When it comes to crafting an exceptional user experience for your mobile app, data is key. By tracking the right metrics and KPIs, you can gain valuable insights into how users interact with your app, identify areas for improvement, and inform data-driven decisions. In this guide, we'll dive into 25 actionable mobile app metrics and KPIs across five categories that will help you optimize your app's performance.

Sign-up and Onboarding Metrics

App Bounce Rate: A Vital Indicator of Welcome Messaging Effectiveness

The percentage of users who view your home screen but don't proceed to a second screen can reveal whether your welcome messaging is resonating with new users. Aim for a bounce rate below 9% for optimal results.

Questions to ask:

  • How does the bounce rate correlate with downloads from different marketing channels?
  • Are users in specific countries more likely to bounce? How does localization impact bounce rate?
  • How does the bounce rate vary across different devices and app versions?

How to track it: Create a funnel with the Home screen view as the first step, followed by a Screen view event as the second step.

Permissions Granted Rate: A Measure of User Trust

The percentage of users who grant necessary permissions to use your app indicates user comfort levels. Aim for a rate between 60-80% for optimal results.

Questions to ask:

  • Which permissions are most commonly granted, and which are least likely to be granted?
  • How does the number correlate with user activation and retention?
  • Which types of users are more likely to trust your app and grant permissions?

How to track it: Capture an event when the permissions modal is shown and when the user responds. Create a funnel with these events to view the permissions granted rate.

App Downloads: A Baseline Metric for User Acquisition

The number of times your app has been downloaded provides a baseline metric for user acquisition and helps measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

Questions to ask:

  • How does the number of downloads vary across different platforms (iOS, Android, etc.)?
  • Is there a correlation between the number of downloads and user engagement or retention?
  • How do different marketing channels impact the number of downloads?

How to track it: Retrieve your app downloads data from the App Store and Play Store. Capture an event in PostHog for each download and track it using a trend.

Activation Rate: A Measure of Onboarding Success

The percentage of users who reach the "aha" moment and experience your app's core value measures onboarding effectiveness. Aim for an activation rate above 8%.

Questions to ask:

  • Where are the largest drop-offs in the onboarding funnel before activation?
  • How does activation correlate with retention and customer lifetime value?
  • How do other external factors like marketing or app performance impact activation?

How to track it: Create a funnel starting from when the user signs up until they complete activation.

Average Time to Activation: A Measure of Onboarding Efficiency

The average time it takes for a user to reach activation gives you a sense of how long it takes for users to get value from your app. Varying benchmarks depend on the type of app.

Questions to ask:

  • What are common characteristics of users who take shorter or longer to activate?
  • Is there a correlation between the time to activation and churn?
  • Is there a correlation between the speed of activation and long-term user retention?

How to track it: Create a funnel with your signup and activation events. Set the graph type to Time to convert.

App Engagement Metrics

App and Feature Stickiness: A Measure of User Habit Formation

The number of users who open your app and/or perform a specific action repeatedly over a given time period shows whether your app has successfully created a habit among users. Varying benchmarks depend on the type of app.

Questions to ask:

  • What percentage of users have interacted with a specific feature at least 3 times in the last 7 days?
  • What are the characteristics of the users who adopt new features versus those who don't?
  • How likely are users who try out a new feature to continue using it?

How to track it: Create a stickiness insight and select the event you want to measure.

DAU/MAU Ratio: A Measure of User Loyalty

The ratio of daily active users (DAU) to monthly active users (MAU) highlights user loyalty and the app's ability to create daily habits. Aim for a ratio above 20% for optimal results.

Questions to ask:

  • How does this ratio change over time, and what factors might be influencing this trend?
  • How does your DAU/MAU ratio compare to industry standards?
  • Are users who are active daily more likely to buy in-app purchases?

How to track it: Create a trend insight with formula mode. Using Pageview events, set A-series to Unique users and B-series to Monthly active users. Then in the formula box type A / B.

NPS Score: A Measure of User Passion

The Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures how passionate users are about your product. Aim for an NPS above 0 for optimal results.

Questions to ask:

  • How does this score change over time, and what factors might be influencing this trend?
  • Are there any correlations between NPS and other key metrics like DAU/MAU or activation rate?

How to track it: Capture user feedback data and calculate the NPS score using a formula that subtracts the percentage of detractors from the percentage of promoters.