Remember when you launched that new feature you were so excited about, only to discover users weren't even finding it? I've been there too. The truth is, user onboarding can make or break your product's success, but only if you're measuring what actually matters.

In 2025, with increasing competition and shrinking user attention spans, tracking the right onboarding metrics isn't just helpful—it's essential for survival. As someone who's analyzed countless onboarding flows, I've seen how the most successful product teams have shifted from vanity metrics to actionable indicators that directly impact growth.

This guide will walk you through the seven onboarding metrics that genuinely matter this year, why they're crucial, and how to use them to transform your user's first experience from confusing to compelling. Whether you're managing a SaaS product, leading product marketing, or supporting customers through their journey, these metrics will help you create onboarding experiences that convert and retain.

Let's dive into the numbers that actually move the needle.

1. Onboarding Completion Rate

Have you ever wondered how many users actually finish your carefully crafted onboarding flow? Onboarding completion rate answers exactly that question, and it's perhaps the most fundamental metric you should be tracking.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Onboarding completion rate measures the percentage of new users who successfully complete your onboarding process from start to finish. It's a direct indicator of how engaging and valuable users find your initial guidance.

A low completion rate often signals friction points in your onboarding journey that need addressing—whether it's too many steps, unclear instructions, or requests for information that users aren't ready to provide yet.

How to Calculate It

For example, if 1,000 users start your onboarding process and 650 complete it, your completion rate is 65%.

Improvement Strategies

If your completion rate is lower than you'd like (and industry benchmarks suggest aiming for at least 70%), consider these tactics:

• Simplify the process: Reduce the number of steps to the absolute minimum

• Add progress indicators: Show users how close they are to finishing

• Implement "skip for now" options: Let users bypass non-essential steps

• Use Jimo's Checklists: Create interactive checklists that guide users through key actions while providing a sense of achievement

I recently helped a SaaS client increase their completion rate from 42% to 76% simply by breaking their 10-step process into three core steps and four optional ones. Users appreciated having control over their onboarding journey.

2. User Activation Rate

Completing onboarding is one thing, but becoming an activated user is what truly matters.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Activation rate measures the percentage of new users who reach your product's "aha moment"—that crucial point where they experience your product's core value for the first time. This metric is crucial because it bridges the gap between initial interest and genuine product adoption.

A user who experiences your product's value firsthand is significantly more likely to become a paying customer and loyal advocate.

How to Calculate It

The tricky part is defining what constitutes "activation" for your specific product. This might be:

• Creating their first project

• Inviting team members

• Integrating with another tool

• Using a core feature for the first time

• Achieving a specific outcome

Improvement Strategies

To boost your activation rate:

• Define your aha moment: Use product analytics to identify the actions that correlate with long-term retention

• Highlight value-driving features: Guide users toward functionality that delivers immediate results

• Use contextual hints: Implement Jimo's Hints to provide guidance exactly when users need it

• Celebrate small wins: Acknowledge when users take steps toward activation

Remember, activation doesn't have to happen all at once. Breaking it down into smaller wins can keep users moving forward until they reach that pivotal moment of realization.

3. Time to Value (TTV)

In today's fast-paced digital landscape, users expect rapid results. That's where Time to Value comes in.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Time to Value (TTV) measures how quickly new users experience the core benefit of your product after signing up. It answers the critical question: "How long does it take for my users to have their 'aha moment'?"

The shorter your TTV, the better. Extended periods between signup and value realization lead to increased abandonment rates and missed conversion opportunities.

How to Calculate It

This can be measured in minutes, hours, days, or even weeks depending on your product's complexity.

Improvement Strategies

To reduce your Time to Value:

• Pre-fill data: Start users with templates or sample data instead of a blank slate

• Implement personalized onboarding: Use Jimo's Product Tours to create tailored experiences based on user roles or objectives

• Remove unnecessary steps: Analyze your onboarding flow and eliminate anything that doesn't directly contribute to value discovery

• Focus on one core value: Don't overwhelm users by trying to showcase every feature at once

I've seen companies reduce their TTV from days to minutes by simply focusing on getting users to one meaningful outcome rather than attempting to demonstrate everything their product can do.

4. Trial Conversion Rate

For products with a trial period, this metric can be the difference between sustainable growth and constant churn.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Trial conversion rate measures the percentage of trial users who convert to paying customers. It's a direct reflection of how effectively your onboarding process demonstrates value that users are willing to pay for.

This metric is particularly valuable because it represents actual revenue impact, making it easy to calculate the ROI of onboarding improvements.

How to Calculate It

Improvement Strategies

To boost your trial conversion rate:

• Send timely reminders: Notify users about trial expiration without being pushy

• Highlight unused valuable features: Use Jimo's Announcements to showcase premium features users haven't explored yet

• Offer conversion incentives: Consider limited-time discounts or additional features

• Implement success trackers: Show users how much value they've already received with Jimo's Success Trackers

• Address objections proactively: Use Jimo's Surveys to understand hesitations and address them before the trial ends

One particularly effective strategy I've seen is implementing a "value realized" dashboard that quantifies how much time or money users have saved by using your product during the trial period.

5. Feature Adoption Rate

Your product likely has several key features that drive value. Feature adoption rate helps you understand how effectively you're introducing users to these capabilities.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Feature adoption rate measures the percentage of users who engage with specific features after being introduced to them during onboarding. It helps identify which features resonate with users and which ones might need better introduction or positioning.

High feature adoption rates for core functionality typically correlate with higher retention and lifetime value.

How to Calculate It

This can be calculated for each feature individually or for groups of related features.

Improvement Strategies

To improve feature adoption rates:

• Prioritize features by impact: Focus onboarding on high-value features first

• Use contextual guidance: Implement Jimo's Hints that appear exactly when users might need a specific feature

• Create feature-specific tutorials: Develop short, focused guides for complex functionality

• Celebrate feature milestones: Acknowledge when users try new features for the first time

• Highlight new capabilities: Use Jimo's Changelog Widget to promote recently added features

I've found that feature adoption improves dramatically when you connect features to users' goals rather than simply explaining how they work.

6. User Engagement During Onboarding

User engagement metrics provide deeper insights into how users interact with your product during the crucial onboarding phase.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Engagement during onboarding looks at how actively users interact with your product in their first days or weeks. This can include metrics like:

• Session frequency

• Session duration

• Actions per session

• Pages or screens viewed

• Features explored

Strong engagement during onboarding is typically predictive of long-term retention and customer success.

How to Calculate It

Engagement is typically measured as a composite of multiple factors, often expressed as an engagement score:

The specific formula will depend on which behaviors correlate most strongly with successful outcomes for your product.

Improvement Strategies

To boost engagement during onboarding:

• Gamify the experience: Add progress bars, badges, or other elements that make onboarding fun

• Implement behavioral triggers: Create automated responses to user actions (or inactions)

• Use social proof: Show how other users are engaging with the product

• Create habit loops: Design features that encourage regular return visits

• Personalize the experience: Use Jimo's Product Tours to tailor guidance based on user behavior

One company I worked with increased engagement by 47% by implementing a simple "daily win" feature that suggested one quick, valuable action users could take each day during their onboarding period.

7. Onboarding Retention Rate

Finally, we need to measure whether our onboarding process results in users who stick around.

What It Is and Why It Matters

Onboarding retention rate measures the percentage of new users who remain active after completing the onboarding process. Typically measured at various intervals (7-day, 14-day, 30-day), this metric tells you how effectively your onboarding creates lasting engagement.

This is perhaps the ultimate onboarding success metric because it connects directly to your product's growth and sustainability.

How to Calculate It

For example, you might measure your 14-day retention rate to see how many users are still active two weeks after completing onboarding.

Improvement Strategies

To improve onboarding retention:

• Create ongoing value discovery: Continue highlighting features and use cases after initial onboarding

• Build communication touchpoints: Use email, in-app messages, or even personal outreach at strategic moments

• Identify and address drop-off points: Use analytics to spot where users typically disengage

• Develop habit-forming triggers: Design features that naturally become part of users' regular workflows

• Collect and act on feedback: Use Jimo's Surveys to understand user challenges and address them quickly

I've seen dramatic improvements in retention when companies shift from viewing onboarding as a one-time event to treating it as an ongoing process of value discovery.

Comparing Onboarding Metrics: B2B vs. B2C Products

When evaluating your onboarding metrics, it's important to consider your product type and audience. B2B and B2C products often have significantly different benchmarks and priorities.

These differences highlight why establishing appropriate benchmarks for your specific product type is essential.

Tools for Tracking Onboarding Metrics

To effectively measure these metrics, you'll need the right tools in your stack. Here are some recommended options:

1. Jimo: Comprehensive in-app onboarding platform with robust analytics for tracking completion, activation, and engagement rates.

2. Userpilot: No-code platform for building and optimizing onboarding flows with detailed analytics.

3. Whatfix: Digital adoption platform with strong feature adoption tracking capabilities.

4. Chameleon: Tool specializing in interactive onboarding tours with strong completion metrics.

5. Appcues: User onboarding platform with good analytics for onboarding flows and engagement.

6. WalkMe: Enterprise-focused digital adoption platform with comprehensive metrics.

7. Pendo: Product analytics platform with strong feature adoption tracking.

8. Intercom: Customer messaging platform that can track engagement metrics within onboarding.

9. UserGuiding: User-friendly onboarding tool with good completion tracking.

10. Userflow: Onboarding builder with analytics for completion and engagement.

The right tool depends on your product complexity, team size, and specific measurement needs. Many teams find that combining dedicated onboarding tools like Jimo with broader analytics platforms provides the most comprehensive view of onboarding performance.

Common Mistakes in Measuring Onboarding Metrics

Even with the right metrics identified, there are pitfalls to avoid:

1. Focusing on completion without activation: Users completing onboarding doesn't matter if they don't activate.

2. Measuring too many metrics: Track the handful that genuinely impact your business outcomes.

3. Not segmenting data: Different user types and use cases should be analyzed separately.

4. Ignoring qualitative feedback: Numbers tell only part of the story; user feedback provides context.

5. Setting unrealistic benchmarks: Compare your metrics to relevant industry standards, not arbitrary targets.

6. Not acting on insights: Data collection without action is pointless.

7. Measuring infrequently: Onboarding metrics should be reviewed regularly (weekly for fast-moving products).

I once worked with a team that celebrated their 90% onboarding completion rate until we discovered that only 15% of those users were activating. The completion metric was misleading because their onboarding process wasn't focused on driving value discovery.

Best Practices for Optimizing Your Onboarding Process

Armed with the right metrics, here's how to put them to work:

1. Establish a baseline: Before making changes, document your current performance.

2. Set clear improvement targets: Define specific goals for each metric.

3. Test one change at a time: Isolate variables to understand what's working.

4. Create feedback loops: Use Jimo's Surveys to collect user input alongside quantitative data.

5. Review metrics weekly: Make onboarding optimization a regular part of your process.

6. Share insights cross-functionally: Ensure product, marketing, and support teams all understand the data.

7. Update your metrics as your product evolves: What matters most may change as your product matures.

8. Continuously improve: Onboarding optimization is never "done."

The most successful teams I've worked with have "onboarding heartbeat" meetings where they review these metrics weekly and make incremental improvements based on the data.

Conclusion

In 2025, user onboarding has evolved from a nice-to-have feature to a critical business driver. By focusing on these seven metrics—completion rate, activation rate, time to value, trial conversion rate, feature adoption rate, engagement, and retention—you can create onboarding experiences that don't just introduce users to your product but convert them into loyal, paying customers.

Remember: onboarding isn't just about teaching users how to use your product—it's about showing them why they should care. When you measure what matters, you can optimize what matters, creating experiences that deliver value from the very first interaction.

Ready to transform your onboarding process? Start by establishing your baseline metrics, then prioritize one area for improvement. With consistent measurement and optimization, you'll see improvements that impact not just your onboarding metrics but your overall business performance. Book a demo today with Jimo.