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Konstantin Khalyushev
ENRUESPT

Conversion

Trial-to-paid conversion

Of free trials started, the share that convert into a paid subscription.

Denominator is trial starts. Because trials filter for intent, this runs 10-20x higher than any install-denominated conversion rate, which is why the two must never be quoted interchangeably.

Denominator
trial starts
Cohort
an install cohort
Time horizon
—
Sources
4
Observations
32

Compare your metric

Each source is compared against independently. Nothing here is averaged across sources, and there is no combined industry figure. This runs entirely in your browser. Your figures are never sent anywhere, never stored, and never included in analytics — only which metric you chose is counted.

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Can these be compared?

Not directly comparable

These measure different quantities. Differencing them produces a number that means nothing.

These observations cannot be combined into one figure, so they are shown separately. Different statistics: Median vs Top quartile (P75). A percentile and a central estimate answer different questions and cannot be differenced.

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026

Published 2026-03-19 · 21 observations

Sample
Over 115,000 apps using RevenueCat for in-app subscription management, covering more than $16 billion in revenue and more than a billion transactions. Apps must have active subscription revenue and meet a minimum install or revenue threshold.
How it is aggregated
App-level metrics aggregated across apps and reported as medians and quartiles (Q1/P25, median/P50, Q3/P75, P90). Each app is a data point regardless of size.
Measurement period
Target time frame 2025; older data used where a metric needs it (e.g. third annual renewal rates).
Denominator
trial starts

43.5%

Median

  • Travel

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Travel median: 43.5% (top quartile above 62.4%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

62.4%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Travel

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Travel median: 43.5% (top quartile above 62.4%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

37.7%

Median

  • Health & Fitness

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Health & Fitness median: 37.7% (top quartile above 51.4%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

51.4%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Health & Fitness

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Health & Fitness median: 37.7% (top quartile above 51.4%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

25%

Median

  • Gaming

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Gaming median: 25.0% (top quartile above 39.8%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

22.2%

Median

  • Photo & Video

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Photo & Video median: 22.2% (lowest; top quartile above 33.1%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

11.5%–69.5%

Median

  • Media & Entertainment

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

Comparability
This is the full spread of app performance in the category, not a central estimate. Do not read either end as typical.
As published
“Media & Entertainment has widest spread: 11.5% to 69.5%.”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

34.2%

Median

  • North America

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“North America median: 34.2% (top quartile above 47.9%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by geography

47.9%

Top quartile (P75)

  • North America

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“North America median: 34.2% (top quartile above 47.9%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by geography

31.9%

Median

  • Asia-Pacific

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Asia-Pacific median: 31.9% (top quartile above 45.6%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by geography

29.7%

Median

  • Western Europe

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Western Europe median: 29.7%.”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by geography

15.2%

Median

  • IN/SEA

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“IN/SEA median: 15.2% (lowest; top quartile above 25.0%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by geography

42.5%

Median

  • Trial length 17–32 days

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“17–32 day trials median: 42.5% (top quartile above 59.4%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by trial duration

37.4%

Median

  • Trial length 5–9 days

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“5–9 day trials median: 37.4% (top quartile above 52.8%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by trial duration

25.5%

Median

  • Trial length 4 days or fewer

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

Comparability
Trial length is a choice apps make, not a randomised treatment. Apps that run long trials differ from apps that run short ones in ways this cut does not control for.
As published
“≤4 day trials median: 25.5% (top quartile above 38.5%).”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19Conversion · Trial-to-paid by trial duration

8.5%

Median

  • AI apps

Evidence The publisher's own labelling is inconsistent for this figure. Treat it as indicative only.

Methodology
The report labels this chart 'trial start rate', which is a download-to-trial measure rather than trial-to-paid despite sitting in the trial section.
Comparability
Recorded at low evidence quality because the chart title and the section it appears in describe different metrics.
As published
“AI median: 8.5%; if you're above 15%, you're in the top quartile.”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19AI vs. non-AI · Trial start rate by AI vs. non-AI

33.1%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Photo & Video

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Photo & Video median: 22.2% (lowest; top quartile above 33.1%)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19p.57 · Trial-to-paid, by category

39.8%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Gaming

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Gaming median: 25.0% (top quartile above 39.8%)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19p.57 · Trial-to-paid, by category

45.6%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Asia-Pacific

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Asia-Pacific median: 31.9% (top quartile above 45.6%)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19p.58 · Trial-to-paid, by geography

25%

Top quartile (P75)

  • IN/SEA

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“IN/SEA median: 15.2% (lowest; top quartile above 25.0%)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19p.58 · Trial-to-paid, by geography

38.5%

Top quartile (P75)

  • Trial length 4 days or fewer

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“≤4 day trials median: 25.5% (top quartile above 38.5%)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2026Published 2026-03-19p.59 · Trial-to-paid, by trial duration

Adapty — State of In-App Subscriptions 2026

Published 2026-01-01 · 1 observation

Sample
Subscription data from more than 16,000 apps representing $3 billion in subscription revenue.
How it is aggregated
Conversion benchmarks are computed as app-level rates (trials or purchases divided by installs) within a segment, then aggregated as the AVERAGE of per-app rates. Medians and percentiles are reported alongside averages on some charts.
Measurement period
2025, with 2023 comparisons on selected charts.
Denominator
trial starts

27.8%

Average

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

Methodology
Computed as app-level rates within the segment, then aggregated as the average of per-app rates. Averages of per-app rates are pulled upward by strong outliers, so this sits above a median of the same population.
Comparability
Same metric definition as RevenueCat's trial-to-paid, but a mean of per-app rates rather than a median across apps, on a different app population. Roughly comparable, not directly comparable.
As published
“27.8% Trial → Paid”

Adapty — State of In-App Subscriptions 2026Published 2026-01-01Conversion highlights · Conversion rates by user journey stage (All Categories, Global)

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025

Published 2025-04-01 · 5 observations

Sample
Apps using RevenueCat for in-app subscription management, segmented by category, platform, region, price point and engagement strategy.
How it is aggregated
App-level metrics reported as bottom quartile, median, upper quartile and top 10% of app performance.
Measurement period
Primarily 2024.
Denominator
trial starts

48.7%

Median

  • Travel

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Travel apps have the highest median trial-to-paid conversion rate at 48.7%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025Published 2025-04-01Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

43.8%

Median

  • Media & Entertainment

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“closely followed by Media & Entertainment at 43.8%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025Published 2025-04-01Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

39.9%

Median

  • Health & Fitness

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“While Health & Fitness apps have a median of 39.9%, the top 10% convert at 68.3%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025Published 2025-04-01Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

68.3%

Top decile (P90)

  • Health & Fitness

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“While Health & Fitness apps have a median of 39.9%, the top 10% convert at 68.3%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025Published 2025-04-01Conversion · Trial-to-paid by category

45.7%

Median

  • Trial length 17–32 days

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“Trials lasting 17–32 days have the highest median conversion at 45.7%, suggesting that more time to experience value leads to stronger purchase intent.”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2025Published 2025-04-01Conversion · Trial-to-paid by trial duration

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024

Published 2024-04-01 · 5 observations

Sample
Apps using RevenueCat for in-app subscription management, broken down by pricing, packaging, localisation, conversion and retention.
How it is aggregated
App-level metrics reported as quartiles and medians across the app population.
Measurement period
Primarily 2023, with 2022 comparisons.
Denominator
trial starts

37.3%

Average

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

Methodology
Described as an average rather than a median, unlike the 2026 edition's category medians.
Comparability
A mean, so it is not on the same footing as the median trial-to-paid figures elsewhere in this dataset.
As published
“This year's trial conversion rate dropped to 37.3% (down from 40.5% last year)”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024Published 2024-04-01Conversion · Trial conversion

54.3%

Average

  • Travel

Evidence One of sample, statistic or definition is missing or ambiguous.

As published
“Travel, Shopping, and Health & Fitness excel with conversion rates of 54.3%, 45.4%, and 44.5% respectively”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024Published 2024-04-01Conversion · Trial conversion by category

44.5%

Average

  • Health & Fitness

Evidence One of sample, statistic or definition is missing or ambiguous.

As published
“Travel, Shopping, and Health & Fitness excel with conversion rates of 54.3%, 45.4%, and 44.5% respectively”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024Published 2024-04-01Conversion · Trial conversion by category

39%

Average

  • iOS

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“App Store trials surpass Play Store trials, averaging 39.0% compared to 28.5%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024Published 2024-04-01Conversion · Trial conversion by store

28.5%

Average

  • Android

Evidence Sample, statistic and metric definition all stated by the publisher.

As published
“App Store trials surpass Play Store trials, averaging 39.0% compared to 28.5%”

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps 2024Published 2024-04-01Conversion · Trial conversion by store

Pairwise comparability

The verdict below is produced by a fixed set of rules, not a model. It looks at the metric definition, the denominator, the cohort, the statistic, the segment, the dataset and the publication dates, and reports every reason it found.

RevenueCat 2026 43.5%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Roughly comparable

The same thing is being measured, but at least one condition differs. Read the direction, not the gap.

  • One is a median, the other a average. In a skewed distribution — and app performance is heavily skewed — a mean sits above the median, so the gap between these numbers partly reflects the statistic rather than the products.
  • Different category scope: Travel vs not broken out. An all-categories figure is not a substitute for the category you are in.
  • Different datasets: RevenueCat (115,000+ apps, $16bn in revenue) versus Adapty (16,000+ apps, $3bn in subscription revenue). Each publisher sees only its own customers, so the app populations differ.
  • Different aggregation methods. RevenueCat 2026: medians and quartiles across apps. Adapty 2026: the average of per-app rates.

RevenueCat 2026 62.4%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Not directly comparable

These measure different quantities. Differencing them produces a number that means nothing.

  • Different statistics: Top quartile (P75) vs Average. A percentile and a central estimate answer different questions and cannot be differenced.

RevenueCat 2026 37.7%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Roughly comparable

The same thing is being measured, but at least one condition differs. Read the direction, not the gap.

  • One is a median, the other a average. In a skewed distribution — and app performance is heavily skewed — a mean sits above the median, so the gap between these numbers partly reflects the statistic rather than the products.
  • Different category scope: Health & Fitness vs not broken out. An all-categories figure is not a substitute for the category you are in.
  • Different datasets: RevenueCat (115,000+ apps, $16bn in revenue) versus Adapty (16,000+ apps, $3bn in subscription revenue). Each publisher sees only its own customers, so the app populations differ.
  • Different aggregation methods. RevenueCat 2026: medians and quartiles across apps. Adapty 2026: the average of per-app rates.

RevenueCat 2025 68.3%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Not directly comparable

These measure different quantities. Differencing them produces a number that means nothing.

  • Different statistics: Top decile (P90) vs Average. A percentile and a central estimate answer different questions and cannot be differenced.

RevenueCat 2026 25%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Roughly comparable

The same thing is being measured, but at least one condition differs. Read the direction, not the gap.

  • One is a median, the other a average. In a skewed distribution — and app performance is heavily skewed — a mean sits above the median, so the gap between these numbers partly reflects the statistic rather than the products.
  • Different category scope: Gaming vs not broken out. An all-categories figure is not a substitute for the category you are in.
  • Different datasets: RevenueCat (115,000+ apps, $16bn in revenue) versus Adapty (16,000+ apps, $3bn in subscription revenue). Each publisher sees only its own customers, so the app populations differ.
  • Different aggregation methods. RevenueCat 2026: medians and quartiles across apps. Adapty 2026: the average of per-app rates.

RevenueCat 2026 43.5%RevenueCat 2025 68.3%

Not directly comparable

These measure different quantities. Differencing them produces a number that means nothing.

  • Different statistics: Median vs Top decile (P90). A percentile and a central estimate answer different questions and cannot be differenced.

RevenueCat 2026 22.2%Adapty 2026 27.8%

Roughly comparable

The same thing is being measured, but at least one condition differs. Read the direction, not the gap.

  • One is a median, the other a average. In a skewed distribution — and app performance is heavily skewed — a mean sits above the median, so the gap between these numbers partly reflects the statistic rather than the products.
  • Different category scope: Photo & Video vs not broken out. An all-categories figure is not a substitute for the category you are in.
  • Different datasets: RevenueCat (115,000+ apps, $16bn in revenue) versus Adapty (16,000+ apps, $3bn in subscription revenue). Each publisher sees only its own customers, so the app populations differ.
  • Different aggregation methods. RevenueCat 2026: medians and quartiles across apps. Adapty 2026: the average of per-app rates.

RevenueCat 2026 62.4%RevenueCat 2025 48.7%

Not directly comparable

These measure different quantities. Differencing them produces a number that means nothing.

  • Different statistics: Top quartile (P75) vs Median. A percentile and a central estimate answer different questions and cannot be differenced.
Editions over time

Each edition of a report is stored separately, and older observations are never overwritten. A series is only shown as a trend when the underlying method held still.

RevenueCat — State of Subscription Apps

  1. Edition 2024

    2024-04-01

    • 37.3%Average
    • 54.3%AverageTravel
    • 44.5%AverageHealth & Fitness
    • 39%Average
    • 28.5%Average

  2. Edition 2025

    2025-04-01

    • 48.7%MedianTravel
    • 43.8%MedianMedia & Entertainment
    • 39.9%MedianHealth & Fitness
    • 68.3%Top decile (P90)Health & Fitness
    • 45.7%MedianTrial length 17–32 days

  3. Edition 2026

    2026-03-19

    • 43.5%MedianTravel
    • 62.4%Top quartile (P75)Travel
    • 37.7%MedianHealth & Fitness
    • 51.4%Top quartile (P75)Health & Fitness
    • 25%MedianGaming
    • 22.2%MedianPhoto & Video
    • 11.5%–69.5%MedianMedia & Entertainment
    • 34.2%MedianNorth America
    • 47.9%Top quartile (P75)North America
    • 31.9%MedianAsia-Pacific
    • 29.7%MedianWestern Europe
    • 15.2%MedianIN/SEA
    • 42.5%MedianTrial length 17–32 days
    • 37.4%MedianTrial length 5–9 days
    • 25.5%MedianTrial length 4 days or fewer
    • 8.5%MedianAI apps
    • 33.1%Top quartile (P75)Photo & Video
    • 39.8%Top quartile (P75)Gaming
    • 45.6%Top quartile (P75)Asia-Pacific
    • 25%Top quartile (P75)IN/SEA
    • 38.5%Top quartile (P75)Trial length 4 days or fewer

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