Article

What is a good activation rate

Lenny Rachitsky · Lenny's Newsletter Freemium Intermediate

Your short answer tells founders to set a rough threshold before shipping, and this gives you real benchmarks so your threshold is not a guess. It collects activation numbers across many products so you know whether your result is good, bad, or average. Use it to decide honestly, a week later, whether the feature earned its place.

  • A threshold is only useful if you compare it against real benchmarks
  • Activation rates vary widely by product type, so match yourself to similar businesses
  • Set the number before launch so you cannot rationalize a bad result afterward

The question it answers

  1. How do I know when something we shipped is actually working versus just launched?

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