What is Engagement Rate?

Engagement Rate measures how actively users interact with your app, beyond just opening it.

It’s a flexible metric that can include actions like sessions per user, feature usage, time spent, content consumed, or any meaningful interaction that reflects value or intent.

For example, in a fitness app, engagement could mean completed workouts. In a finance app, it might be checking one’s balance or setting a budget.

How does it work?

Engagement Rate isn’t always a single formula; it’s often tailored to the app’s goals. But a basic version looks like:

Engagement Rate = (Engaged users ÷ Total users) × 100

“Engaged users” could be defined by:

• Number of sessions in a given period
  
  

• Key event completions (e.g., checkout, level passed)
  
  

• Feature adoption (e.g., added goal, sent invite)
  
  

• Duration spent in the app
  
  

It’s typically tracked daily, weekly, or monthly, and broken down by cohort, campaign, or platform.

Why it matters
High engagement is a strong signal of product-market fit. It often predicts better retention, LTV, and lower churn.

From a growth perspective, engagement data helps:

• Prioritize features or UX changes
  
  

• Identify high-intent users for retargeting or monetization
  
  

• Spot drop-off points in the funnel
  
  

• Evaluate the post-install quality of UA campaigns
  
  
  

Engagement Rate is especially useful when revenue isn't immediate, acting as a leading indicator of user value.

If installs are the start, engagement is what keeps the engine running.