What is Product Adoption?

Product Adoption (also called user adoption) is the process by which new users learn, engage with, and start consistently using a product in a way that delivers value. It begins after a user signs up and continues until they reach the key actions that indicate meaningful engagement.

In SaaS and digital products, adoption is one of the strongest indicators of long-term product success.

Why it matters

In the past, software companies could rely on one-time purchases, even if users never fully adopted the product. Modern subscription products work differently. Revenue depends on users finding value continuously.

High adoption leads to:

• Higher customer satisfaction
• Lower churn
• Increased lifetime value (LTV)
• Faster expansion and upgrades

If users never reach value, they leave. Strong adoption is the foundation of every successful product-led business.

How to measure Product Adoption

For each product, the "adoption event" is different. It could be a user creating an issue, uploading a file, sending a message, etc. The key is to identify the action that best indicates that a new user is getting value from the product.

Useful metrics to track might include:

• Time to value (TTV): How quickly users reach their first meaningful success moment
• Activation rate: Percentage of users who reach the primary value action.
• Whether users complete your user onboarding flow.
• Conversion from signup → adoption event.

Metrics to avoid include:

• Pageviews or raw sessions
• Time on page or session duration
• Clicks without context

These measures often look impressive but don't reflect whether users are succeeding with your product.

Examples

For a project management tool, adoption events might include:

• Creating the first task
• Creating a project
• Inviting teammates
• Enabling a Git integration

Any of these actions could be considered an adoption event. To figure out the most valuable action, you need to measure how each action correlates to retention and lifetime value (LTV).

Best practices

• Identify the specific actions that signal real product value.
• Reduce time to value using simple onboarding paths.
• Guide users to critical actions using onboarding flows, checklists, and in-app messages.
• Continuously analyze where users drop off and optimize those steps.
• Test and refine onboarding content based on user behavior and feedback.

FAQs

How is product adoption different from acquisition?

Acquisition is about getting users to your product. It encompasses the ways people learn about your product and sign up for it. Product adoption, follows acquisition, and is about turning those new users into active, engaged users who find value in your product. If you attract thousands of signups but few users reach value, the issue is adoption, not acquisition.

How can I improve product adoption?

Users are more likely to adopt a product when they understand its value quickly. To improve product adoption you need to focus on the following areas:

• Product design can help users find features and complete actions that drive adoption.
• Onboarding helps new users get oriented and understand the value of your product quicker.
• In-app messaging and guides can help users discover features and their value.
• Quick customer support can help users overcome obstacles that prevent adoption.

Tip: You can use Flows to build onboarding flows, in-app messages, and contextual guides that help new users reach value faster.

What is a product adoption rate?

The product adoption rate is the percentage of new users who complete the key actions that indicate they’ve started using the product meaningfully. It’s typically calculated as:

Adoption rate = (Number of users who completed the adoption event ÷ Total new signups) × 100

This metric shows how effectively your product helps new users reach value.

What is the difference between product adoption and feature adoption?

Product adoption measures whether users are successfully using the product as a whole. Feature adoption focuses on whether users are discovering and using specific features. A user may adopt a product while never adopting many of its advanced features.