From metrics to milestones: Using benchmarks to fuel sustainable app growth

Your team has built a strong reporting system that captures push notification opt-in and click-through rates, retention curves, and more.

With all that data at your fingertips, there’s one critical limitation: you only know how you are doing.

Without a point of comparison, it’s hard to say whether your performance is above average, right on track, or quietly falling behind.

Industry benchmarks give you the broader context — what’s typical in your industry, what’s possible based on others’ results, and most importantly, what you should aim for next.

Every industry benchmark should trigger a decision:

• Maintain
• Improve
• Experiment

To do that, use this simple structure:

We will now apply the described framework to your core mobile app metrics, transforming each into a milestone that fosters growth.

Raise Android push opt-in above 80%

Why it matters

Your opt-in rate defines the ceiling of your push notification performance.

No matter how compelling your message or how well-timed your campaign, you can’t drive engagement if users don’t receive your notifications. Every increase in CTR, user activation, or DAU depends on the size of your reachable audience.

What the 2025 benchmarks say

Pushwoosh analyzed key metrics from 600+ apps across 20+ industries, collected at the end of Q1 2025, and identified the following push notification benchmarks.

Average push notification opt-in rate

Source: Pushwoosh

How to interpret it

Start by segmenting your opt-in data by platform. Avoid averaging across iOS and Android because the system behavior is different, and so is user intent.

• If your Android opt-in is below 75%, you’re underperforming.
• If your iOS opt-in is below 50%, you’re not alone — but you have room to grow.

What a milestone might look like

A 10–15% lift in notification opt-in over 30 days is achievable with a pre-permission screen and proper timing. This tactic works best when the system prompt is triggered after a clear AHA moment, when the user is most primed to opt in because the benefit of staying connected is obvious.

How to move toward it

• Add a pre-permission screen before triggering the system prompt
• Show the prompt only after a clear value moment (e.g., booking confirmed, playlist saved)
• A/B test both timing and wording of your pre-permission screen

This approach gives users a reason to say “yes” before they’re asked to decide.

Source: Pushwoosh

Opt-out already happened? Recovery is still possible, and not just in theory

AvaTrade faced the challenge of users who had already opted out. Instead of seeing that as a dead end, they saw it as an opportunity to reconnect. They launched a recurring in-app message campaign that gently reminded users what they were missing.

Each week, a scheduled message was sent to the opted-out segment with a clear prompt to reconsider their decision.

With time and consistency, it worked. Opt-in rates in the AvaTrade GO app now exceed industry averages on both iOS and Android.

Achieve 1.5%+ CTR on push notifications to engaged segments

Why it matters

Push notification CTR reflects how clear, timely, and relevant your messages are. It’s the first sign that users are engaging with your content.

CTR directly impacts downstream metrics like conversions, session depth, and LTV.

Average push notification CTR

Source: Pushwoosh

How to interpret it

Compare CTR across platforms. It’s also good practice to compare message types: promotional, transactional, or engagement-focused.

If your CTR is consistently low, start by assessing three factors:

• Content clarity: is your message instantly understandable?
• Timing: does it align with user activity peaks?
• Perceived value: does the message feel useful, timely, and personal?

To go deeper, try separating creative issues from targeting issues. If you’re unsure whether the problem lies in the message or the audience, A/B test push formats: one with a single CTA, another with a short preview of content. Sometimes a small copy shift reveals whether the issue is relevance or resonance.

What a milestone might look like

• Increase average CTR from 1.5% to 3% in 45 days
• Achieve 1.5%+ CTR on content pushes to engaged segments

The best audience for CTR experiments is engaged segments: users who have recently launched the app, made a purchase, or followed a category.

How to move toward it

To increase CTR, experiment across three core levers:

Segmentation

• Create granular segments based on user interest, lifecycle stage, or feature usage
• Match message relevance to what the user has already shown interest in

Timing

• Align send times with known peak activity windows
• Test multiple time slots by audience and message type

Content

• Personalize messages based on user behavior and in-app events

Push notifications with emojis in the message copy have reached CTRs as high as 13.33% in our data. It’s a small tweak that makes a big difference.

FIBA hit a 9% CTR by pushing the right messages at the right time

FIBA improved its push CTR by optimizing all three aspects:

• Precise segmentation: The sports brand targeted fans who selected their favorite teams in the app.
• Contextual content. Personalized push notifications with game reminders, live scores, and match results were tailored to each user’s preferences.
• Perfect timing: These messages were timed just before games, when fans were most likely to engage.

As a result, push notification CTR reached 9%, well above industry benchmarks.

Milestone #3: Increase DAU to 5% in 45 days

Why it matters

DAU reflects how often users choose to build your app into their daily routine. It’s one of the clearest signals of habit formation and long-term product value.

Daily active users (DAU), % of all app users

Source: Pushwoosh

How to interpret it

• Pay attention to when usage naturally spikes. Is it early morning? Late at night? On weekends?
• Look for patterns in drop-offs. Are users slipping away after a new feature launch? Are messages fatiguing them?
• Watch how DAU moves after push campaigns, onboarding tweaks, or feature releases.

Use your DAU/MAU ratio to gauge depth of engagement. A rate above 20% typically indicates strong, sticky usage.

What a milestone might look like

• Raise DAU from 1% to 5% in 45 days
• Reach a 20% DAU/MAU ratio by the end of the quarter

If your DAU is sitting below 2%, start with promoting small, frequent habits of using your app. Even a few well-timed nudges can make a visible difference.

How to move toward it

Use messaging and content to reinforce daily behavior:

Behavioral triggers

Trigger messages after session gaps (for example, 8 hours of inactivity) or during short activity streaks to encourage consistent engagement.

Timing

Send push notifications during habitual moments like mornings, commute windows, or evening wind-downs. Introduce weekday-based content patterns to build rhythm over time.

Content personalization

Personalize by name and language to make messages feel familiar, and tailor content to recent user actions to keep it relevant and timely.

Beach Bum tripled DAU with personalized push campaigns

Beach Bum built automated push notification flows around retention and reactivation goals.

The game publisher segmented users based on their behavior and sent timely, localized messages with playful elements, such as emojis and custom sounds, which made each push more noticeable and meaningful.

In one of their games, DAU tripled within six months.

Source: Pushwoosh

Increase MAU by 15% in 60 days

Why it matters

MAU is a core metric for tracking long-term value and estimating retention, monetization, and growth.

While DAU is more relevant for products built around daily habits, MAU applies across a wider range of categories. This also opens the door to applying strategies that proved effective in other app categories.

Monthly active users (MAU), % of all app users

Source: Pushwoosh

How to interpret it

• Watch for signs of stagnant or declining MAU. These often point to onboarding drop-off, low perceived value, or missed opportunities to re-engage users.
• Compare your MAU and DAU growth to understand whether you’re expanding your reach or building stronger habits among existing users.
• Dig into feature usage and onboarding completion. If users aren’t reaching key actions early, long-term retention will be difficult to sustain.
• Segment your audience by time since install. What brings someone back in week two is likely different from what reactivates someone after three months.

What a milestone might look like

• Increase MAU by 15% in 60 days
• Re-engage 30% of churned users via targeted push campaigns

What’s realistic?

A 10–20% lift in MAU is achievable over 1 to 2 months with consistent reactivation efforts, especially when campaigns are personalized and based on user behavior.

How do we know this?

We’ve seen it repeatedly work. For example, HungryNaki increased its MAU by 2.6 times over six months with segmented, push campaigns tailored to users’ past behavior. That’s roughly a 17% month-over-month growth.

Focus on reactivating users who already know your app — they’re far more likely to return than cold installs.

Plan your push strategy around monthly cycles such as content drops, loyalty rewards, or seasonal events to encourage regular usage.

How to move toward it

Focus on reactivation and value-based messaging:

• Run push campaigns for dormant users. For example, a “We miss you” series with meaningful offers.
• Segment by last active date and tailor the offer to match their context.
• Launch monthly campaigns with exclusive content, limited-time benefits, or seasonal incentives.
• Send milestone-based messages tied to app anniversaries, feature unlocks, or usage streaks.

GB News increased retention with interest-based personalization

GB News personalized push notifications based on user-selected content categories like breaking news, opinion, and lifestyle. Each user received updates tailored to their preferences, making the messages more relevant and engaging.

As a result, the news app achieved a Day-30 retention rate of 8.55%, coming close to the media benchmark of 9.9% reported by Statista. That increase in relevance helped improve retention and contributed to consistent MAU growth over time.

Click on image for full size.

Source: Pushwoosh

The milestone maze: 3 traps that can distort your growth strategy

You’ve got your compass set, but are you dodging the quicksand? Here are three ways teams often stumble on their journey to mobile app growth:

Don’t prioritize one metric to set the story

Imagine only looking at one star in the night sky and assuming you understand the entire galaxy. That’s what happens when you over-rely on a single success metric, like focusing on DAU only. Sure, a high DAU sounds great, but does it mean users are happy, deeply engaged, or just opening the app by accident?

A skewed view can lead to poor strategic choices. You need a balanced set of metrics to get a true picture of your app’s health and user experience.

Treat user feedback as a growth signal

Overlooking user feedback can result in missed insights into user needs and preferences. Regularly collecting and analyzing feedback helps identify areas for improvement, ensuring the app evolves in line with user expectations.

Implementing changes based on feedback can enhance user satisfaction and retention.

Strengthen decisions with cross-platform analytics

Users hop between devices as if it were a sport. If your analytics aren’t talking to each other across platforms (iOS, Android, web, etc.), you’re flying blind.

Implement a unified cross-platform analytics approach to stitch together a holistic view of user behavior and identify opportunities to optimize user journeys.

Let metrics power your app growth engine

You’ve just discovered how to transform your app’s growth from guesswork to a guided mission. Armed with insights on benchmarks and milestones, you’re setting a clear direction for sustainable growth.

Here are your next three steps to drive app growth:

Audit your metrics

Deeply analyze your current push notification opt-in and click-through rates, DAU, and MAU. Understand your app’s baseline performance across all segments and platforms.

Benchmark against industry

Compare your audited numbers directly against industry benchmarks. Pinpoint where your app excels, meets expectations, or needs focused improvement. This comparison provides the critical context for informed decisions.

Set at least three clear milestones

Based on your audit and benchmarking, define three specific, measurable, and time-bound milestones for the next 90 days. For example: boosting Android push opt-in to 80%, achieving a 1.5%+ CTR on pushes to engaged segments, increasing DAU to 5%, and growing MAU by 15%.