Definition
A user who currently has an active, paid subscription. This excludes users in a grace period, trial, or lapsed state, and is typically the core population used when calculating MRR or churn rate.
Active Subscribers = Total Users with a Valid, Paid Subscription Status (excluding trials, grace periods, and lapsed accounts). Active Subscriber Growth Rate = ((Active Subscribers End of Period - Active Subscribers Start of Period) / Active Subscribers Start of Period) x 100.
Technically no, though it depends on your definition. Grace period users have failed payments and are at risk of churning. Most analytics platforms like Botsi separate these users so you can see your ‘clean’ active subscriber count versus those in a billing limbo state.
Active subscribers are users currently paying for a subscription. MAU (Monthly Active Users) counts anyone who opened the app in the last 30 days, including free users. You can have high MAU with low active subscribers if your conversion rate is poor.
Focus on both acquisition and retention. On the acquisition side, optimize your trial-to-paid funnel. On the retention side, reduce both voluntary churn (through better engagement and value delivery) and involuntary churn (through billing retry logic and dunning campaigns). Even a 5% improvement in renewal rates compounds significantly over time.
A method of product experimentation in which users are randomly split into two or more cohorts (e.g., Group A and Group B), with each group exposed to a different variation of a feature such as copy, design, or pricing. A primary success metric is established before the test begins, and the outcome is typically measured using frequentist statistics and confidence intervals to determine if one version outperforms the other — or if results are inconclusive.
A key stage in the customer lifecycle that occurs after acquisition. Activation is defined by a user completing a high-value action for the first time — such as starting a trial, making a purchase, or engaging with a core feature. The exact definition depends on the app’s monetization model and business goals.
The process of improving an app’s visibility in app store search results and browse sections (e.g., on Apple’s App Store or Google Play). ASO involves optimizing elements like the app name, description, keywords, icon, screenshots, and video preview to drive organic installs and improve conversion rates from page views to downloads.
Apple’s paid user acquisition channel that displays targeted ads at the top of App Store search results. ASA allows marketers to bid on keywords, define demographic and behavioral targeting, and optimize campaigns based on user value post-install, such as subscription conversion or trial start.
A performance metric that represents the average revenue generated per user over a defined period. ARPU is calculated by dividing total revenue by the number of active users during that time frame (e.g., monthly). It can be segmented by platform, geography, or acquisition source to assess the value of different user cohorts. While related to LTV, ARPU is time-bound, whereas LTV spans the full customer lifecycle.
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