Benchmarks by Industry

Subscription App Benchmarks

Consumer subscription apps live and die on two conversion events, install to trial and trial to paid, followed by a monthly fight against churn. The ranges below are the ones Revenue Map's mobile subscription model checks projections against, and they differ sharply from web SaaS benchmarks: platform fees take 15% to 30% off the top, and consumer churn runs several times higher than B2B.

Freemium-to-paid conversion sits at 2% to 5% across most consumer apps. Productivity and business categories can reach 7% to 10%, while entertainment apps often convert at just 1% to 3%. Trial funnels behave differently again: opt-in trials without a card convert 3% to 8% of trialists, card-required trials 25% to 40%, and reverse trials 10% to 20%.

Pricing and acquisition presets in Revenue Map's model reflect the consumer reality: monthly prices from $6.99 for entertainment to $14.99 for education, install costs of roughly $3 to $12 depending on category, and monthly churn of 5% to 15% by vertical, with dating apps at the leaky end and finance apps at the sticky end. A healthy app still clears the universal 3:1 LTV to CAC bar, calculated on after-fee revenue.

Benchmark Table

Subscription app benchmark ranges

MetricPoorAverageGoodSource
Freemium-to-paid conversion1% to 3% (entertainment)2% to 5%7% to 10% (productivity, business)Revenue Map model templates
Trial conversion (opt-in, no card)Under 3%3% to 8%Above 8%Revenue Map benchmark tables
Trial conversion (card required)Under 25%25% to 40%Above 40%Revenue Map benchmark tables
Monthly churn (mobile apps)Above 10%6% to 10%Under 6%Revenue Map benchmark tables
CPI (subscription app, iOS)Above $7$3 to $7Under $3Revenue Map benchmark tables
ARPU (consumer app)Under $5/mo$5 to $15/moAbove $15/moRevenue Map benchmark tables
LTV to CAC (after platform fees)Under 2:12:1 to 3:1Above 3:1Revenue Map model templates
Platform commission (app stores)Unmodeled30% (15% for small devs / year-2 subs)Modeled explicitly in LTVRevenue Map model templates

Sources: Revenue Map benchmark tables (the thresholds behind our free calculators), Revenue Map model presets (default assumptions in our industry templates), and Revenue Map model templates (vertical research in each financial model). Ranges are screening bands, not guarantees.

Frequently Asked Questions

What freemium conversion rate is normal for a consumer app?
2% to 5% across most consumer categories. Productivity and business apps can reach 7% to 10%, while entertainment apps often convert at just 1% to 3%. Web B2B SaaS trial benchmarks do not transfer to mobile freemium.
How much churn should a subscription app expect?
Under 6% monthly is good for mobile apps, 6% to 10% is average. By category, Revenue Map's presets model finance apps near 5%, entertainment near 8%, fitness near 12%, and dating near 15% monthly churn.
Do app store fees really change the model?
Yes, forgetting the 15% to 30% platform cut is the most common reason app models overstate profitability. LTV should be computed on after-fee revenue: the commission is 30% on most in-app purchases, dropping to 15% for small developers and for subscriptions retained past twelve months.
What is a good CPI for a subscription app?
Under $3 on iOS is healthy, $3 to $7 is average. CPI varies 2x to 5x by geography, so pairing CPI with geo-level LTV matters more than chasing a single global number.

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