The average app has 25 onboarding screens, with the longest categories being finance, health & fitness, and education. More successful apps tend to have longer onboarding flows.
Link to this point #1Mobbin
I Studied 1,460 Onboarding Flows. Here's What I Found.
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Overview
This research report analyzed 1,460 onboarding flows (from 986 apps and websites) to uncover common patterns in effective onboarding. It revealed that quickly guiding users to their 'Aha Moment' (the moment of realizing value) is more crucial than brevity. Key findings include the importance of showcasing outcomes, personalization, contextual education, and a humanized experience.
Key points
Effective onboarding follows the pattern: 'Signup → Account Setup → Aha Moment (the moment of feeling the product's value)'. It's crucial to show outcomes, not just features.
Link to this point #223% of apps implement personalization during onboarding. Headspace allowed users to select multiple goals, leading to a 10% increase in free trial conversion. Grammarly's tailored pricing plan suggestions based on quiz answers resulted in a 20% increase in plan purchases.
Link to this point #3Combining personalization with outcome prediction is effective. Endel and BitePal display personalized results or goal achievement timelines after a quiz, giving users the feeling that the product is already working.
Link to this point #422% of apps incorporate a paywall during onboarding. Apps like Beside add urgency with limited offers, Taimo uses social proof, and FocusFlight includes fun elements such as a flight ticket-shaped design.
Link to this point #5It's important to make long flows feel short. Duolingo, despite having 60 screens, provides a sense of accomplishment by letting users complete their first lesson early, and reduces boredom with animations and microcopy.
Link to this point #6Provide education contextually, not upfront. Cake Equity uses tooltips to explain the impact of each step, and Mural replaced pop-ups with a checklist, increasing 1-week retention by 10%.
Link to this point #7Displaying a custom screen before asking for notification permission significantly improves acceptance rates. Brilliant explains the value of habit formation, while Centered shows examples of notifications users will receive.
Link to this point #8Cultural background is also important. Users in Eastern markets are accustomed to information-dense interfaces, and what might feel 'cluttered' in Western markets can be perceived as efficient.
Link to this point #9Onboarding itself may be unnecessary for some products. For self-explanatory products like Mobbin or AI chat apps, the best experience is to allow quick, unimpeded access to users.
Link to this point #10Put this knowledge to work.
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