Install-to-trial funnel

Measure and diagnose the conversion rate from app install to trial start.

Last updated June 2026

The install-to-trial funnel tracks every step a user passes through between opening your app for the first time and starting a free trial. It combines automatic screen tracking, custom goal events, and RevenueCat transaction data into one funnel with drop-off metrics at each step.

This page covers setup. For interpretation and benchmarks, see the install-to-trial guide.

Prerequisites

Automatic tracking vs code

Step typeTracked automatically?Code needed?
Screen viewsYes - SDK tracks every screen or route changeNo
Goal events (account_created, profile_completed)NoYes - one Grometrics.track call per event
RevenueCat transactionsYes - synced via webhookNo after RevenueCat is connected
Identity linkingNoYes - one Grometrics.identify call after login or signup

If your funnel only uses screen views (no goal events, no RevenueCat steps), you don't need to write any code at all. The SDK handles everything.

Steps

1

Confirm screen tracking

Open your app and navigate through all onboarding screens. Then check Pages/Screens in Grometrics and confirm each screen name appears. These names are what you'll use as funnel steps.

If screen names show up as generic names (`Screen1`, `ViewController`), update your navigation stack to use descriptive names. The SDK uses whatever your framework reports.

2

Add goal events

Goal events tell you whether users completed an action, not just whether they saw the screen. Adding them between screen views gives you a more accurate picture.

Common install-to-trial events:

Swift

1// iOS examples — adapt for your platform2Grometrics.track("account_created")     // after successful signup3Grometrics.track("profile_completed")   // after profile form submission4Grometrics.track("onboarding_completed") // after reaching the main app5Grometrics.track("paywall_viewed")      // if paywall is a modal overlay, not a full screen6Grometrics.track("paywall_dismissed")   // if user closes paywall without converting

For all platforms and naming rules, see custom events docs.

3

Link identity

Call identify once after signup or login so Grometrics can connect anonymous screen views to RevenueCat trial events.

Swift

1Grometrics.identify(userId: "user_abc123")

All previous anonymous screen views and goal events retroactively merge into this identity. See identity linking docs for all platforms and edge cases.

4

Create the funnel

Create the funnel from the Conversions workspace:

  1. Go to Conversions → Funnels
  2. Click + Create funnel
  3. Name it (e.g. "Install → Trial")
  4. Add steps:

Recommended configuration

StepTypeValueWhat it measures
1ScreenWelcomeUser opened the app
2ScreenCreate AccountUser reached signup
3Goalaccount_createdUser completed signup
4ScreenProfile SetupUser reached profile setup
5Goalprofile_completedUser completed profile
6ScreenPaywallUser saw the paywall
7TransactionTrial StartedUser started a trial
  1. Set conversion window: 14 days
  2. Click Create funnel

Minimal configuration (no goal events)

If you haven't added goal events yet, you can start with screen views and the transaction step only:

StepTypeValue
1ScreenWelcome
2ScreenCreate Account
3ScreenProfile Setup
4ScreenPaywall
5TransactionTrial Started

This shows which screens users reach but not whether they complete the action on each screen. You can add goal events later without recreating the funnel.

Two-step configuration (just the headline number)

StepTypeValue
1ScreenWelcome
2TransactionTrial Started

This gives you the overall install-to-trial conversion rate as a single number. Useful as a dashboard KPI, but not useful for diagnosis — you won't know where users drop off.

Filtering by source

After the funnel is created, apply source filters using the filter bar:

FilterWhat it shows
SourceMeta Ads, Google Ads, App Store, Direct, etc.
Mediumpaid, organic, referral, social
Campaignspecific UTM campaign values

The entire funnel recalculates for the selected segment. Compare sources to see whether low conversion is a flow problem (all sources drop at the same step) or a targeting problem (paid drops at step 1 while organic converts fine).

What happens next

The funnel page shows a bar chart with drop-off badges between steps. The biggest red badge is your highest-leverage fix. See the install-to-trial guide for how to interpret each pattern and decide what to fix.

Troubleshooting

Trial Started step shows zero

  1. Confirm RevenueCat is connected: Settings → Integrations → RevenueCat should show "Connected" with a transaction count.
  2. Confirm `Grometrics.identify()` is called with the same user ID as RevenueCat's `logIn()`.
  3. Check the conversion window — if it's 1 day but users typically don't reach the paywall until day 3, the trial will fall outside the window.

Funnel shows high numbers for step 1 but zero for step 2

The screen name in your funnel step must exactly match what the SDK reports. Check Pages/Screens to verify the exact names. Names are case-sensitive.

Drop-off percentages don't add up

The funnel tracks unique visitors at each step, not sessions or events. If a user visits the Welcome screen 3 times across 3 sessions, they count as 1 visitor in step 1. If they then complete signup on the 3rd session, they count as 1 visitor in the signup step. The conversion rate is visitors-who-reached-step-N ÷ visitors-who-reached-step-1.

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