- Formula
- Trial starts / installs
- Unit
- %
- Models
- Subscription
| Subscription | 15%–50% (good 35%)EST | Omega Point estimate |
What it is
Install-to-trial is the share of app installs that result in a trial activation. Formula: trial starts ÷ installs, expressed as a percentage.
How to calculate it
Count installs over a given period (typically attributed at the install event, not the store listing view). Count trial-start events within the same cohort — usually defined as a user who explicitly begins a free trial, often by hitting a paywall, entering payment details, or clicking a "Start free trial" call-to-action. Divide and express as a percentage. Be consistent about whether installs include bot or fraud-filtered traffic.
Why it matters
Install-to-trial is the first conversion gate on the B2C subscription monetization funnel. Users who never start a trial cannot convert to paid, so this rate sets a hard upper bound on your paid conversion volume. A low rate typically points to one of three problems: poor app-store audience targeting (wrong users installing), a weak or delayed trial prompt in the onboarding flow, or a value proposition that doesn't land before the user churns from the app.
How to read it
No clean cross-category median for install-to-trial has been published. Rates vary enormously by app category (gaming, productivity, health, finance), price point, and how aggressively trials are prompted. Published app analytics are almost always company-specific disclosures, not industry medians.
As an Omega Point estimate — an informed directional figure, not a measured one — the range of 15–50% is a reasonable directional band for consumer subscription apps that actively surface a trial offer within the first session or two. This range is reasoned by analogy from free-to-paid conversion benchmarks in consumer software (where 2–5% free-to-paid end-state is commonly cited) and working backward through typical trial-to-paid conversion rates of 10–25%, implying install-to-trial must be meaningfully higher to produce those outcomes. A "good" directional target around 35% reflects apps with well-timed, friction-light trial prompts.
Compare this metric against your own cohort trend and against peer apps in your category using any App Store Connect or Play Console benchmarking data available to you. Your own A/B test history is the most reliable benchmark you have.