App Retention and Churn Benchmarks: Africa vs. Global
Keeping users is harder than acquiring them, and this holds true across nearly every mobile market. African startups face the same app retention and churn pressures as the rest of the world, though a few numbers stand out.
Global apps lose 94% of users within 30 days of installing them
Global Benchmarks
- Average Day-30 retention across all apps: 6%
- Average Day-1 retention across all apps: 25–30%
- Average Day-7 retention across all apps: 11–15%
SOURCE: Plotline, App Retention Rates by Industry
Fintech Apps Specifically
- Global Day-1 retention for fintech apps: 30.3%, the highest of any category measured
SOURCE: Plotline, App Retention Rates by Industry
Where Africa Stands Out
- Egypt: the lowest Day-1 retention rate of any country measured worldwide, at 11.95%
- Netherlands, for comparison: the highest Day-1 retention rate worldwide, at 24.42%
SOURCE: App Uninstall Report 2025, via GetStream
In conclusion, app retention and churn remains a global problem, not just an African one. Still, Egypt’s retention numbers suggest founders in the region may need to work even harder on onboarding and early engagement than their global peers.
