Average Subscription Renewal Rates by App Category

An analysis of over 10,000 subscription apps on iOS and Android reveals that first renewal rates differ across app categories, with annual subscriptions showing a variation of up to 8% and monthly subscriptions up to 9% among the top five categories: Health & Fitness, Education, Productivity, Photo & Video, and Lifestyle. Lifestyle and Education apps have the highest median annual renewal rate at 31%, whereas Photo & Video apps have the lowest at 23%. For monthly subscriptions, Education and Productivity apps lead with a 67% renewal rate, with Photo & Video apps again at the bottom with 58%. Monthly subscriptions generally have higher renewal rates due to lower upfront costs, making them more appealing to users. The differences in renewal rates are attributed to the varying stickiness of app categories, with long-term retention being more likely for apps perceived as offering greater value, such as fitness apps compared to single-use photo filter apps. While benchmarks provide insight into potential renewal rates, they emphasize the importance of understanding the cost-value ratio to improve retention and maximize renewal rates across all app categories.