Video streaming is one of the most popular app categories, with users spending over seven hours a week watching videos. Some of the top apps, such as TikTok, YouTube and Netflix, have the highest average weekly usage across all apps.
The size of the category means there are a variety of metrics that are important to track. Both free and paid streaming services want users engaged for as long as possible, but for free services the aim is to have users see as many ads as possible, whereas for paid the goal is to have enough content to keep a user paying their subscription.
With paid streaming services, metrics such as reactivation and refund rates are important, as they can ascertain why users are unsubscribing from their service. Tracking new content uploads to a higher reactivation rate may indicate that users are only interested in one series, and won't subscribe simply for the content library.
A lot of the value of video streaming comes from the content availability, which is similar to the networking effect of social, where if there's not enough content in the library users will quickly go elsewhere regardless of the quality of the app. YouTube, TikTok and Netflix have all prospered in different ways by having a large variety of content available.
We have collected benchmarks on video streaming apps. Read on below to find out more.
Video Streaming Key Benchmarks
- Video streaming apps have a retention rate of 3% in 2024
- Conversion rate for video streaming apps was 17.5% on Google Play and 3.2% on iOS
- The activation rate for video streaming apps was 21% on day 1, dropping to 6% by day 30
- Monthly subscriptions have the highest reactivation rate for video streaming apps, at 14.1%
- The average subscription price of a video streaming app was $5.60 for a month, $35.40 for a year
- The app tracking transparency opt-in rate for video streaming apps was 33% in 2025
- Users spend about seven hours and 30 minutes on video streaming apps per week
Want to learn more about the video streaming app industry? Our Video Streaming App report covers financials, market share, users, installs, demographics and benchmarks.
Video Streaming App Report 2025
