The education app market started off as an extension of the school curriculum, as services became available to help students with homework, ask questions online to teachers and professors, and learn new things from video tutorials.
As mobile grew, new apps came that tried to make teaching fun by adding game features. Duolingo is the most obvious example of this, with its level system and five “lives” for mistakes.
During the pandemic, online services became a necessity for teaching to continue. Apps such as Google Classroom and Brainly received millions of new signups, while Zoom and Microsoft Teams offered their video communications software to school for free.
While this need for online education has declined post-pandemic, education apps are still broadly used for students as a way to learn and have become a key way for adults to learn new skills.
Education apps rely on many KPIs to evaluate an app’s performance. Retention, in comparison to other sectors, is quite low, especially as many education apps keep most of their services behind some form of paywall. Drawing users in and leaving a good first impression is paramount, so the app store listing and onboarding needs to be well thought out.
We have collected data and statistics on education app benchmarks. Read on below to find out more. Want expert insights on this app sector? Check out the education app report.
Key Education App Benchmarks
- Retention rate for education apps was 2% by day 30, which is one of the lowest rates across all app sectors
- The conversion rate of page store views to downloads for education apps was 34.4% on Google Play and 18.1% on iOS
- Just over half of all subscribers to education apps stick around after the first renewal
- The average subscription cost for an education app is $8.13 a month and $56.09 for a year
Education App Report 2024
Want to learn more about the Education app industry? In our Education App Report, we cover financials, forecasts, usage, downloads, demographics and benchmarking data.
Education App Retention Rate
Education apps have some of the lowest retention rates across all app sectors, AppsFlyer reported a 2% average retention rate by day 30. Adjust was a bit more optimistic, but still estimated 96% of users had churned by day 30.
Education app retention rate 2020 to 2023 (%)
Education app retention rate day one to day 30 (%)
Education App Conversion Rate
The conversion rate, which is the downloads to clicks on an app’s store page, was higher on Google Play than iOS for education apps.
Education app conversion rate by platform 2023 (%)
Education App Renewal Rate
The renewal rate for education apps improves after the first renewal, rising to over 70% on the second renewal.
Education app renewal rate 2023 (%)
Education App Average Subscription Cost
There is not a lot of difference between weekly and monthly subscriptions for education apps. Most try to direct users to annual plans, and discount them quite heavily compared to monthly.
Education app average subscription cost by duration ($)
Education App Subscription Durations
Annual subscription is the most popular duration for education apps, with more than half of all apps offering one. Monthly is the second most popular, with very few offering any other options such as weekly, three months or six months.
Education app most popular subscription duration (%)
Education App LTV
North America had the highest 60 day LTV rate, at $0.55, while the rest of world contributed the least on average.
Education app lifetime value by region 2023 ($)
Education App Trial Durations
For the education apps that offer a trial, almost all of them offer between five and nine days. Very few offer more, 8% offer under four days.
Education app most popular subscription trial durations (%)
Education App Advertising Channels
Word of mouth and social media are the two most popular advertising channels used by education apps.
Education app advertising channels used 2023 (%)
Education App Email Open Rate
The average open rate for education apps was 44%, while click-to-open rate was 6%.
Education app email open rate 2023 (%)
| KPIs | Rate (%) |
|---|---|
| Open rate | 44.04% |
| Click rate | 2.69% |
| Click-to-open rate | 6.10% |
| Unsubscribe rate | 0.23% |
| Bounce rate | 0.49% |
Source: Mailerlite
Education App Session Length
The average user spends 14.7 minutes per day on education apps. The length has fallen back down to pre-pandemic levels.
Education app average session length 2019 to 2023 (minutes)
More Education App Data
- Memrise Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Online Courses App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Duolingo Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Chegg Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Language Learning App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Education App Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Babbel Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
- Busuu Revenue and Usage Statistics (2024)
