, showing how your app compares to others in your space. 

Expect clear data, focused insight, and practical points for your next retention strategy.

App retention benchmarks for android

Android app retention varies by industry and even region. The data below highlights 30-day app retention rate benchmarks for the top categories in 2025.

Finance apps retain 3% of users after 30 days, showing slightly stronger engagement than most categories. Casino and gambling apps are close behind at 2.8%, while dating apps hold only 2%. General gaming apps have the lowest retention at 1.7%. Shopping apps stand out with a 4% rate, the highest among these groups.

App retention benchmarks for iOS

iOS consistently outperforms Android in user retention across all major app categories. Here are the Day 30 retention rates for key industries on iOS in 2025:

Finance apps on iOS maintain a slight edge at 3.1%, just 0.1 percentage points higher than their Android counterparts. Casino and gambling apps show a more noticeable improvement at 3%, representing a 0.2 percentage point boost over Android. Dating apps see the biggest relative improvement on iOS, retaining 2.7% of users compared to just 2% on Android, which is a 35% increase.

Interestingly, gaming apps show identical retention rates across both platforms at 1.7%, suggesting that gaming engagement patterns remain consistent regardless of operating system. Shopping apps also maintain the same 4% retention rate on both iOS and Android, indicating that shopping behavior translates equally across platforms.

While iOS does show better retention in most categories, the gaps are smaller than industry conventional wisdom might suggest, with improvements typically ranging from 0.1 to 0.7 percentage points across these key verticals.

Understanding the importance of user retention in apps

As a business, app developer, or marketer, user retention shows how useful your product is to your audience. Have you recorded a good retention rate for app? If yes, then your app solves the problem it was built for. Otherwise, are users leaving for better options?

Tracking retention rates helps spot issues early. If users drop off quickly, it might be time to rethink onboarding, features, or notifications. Next, let’s look at how to get users in the first place, then how to keep them and reduce churn.

How to acquire app users in the first place

Getting users starts with a strategy that fits your goals and audience. Top-performing apps use both paid and organic channels, among other things:

• Mix paid and organic acquisition: Combine mobile ad networks, influencer campaigns, and app store search ads with organic strategies like app store optimization and social media content to reach the broadest and most engaged users.
  
• Optimize your app store presence: Use app store optimization (ASO), improve titles, keywords, icons, and screenshots, and encourage positive ratings to make your app easier to find and more trusted by new users.
  
• Build community and trust through content: Regular posts, helpful guides, loyalty programs, and even well-timed press coverage attract quality users who are more likely to stay over time.

These approaches boost discovery and give new installs the best chance to become loyal users. For deeper strategies, check our full user acquisition guide.

Tips for engaging users and reducing churn rate

Now that you have people downloading your app, you need a strategy to keep them using it. Here are some tried and true ways to keep users active and reduce churn:

• Implement a 3-step onboarding flow: Guide users through a fast, focused introduction. Three simple steps help users understand your app’s value right away and drive higher completion rates.
  
• Send time-zone-optimized push notifications: Schedule personalized alerts during high-response windows in each user’s local time. This prevents overload and makes each message more likely to get opened and acted on.
  
• Create daily login streak rewards: Motivate users to return with rewards for consecutive days of use. Streak features triple retention and help make your app a daily habit.

Try these methods to keep users returning and engaged from their first session. If you’d like to implement more advanced tactics, check out our full user engagement guide.

​​How mobile app trends affect retention benchmarks

The latest mobile app trends in 2025 have a direct impact on retention benchmarks. Here are three that stand out this year:

• AI as a growth engine: Over 80% of app teams now use AI to personalize features, fix bugs, and predict user needs. Apps that put AI at the core offer smoother experiences and fix problems before users notice, raising long-term retention across every category.
  
• 1:1 personalization: Moving from broad targeting to real one-to-one personalization lifts retention rates by up to 45%. Apps now change flows, notifications, and even content for each user, helping more people stay active after the first month.
  
• Gamification: Apps that build in points, badges, and progress bars see daily active users jump by 2.6×. These rewards keep users engaged and returning, which lifts 30-day retention rates across gaming, shopping, and even finance apps.
  

These trends and those we shared in our full mobile app trends guide set new expectations for user experience and retention. 

Conclusion

App user retention rate benchmarks shift every year as user habits and technology change. In 2025, the strongest apps stand out by pairing solid user acquisition with proven engagement strategies and the latest tech trends. Finance, casinos, gaming, dating, and shopping all face tough competition to hold users past the first month. Still, apps that use AI, personalization, and smart rewards keep more people active.

Track your app’s retention against these benchmarks, and adapt fast to user needs. To go deeper, explore our guides on user acquisition, engagement, and the top app trends for 2025.