Retention rate (D1 / D7 / D30 retention)
Retention metric. Do they keep coming back?
What is retention rate?
Retention rate is the share of users from an install cohort who come back and use the app on a given day after installing, such as day 1, day 7 or day 30.
Day 0: the install day; day 1 is the next calendar day (or the next 24 hours, depending on the tool).
Retention curve: retention plotted for every day after install; where it flattens shows the users who stay.
How to calculate D1 / D7 / D30 retention
Day n retention = Cohort users active on day n ÷ Users in the cohort × 100- Cohort users active on day n
- users from the cohort who were active on day n after install (install day is day 0)
- Users in the cohort
- users who installed on the same day or in the same week
Where definitions differ
| Variant | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Classic (day n) retention | Active on exactly day n ÷ Cohort | The most common form; noisy on single days. |
| Rolling (unbounded) retention | Active on day n or any later day ÷ Cohort | Always higher than classic, and keeps rising as late returns arrive. |
| Range (bracket) retention | Active at least once in days a to b ÷ Cohort | Smooths noise, for example days 7 to 13 as week 1. |
By channel: Retention by acquisition channel needs each user tied to the campaign that brought them in; MMPs such as Linkrunner, AppsFlyer and Adjust report retention per channel and campaign.
D1 / D7 / D30 retention calculator
Example inputs: change them to your own numbers. The examples only make the calculator show a worked answer; they are not benchmarks or targets. Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.
- D1 retention
- 30%
- D7 retention
- 15%
- D30 retention
- 7%
- D30 as a share of D1
- 23.3%
Which retention day matters most?
Each answers a different question: day 1 shows whether the first session worked, day 7 whether a habit started, and day 30 whether the app keeps its users. Most teams watch day 1 and day 7 weekly and day 30 monthly.
Day 1 retention
Day 1 retention shows whether the first session gave new users a reason to come back. A low day 1 rate points to onboarding, time to first value or a mismatch between ad and app.
Day 7 retention
Day 7 retention shows whether users started a habit in their first week. It is the most common retention figure used to compare channels and campaigns.
Day 30 retention
Day 30 retention shows how many users the app keeps after the novelty fades, and it feeds directly into lifetime value.
How D1 / D7 / D30 retention differs by vertical
| EdTech | Day 7 shows whether learners started a study habit; exam-season cohorts behave differently. |
|---|---|
| Fintech | Usage is less frequent, so weekly or monthly range retention often fits better than day n. |
| OTT and streaming | Retention follows release schedules; compare cohorts acquired around the same titles. |
| Gaming | D1, D7 and D30 are the standard trio for judging a game and its traffic sources. |
Common mistakes
- Comparing classic retention from one tool with rolling retention from another.
- Reading blended retention when channels with very different retention are mixed.
- Using calendar days in one report and 24-hour windows in another.
Questions
How do you calculate day 7 retention?
Take the users who installed on one day, count how many were active on the seventh day after, divide by the cohort size and multiply by 100. 1.5k of 10k is 15%.
What is the difference between classic and rolling retention?
Classic retention counts users active on exactly day n. Rolling retention counts users active on day n or any day after it, so it is always higher and keeps rising for the same cohort.
Why measure retention by acquisition channel?
Blended retention hides channels that bring users who leave quickly. Splitting by channel shows which sources bring users who stay, which matters more than their CPI.
Which currency do the calculators use?
The calculators show US dollars, but every formula works in any currency: enter your own figures in the currency you report in and read the results in that currency.
What is the difference between a metric and a KPI?
A metric is any measured quantity; a KPI is a metric a team has chosen as a target for judging performance. Most metrics here become KPIs only for the teams whose work moves them.
Do I need an MMP to measure these metrics?
Not for all of them. Engagement and monetisation metrics come from product analytics and billing data, while metrics split by ad channel, such as CPI, ROAS or retention by source, need installs attributed to campaigns.