Updated: July 2026 | 6 min read

Executive Summary

SaaS onboarding in 2026 is tracked primarily by survey-based research from firms such as Wyzowl and Userpilot, plus retention benchmarks from subscription analytics providers. Because onboarding outcomes depend heavily on product type, customer segment and activation definition, this article reproduces only figures that are directly traceable to a named, dated report. Where a precise number cannot be linked to a source, the section describes the measurement framework rather than inserting a point estimate. Forward-looking analyst projections are labelled as such.

Quick Overview

  • Wyzowl’s onboarding research (2020 survey, 216 respondents) found that over 90% of customers feel the companies they buy from “could do better” when onboarding new users (source: Wyzowl – How Onboarding Optimises User Retention).
  • The same Wyzowl survey found that 86% of people say they would be more likely to stay loyal to a business that invests in onboarding content that welcomes and educates them (source: same).
  • Wyzowl found that 63% of customers say the level of support they are likely to receive post-sale is an important consideration in their purchase decision (source: same).
  • Wyzowl found that 8 in 10 users say they have deleted an app because they did not know how to use it, and 55% have returned a product for the same reason (source: same).
  • Userpilot publishes a State of SaaS Onboarding report that tracks onboarding practices across SaaS companies, including time-to-first-value and checklist adoption (source: Userpilot – State of SaaS Onboarding).
  • OpenView’s usage-based pricing research found that three out of five SaaS companies now use some form of usage-based or hybrid pricing, which changes how onboarding value is measured (source: OpenView – Usage-Based Pricing).

What Onboarding Research Measures

Onboarding research generally measures three things: activation (whether a new user reaches a first meaningful action), retention (whether the user continues past the first session) and time-to-value (how long it takes to reach the first success). The Wyzowl onboarding research (2020, 216 respondents) is a consumer-survey approach: it asks buyers about their onboarding experiences across products, not about a specific SaaS segment. Its headline findings are that over 90% of customers feel companies “could do better” on onboarding, 86% say they would stay loyal to a business that invests in onboarding content, and 63% treat post-sale support as a purchase factor (source: Wyzowl). The same survey found that 55% of people have returned a product because they did not fully understand how to use it. These are directional buyer-attitude figures, not SaaS-industry census data.

Onboarding Benchmarks and Frameworks

Userpilot’s State of SaaS Onboarding report surveys SaaS companies on their onboarding practices, including checklist adoption, product tour usage and milestone-based activation flows (source: Userpilot State of SaaS Onboarding). The report frames onboarding as a measurable funnel from sign-up to activation, rather than as a single percentage. Because the sample is self-selected and the activation definition varies by product, the report should be read as a directional benchmark, not as an industry standard. We do not reproduce specific retention percentages from the Userpilot report without the underlying report page; readers should consult the report directly for current figures. Userpilot also publishes a SaaS Product Metrics Benchmarks report that covers product adoption and engagement metrics relevant to onboarding measurement.

Pricing Model Shifts and Onboarding

OpenView’s usage-based pricing research found that three out of five SaaS companies now use some form of usage-based or hybrid pricing, with 15% fully usage-based and 46% taking a hybrid approach (source: OpenView UBP). This shift affects onboarding measurement because usage-based products let customers start at low cost, which changes how “activation” and “time-to-value” are defined. Onboarding benchmarks built for seat-based subscriptions may not map directly to usage-based products, where the first-value event may be an API call or a usage milestone rather than a user login. The OpenView SaaS Pricing Resource Guide provides additional taxonomy for mapping pricing models to onboarding strategies (source: OpenView Pricing Resource Guide).

Key Takeaways

  • Wyzowl (2020, n=216): over 90% of customers feel companies “could do better” on onboarding (source: Wyzowl).
  • Wyzowl: 86% say they would stay loyal to a business that invests in onboarding content; 63% treat post-sale support as a purchase factor (source: same).
  • Wyzowl: 55% returned a product because they did not understand it; 8 in 10 deleted an app for the same reason (source: same).
  • Userpilot State of SaaS Onboarding tracks activation and checklist adoption across SaaS companies (source: Userpilot).
  • OpenView: three in five SaaS companies use usage-based or hybrid pricing, which reshapes onboarding measurement (source: OpenView UBP).

Methodology and Limitations

  • Wyzowl figures are from a 2020 consumer survey of 216 respondents; they measure buyer attitudes, not SaaS-industry retention rates.
  • Userpilot benchmarks are self-selected and activation definitions vary by product; figures are directional.
  • No “time-to-value” or “retention percentage” is reproduced unless traceable to a named report page.
  • Forward-looking projections are labelled as such; no projection is presented as settled fact.

Sources

  1. Wyzowl: How Onboarding Optimises User Retention (2020).
  2. Userpilot: State of SaaS Onboarding (2023).
  3. OpenView: Usage-Based Pricing (2026).
  4. OpenView: SaaS Pricing Resource Guide (2026).