Churn rate is a metric used to gauge the percentage of users who have disengaged from an app, either by ceasing to use it or uninstalling it. This term is interchangeable with “abandonment rate” and is the opposite of “app retention rate.”
Calculating the churn rate of an app is typically done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. To determine the churn rate, subtract the number of active users at the end of a given time period from the number of active users at the beginning of the same time period. Divide the resulting figure by the number of active users at the beginning of the time period.
Churn Rate = (Active Users at the Beginning – Active Users at the End) / Active Users at the Beginning
For example, if an app had 5,000 active users at the beginning of a 90-day period and 3,500 active users at the end of the same time period, the churn rate would be calculated as follows:
Churn Rate = (5000 – 3500) / 5000 = 0.3 or 30%
Therefore, the churn rate for the app in this example would be 30%.