15 KPIs for Mobile Apps: Key Mobile App Metrics for Success

App development does not actually end with the deployment of a digital solution to a marketplace. 

After all, for an app to be popular, it should undergo a continuous process of improvements. For this to be possible, it’s vital to gather essential key metrics and strategize according to  statistical results. It’s known that a quarter of apps are used only once after the download. It concerns both Android and iOS-centered apps, meaning that 25% of solutions haven’t lived up to their owners’ expectations. The reasons may be numerous. Let’s take a look at the 15 crucial factors, which can shed light on how an app is performing and why it is not as successful as it could be.

What KPIs for Mobile Apps Actually Are?

KPIs for mobile apps are key metrics that help measure the progress of software against the project’s strategic objectives. 

Hardly is it possible for a business owning a mobile app to neglect the KPIs of its solution. The reason is that the data gathered presents many opportunities for analyzing and strategizing. For one, an increase in the app uninstalls after an update may indicate some technical issues or user experience deterioration. Such aspects should be immediately taken into consideration.

A range of key metrics for mobile apps gives an understanding of different aspects of software’s functioning. 

What Are the Best Mobile App Metrics to Evaluate Software Performance?

Here is the list of app KPIs that indicate technical issues present or show how the operation of an app can be improved. 

#1 Load Speed

Technologically, the world is getting faster, and so are the expectations of tech-savvy consumers. If a user has to wait longer than a couple of seconds before an app’s screen is loaded, frustration may make them uninstall a poorly performing application immediately. 

Load speed is the amount of time required for an app to be ready for user interaction. Naturally, the more complex a solution is, the more phone resources it takes and the more time it needs  to start performing. It’s widely accepted that the ideal load speed should be below two seconds. Exceptions are gaming and statistical solutions that have to load many  resources before user interaction is possible. 

#2 Installs and Uninstalls

It’s obvious that the correlation between the number of installs and the number of uninstalls shows whether an app is usable. Digital solutions should address a user’s urgency. Any business should aim at minimizing uninstall events. A fairly good uninstall rate is below 50% in the first months after the release of an app and below 30% during its entire life cycle. If you gather user contact details, you may want to contact them, for example, via email with the short survey form, to discover the reason why they uninstalled the app.  

#3 Devices and Operating systems

This KPI shows you what types of devices your users tend to use the most and what operating systems of these devices are the most frequently occurring. Such app performance metrics allow you to:

• Adjust QA strategy so the most focus is put on the most widespread OS and devices.
• Make a more personalized user experience to better fit frequent OS and devices. 

The good idea is to link other metrics, such as uninstall rates or crash reports, to devices and operating systems. This way, you can easily find out if there is some technical error you are unaware of.

#4 Screen Resolution

This metric gives you a clear idea about which aspect of QA testing should be your first priority. It’s especially significant if you don’t use adaptable interface solutions and have several templates suitable for different resolutions instead.

Don’t forget about foldable devices. Recently, such units have been responsible for most app screen resolution problems. It’s so because the interface is often incompatible with one of several modes in which foldable may be used. 

#5 Crash Reports

This KPI of the application is incredibly easy to understand. Occasionally, a user may experience an app crash. Sometimes digital solutions send reports to you automatically, while in other cases, a user should deliberately choose whether to send you the report or not. In any case, you should track crash reports received. 

Here are the reasons for app crashes:

• Product complexity.
• Unexpected user actions.
• Specific operating system technicalities, which may take effect after an update.

Crash reports are not to be neglected. Developers should address problems leading to crashes and smooththe maintenance process. 

What Are the Best Mobile App Analytics KPIs to Evaluate Financial Outcomes?

Here is the list of metrics that indicate how profitable your software solution actually is. 

#6 Average Revenue Per User (ARPU)

After all, for product owners, digital products are all about profitability. In the case of paid apps, or ones that are monetized through subscriptions, ad impressions, etc., ARPU is what shows generated revenue per active user. 

ARPU is used to adjust the number of ads shown, the cost of subscriptions, and other monetization methods, so the profitability of an app lives up to its owner’s expectations. ARPU multiplied by the base of active users shows the rough income from the app. 

#7 Number of Purchases

This metric shows the events of fund exchange. In-app purchases, premium upgrades, subscriptions, e-commerce play, and similar interactions add to this rate. 

Product owners often have a particular number of purchases in mind as planned. If this number doesn’t increase or decline, it means that either the offer is unsuitable or the user journey isn’t optimal. You may accelerate the number of purchases by using notifications or promo campaigns or reestablishing the sales funnel, etc. 

#8 Cost Per Install (CPU)

Conversion KPIs for apps necessarily include an estimation of expenses required to gain an install. Tracking CPU is as easy as dividing the cost of your marketing campaign or any other event intended to bring new users by the number of new installs.

Typically, CPU is measured distinctly for every marketing campaign. This way, you can easily find out which approach is successful and which can benefit from some adjustment. Aim at identifying which marketing channel brings the highest percentile of new installs at the lowest cost and stick to it. Remember, it’s always harder to acquire users in the very beginning. But it gets easier over time. 

#9 Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

CLV is the amount of revenue a user has brought to you for the entire time of using the app. It may be continuous or limited. In the case of the second, a user may purchase an app at the full price, so their CLV equals the app’s price. In the case of apps packed with monetization options and ads, the longer a user exploits the app, the more value it brings. 

CLV can easily be calculated by multiplying profit per year by the average duration of the app usage. From a certain perspective, CLV is heavily correlated with brand loyalty. After all, a customer that sticks with your app for a longer time — is more valuable. 

#10 Return on Investment (ROI)

This financial indicator is not specific to the niche of mobile apps. It’s a fundamental KPI used to assess the financial success of any project which had required the investment of funds. 

Unlike CPU, calculations of this metric require dividing an app’s net profit by the amount of investment. Using  this indicator, you not only find out whether your investment has been positive but also identify how long it will take for an app to pay itself off. 

What Are the Best Mobile App Marketing KPIs to Evaluate User Satisfaction?

Here is the list of app usage metrics that help determine if your potential customers like the offered solution.

#11 Session Length, Depth, and Interval

Application KPIs should necessarily include average durations of sessions. From the very second a user opens an app to the moment they close it, this is called session length. Depending on the type of your app, positive session lengths may vary. For gaming solutions or social media apps, the longer the session length is, the better the performance is considered to be. 

Session depth displays how long it takes for a user to perform a target action, such as a purchase. Finally, the session interval is how often a user launches your app. Preferably, session depth should be reasonably short. Interval also may vary, depending on an app’s type and purpose. 

#12 Churn Rate

The churn rate refers to the number of users that abandon an app after the first use. Naturally, any product owner aims to keep this value as low as possible. Here are some factors contributing  to the churn rate:

• App crashes and lags.
• No new content.
• No levels of achievement.
• The app is hard-to-navigate.
• The app doesn’t bring the promised value.

The number of churns divided by the number of customers is how you calculate the churn rate. 

#13 Active Users

This is probably the easiest metric to measure and track. Marketplaces or built-in means of statistical analysis usually provide info on the number of users that have been active in the app for the past periods. There are several types of active users:

• Daily active users (DAUs).
• Weekly active users (WAUs).
• Monthly active users (MAUs).

While DAUs show the potential need to scale your app, WAUs and MAUs show user satisfaction with the offered digital solution. 

#14 Retention Rate

Retention rate refers to the number of users that return to the app after the first usage. It indicates whether an app delivers the value that users appreciate. 

The simple way to calculate the retention rate is to divide the number of monthly active users by the number of app installs. With such a calculation, you’ll get an aggregated estimation of users’ overall satisfaction with your app. 

#15 Stickness Ratio

These app success metrics refer to the number of times a user launches your app. One of the ways to measure the stickiness ratio is by dividing daily active users by monthly active users. With it, you define how well your app succeeds in making users get back to it repeatedly. 

For most apps, it’s crucial that the users launch them regularly since it’s the way the digital solution generates profit. If the ratio declines, you may consider releasing updates, sending notifications, etc.

Consider Weelorum Your Trusted Partner

Whether you need to build software from scratch or improve the existing solution, you should contact a reliable vendor. A dev partner can address your urgency and help raise  the bar for your software solution. 

Weelorum is a vendor of dev services and has been on the market for years delivering solutions to customers’ needs. Here are just a few of the benefits you reap by requesting our assistance:

• Clear communication and constant support.
• End-to-end development process. 
• Industry-leading expertise.
• Flexible, qualified labor resources.
• Respect for your business objectives.
• Transparent prices and no hidden charges.

Having mobile app performance metrics carefully gathered and analyzed is only the first step in improving your app and granting it a competitive edge.

Final Thoughts

Hardly any mobile app can succeed on the market if it does not follow the path of continuous improvements. The only way to find out what areas may benefit from some enhancement is to gather KPI data, analyze it, and act accordingly.

Metrics for mobile apps can be categorized into several major clusters — performance, financial outcomes, and engagement. Gathering all of them is how any product owner may detect pressing work areas and form a long-term strategy. Remember, for every app type, the positive and negative values of each factor may notably vary. Strategize around your financial expectation, and don’t forget to timely address any technical or user flow issues.

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