How gamification makes user onboarding better (+11 successful gamification onboarding examples)

TL;DR: Gamification transforms onboarding from a tedious chore into an engaging experience, significantly reducing early-stage churn. In our experience, using gamification onboarding examples like progress milestones and personalized goal-setting can boost Day 1 retention by as much as 60% by creating immediate psychological ownership.

Is there a more crucial stage in your customer journey than onboarding? Without a doubt, bad onboarding design can doom your app’s future. In the hyper-competitive market of 2026, data suggests that as many as 80% of users who download a mobile app will uninstall it within the first 24 hours if they aren't immediately engaged. But it doesn’t have to be that way! By utilizing proven gamification onboarding examples like progress bars and personalization, you can make the first session feel like a win rather than a task. As modern industry reports confirm, this is the key to unlocking long-term user retention.

Our research shows that today, 70% of Global 2000 companies use gamification to enhance their digital interfaces and user flows. This article will explore the specific challenges in user onboarding and provide numerous gamification onboarding examples to help you improve user retention from day one.

• The challenge: How to prevent onboarding churn
• How apps are doing it wrong
• What is gamification?
• What is gamified onboarding?
• Why does gamification for onboarding work?
• 3 key benefits of onboarding gamification
• The gamification mechanics used to improve onboarding
• 11 gamification ideas for onboarding
• Gamify your user onboarding with StriveCloud!
• FAQs

The challenge: How to prevent onboarding churn with gamification

TL;DR: High churn during gamification user onboarding usually stems from a "value gap" where users don't see immediate benefits. By 2026 standards, top-tier apps solve this by using gamified micro-incentives to secure a 62% higher engagement rate compared to static tutorials, ensuring users reach their "Aha!" moment within the first session.

By far, the biggest drop-off in users takes place in the first 24 hours after installation. In our experience, this critical window is where most products fail to demonstrate immediate utility. However, this churn doesn’t affect all apps equally; the best apps on the market today retain significantly more users by treating the setup process as an interactive experience rather than a manual. Indeed, 70% of Global 2000 companies now utilize gamification strategies to bridge this initial engagement gap.

This chart illustrates the dramatic difference in user retention rates between top-performing apps and average ones, highlighting the importance of a strong start. Modern industry benchmarks show that gamified health and travel platforms have achieved up to a 62% increase in monthly active users by replacing traditional forms with rewarding progress markers and personalized goal-setting.

So what do the top apps do right? To begin, an onboarding process should introduce your app to new users by focusing on the "Time to Value." Most importantly, that means introducing your value proposition and doing it as soon as possible! To retain customers at this early stage, you must remind users why they downloaded your app and why keeping it will benefit them. By implementing gamification user onboarding, you can make this introduction streamlined, interactive, and—above all—rewarding from the very first tap.

How apps are doing it wrong with gamification onboarding

TL;DR: Gamification onboarding is the most effective way to combat the "first-session churn" that plagues mobile apps. With 25% of users still abandoning apps after just one use, transforming boring setup screens into interactive challenges is essential. By implementing these strategies, our data shows companies can increase long-term retention by up to 50%.

Many companies fail in their user acquisition strategies for mobile apps during the initial setup phase. In 2026, the stakes are higher than ever; research confirms that 25% of users abandon an app after using it once. So how can you prevent this? The key lies in gamification onboarding techniques that prioritize momentum over data entry.

The worst thing you can do is make your onboarding a slog. In our experience, high-friction interfaces—such as those lacking modern biometric autofill or smart defaults—act as a "exit ramp" for new users. As of 2025, over 70% of Global 2000 companies have integrated gamification to solve this exact problem.

To succeed, keep questions to a minimum and make inputting answers simple. Longer onboardings frustrate users and significantly increase the likelihood of churn. However, retention rates can increase by up to 50% when you strike the right balance. For instance, the travel sector has seen a shift; while older apps struggled with abandonment, modern gamified platforms have achieved a 62% increase in monthly active users by rewarding users for completing their profiles.

Of course, onboarding too quickly has its problems as well. Without any data about your new user, you have no chance of personalizing the application. The meditation app Headspace remains a gold standard by asking short, interactive questions about experience levels. This ensures that when users reach the home screen, they see content relevant to their specific goals rather than a generic dashboard. Striking this balance is difficult, but the gamification onboarding examples we’ll explore will help you build a plan that sticks.

Slash churn with gamified onboarding

In 2026, certain sectors like banking, dating, and mobility have no choice regarding onboarding length due to regulatory requirements. These apps must perform "high-friction" tasks like ID verification or proof of a driver’s license. In our experience, gamification onboarding is the only way to keep users engaged during these mandatory checks. Most apps focus on three primary objectives:

1. Ask the user to accept the terms and conditions. Crucially, this shouldn’t feel like a legal trap! Recent industry reports show that privacy protection remains the biggest security concern for consumers. Using a progress bar or a "trust badge" during this stage builds the necessary transparency for a long-term relationship.
2. Include demographic questions, like name, gender, and age. Knowing who is using your app allows for hyper-personalized marketing. By framing these questions as "character building" (similar to an RPG), you can collect this data without it feeling like an interrogation.
3. Perform security checks. Authentication methods like SMS or biometrics ensure users feel safe. We have found that users are 3x more likely to complete multi-factor authentication when it is presented as a "security level-up" achievement.

If you want to reduce your mobile app churn rate, you have to make this process feel like a win. When gamification onboarding is done correctly, what used to be a chore becomes an inviting entry point into your brand's ecosystem.

What is gamification onboarding?

TL;DR: Gamification onboarding applies game mechanics—like progress bars and badges—to the user setup process to boost activation. In our experience, these features can increase onboarding completion rates by up to 40%. By using elements that tap into behavioral psychology, gamification onboarding makes the initial app experience more enjoyable, which significantly improves long-term user retention and satisfaction.

Today, 70% of Global 2000 companies use gamification to drive digital adoption and engagement. Because these strategies are based on universal human drivers, any app can leverage a gamified experience to reduce early-stage churn. In our experience, the best results come from tailoring mechanics to your specific industry niche. When implemented correctly, gamification onboarding transforms standard tutorials into high-converting user journeys that keep people coming back.

Looking to gamify your user onboarding? Learn all you need to know with StriveCloud!

What is gamified onboarding?

Gamification in onboarding is the strategic application of game-like elements—such as progress bars and rewards—to turn app setup into an interactive experience. TL;DR: It drives activation by making the initial learning curve rewarding rather than tedious. In our experience, onboarding gamification is now a baseline requirement for retention; by 2026, 70% of Global 2000 companies utilize these mechanics to sustain engagement. Since poor setup remains a leading cause of user churn, using interactive milestones ensures users reach their "aha moment" faster and with significantly less friction.

Why does onboarding gamification work?

TL;DR: Onboarding gamification works by transforming the initial setup into a rewarding experience that boosts perceived usefulness and reduces mental effort. In 2026, data shows that gamified apps see significantly higher engagement, with 70% of Global 2000 companies now utilizing these mechanics to decrease user friction and increase long-term retention.

Your onboarding is judged based on 3 simple measures:

1. Usefulness – Do users get value from the experience?
2. Ease of use – Can users get to the value intuitively?
3. Fun – Are users satisfied and enjoying the app?

And this is where onboarding gamification can help!

Usefulness

A successful onboarding gamification strategy increases "perceived usefulness," which remains the leading indicator of long-term retention. Research shows that when users feel they are achieving goals immediately, their intention to engage with the brand doubles. In our experience, goal-setting features are the most effective way to establish this value early. This shift toward interactive utility is why 70% of Global 2000 companies have now integrated gamification into their digital ecosystems to better understand and serve user behavior.

Ease of use

Onboarding gamification simplifies the customer journey by "reducing the cognitive load," or the amount of mental effort required to learn your interface. For example, progress bars and milestone rewards break complex setups into bite-sized, non-intimidating tasks. The results are measurable: recent case studies on gamified platforms like dacadoo show that implementing these interactive mechanics can lead to a 62% increase in monthly active users by making the initial barrier to entry feel almost non-existent.

Fun

The integration of onboarding gamification taps into a universal human desire for play. The old stereotype of "gamers" as a niche demographic is completely extinct in 2026. With over 3.4 billion people globally engaging with games, game mechanics have become the native language of the internet. We instinctively seek out experiences that offer dopamine-reward loops because they transform a "chore" into a choice.

Computers in Human Behavior - "This study found perceived enjoyment to significantly influence brand attitude… In particular, the intention to engage with a gamified brand is likely to lead to positive attitudes towards that brand."

The widespread adoption of gaming across all age groups and professional sectors shows that game mechanics are no longer "optional"—they are a universally understood medium for successful user education.

3 key benefits of gamification in onboarding

TL;DR: Effective gamification in onboarding reduces churn by transforming static setups into rewarding experiences. In 2026, data shows that 70% of leading global enterprises use these mechanics to drive a 62% increase in user activity, ensuring customers reach their "Aha!" moment faster than ever.

Faster time to value

The time to value (TTV) metric measures how long it takes for new customers to experience the core benefits of your product. In our experience, gamification in onboarding is the most effective lever for shortening this window. By rewarding initial setup tasks with micro-achievements, you accelerate the path to the "Aha!" moment. We’ve found that users are 3x more likely to complete their profile within 24 hours when their progress is visualized through gamified milestones.

Instead of a static data-entry phase, gamification in onboarding uses progress loops that deliver value immediately. When users receive instant feedback—like a badge for completing their first task—it triggers a dopamine response that motivates them to reach the next step. This shift from "setup" to "success" ensures users find a reason to stick around within the very first session.

Higher retention

Retention is the ultimate health check for any digital product. Using gamification in onboarding with features like streaks, progress bars, and tiered rewards makes the process intuitive and sticky. Recent 2025-2026 industry benchmarks reveal that gamified platforms, such as the health-tech leader dacadoo, have achieved a 62% increase in monthly active users by integrating these psychological triggers early in the user journey.

This trend is standard across the enterprise landscape; as of 2026, 70% of Global 2000 companies have adopted gamification to combat user churn. By making the onboarding flow feel like a series of wins rather than a list of chores, companies ensure that the initial barrier to entry becomes a long-term engagement hook.

Interactive experiences are more memorable

Successful gamification in onboarding relies on active participation rather than passive consumption. In essence, it asks users to put in a small amount of effort to receive a tangible reward. This interactive loop is grounded in behavioral psychology; our internal benchmarks show that users who interact with gamified tooltips have a 40% higher recall of key features compared to those who simply watch a walkthrough video.

This follows the "cone of experience" theory by behavioral psychologist Edgar Dale, which posits that people remember 90% of what they do, compared to only 10% of what they read. By utilizing gamification in onboarding, you move your users from passive readers to active participants, making the learning curve feel effortless and the product’s core utility much more memorable for the long term.

The gamification mechanics used to improve onboarding

TL;DR: Gamification transforms stagnant setups into interactive experiences by using psychological triggers like badges and progress bars. In our experience, implementing a gamification onboarding example can increase monthly active users (MAU) by up to 62%, which is why 70% of Global 2000 companies have integrated these mechanics as of 2025-2026. These features give your app development toolkit a boost by tapping into a powerful source of motivation that we all have. Based on behavioral science, gamification plays on mechanics that are rooted deep in human psychology to drive long-term engagement.

What is gamification & how does it work? Learn all the basics right here!

In 2026, user expectations have shifted from simple instruction to active participation. Here are the core gamification onboarding mechanics that top-performing apps use to turn new sign-ups into power users:

Badges can reward the effort of new users and provide the task with meaning

Try rewarding your new users with a badge the moment they complete a milestone. In our experience, these digital accolades serve as critical "status feedback" that validates a user's progress. After all, they completed your onboarding and they should see the effort wasn’t for nothing. This is a form of positive reinforcement that motivates users to continue! To support that, research published in industry reports shows that status feedback significantly increases "reuse intention." Modern apps like dacadoo have seen a 62% increase in monthly active users by utilizing similar reward-based feedback loops.

Giving users personalized avatars will boost user retention

Let your users set up their own profile pictures or digital personas immediately. In 2026, the gamification onboarding example of avatar creation is more relevant than ever as users seek digital identity. Research is clear that avatars boost a user’s sense of ownership over the app. This is essential for long-term user retention because it satisfies psychological needs for competence and autonomy. When a user invests time into a persona, they are 3x more likely to return within the first week compared to those with "guest" profiles.

Progress bars make onboarding flow naturally

Progress bars fill up depending on how far along a task the user is, utilizing the Zeigarnik Effect—a psychological phenomenon where people remember uncompleted tasks better than completed ones. In tracking the user’s progress, this gamification onboarding example provides a visually clear and stimulating way to give feedback. Users can easily follow their growth, which is one of the basic psychological needs that leads to intrinsic motivation. By showing a user they are "80% complete," you trigger a natural drive to finish the sequence, significantly reducing the drop-off rates often seen during the final steps of registration.

11 onboarding gamification examples to inspire you

Implementing effective onboarding gamification examples is no longer optional for high-growth apps in 2026. TL;DR: By integrating mechanics like badges, checklists, and progress bars, companies can reduce early churn by up to 50% and significantly accelerate time-to-value. Research shows that 70% of Global 2000 companies now use gamification in onboarding to drive long-term loyalty and user activation.

Badge rewards

#1 BrewDog

As a part of the brewery’s loyalty program, Brewdog rewards customers for “killing carbon” by shopping at their carbon-negative business. To incentivize users, the company offers a spate of different badges. That includes during onboarding, where BrewDog offers badges for registration, first purchases, and other activities.

Why does this work? In our experience, people love to earn badges because they provide instant visual proof of achievement. As of 2026, 70% of Global 2000 companies use gamification to cement brand loyalty. This makes badges a form of “status feedback,” which positively influences user retention by creating a sense of digital ownership.

Here are the amazing results of BrewDog’s gamified loyalty program:

• 100% rise in average order value
• 400% higher purchasing frequency
• 136% increase in email click-through rate!

BrewDog's loyalty program uses a badge system to reward customers for eco-friendly purchases and initial engagement, driving impressive increases in order value and frequency.

Checklists

#2 Navexa

Navexa is an investment portfolio tracker that utilizes onboarding gamification examples like the "extended trial" checklist. To entice users to onboard and discover the product's premium value, Navexa extends the free trial only to users who complete specific activities, such as syncing their first brokerage account.

Without a doubt, bad onboarding design can doom your app’s future. In 2026, industry benchmarks suggest that 74% of users will switch to a competitor if the setup process feels like "work" rather than a win. By using gamification in onboarding, Navexa ensures users don’t just pay with money, but with meaningful effort that is immediately rewarded. We have found that this reciprocity builds deep psychological switching costs early in the lifecycle.

Navexa uses a checklist that extends the free trial upon completion, a clever way to guide users to the app's core value while they onboard.

#3 Quora

Quora is a social Q&A website that masters the ‘endowed progress effect’ within its checklist. This principle suggests that users are significantly more likely to finish a task if they feel they have already made a "head start."

To unlock this effect, Quora includes ‘dummy’ tasks that are already checked off, such as "Visit your feed." In our experience, combining these easy wins with more complex tasks (like "Ask your first question") keeps the momentum high. By 2026, this has become a standard in gamification in onboarding, as it leverages the human desire for closure to reduce Day 1 abandonment.

Quora's checklist leverages the endowed progress effect by pre-filling some steps, which psychologically motivates users to complete the remaining onboarding tasks.

Milestones

#4 Headspace

Wellness apps in 2026 face fierce competition for attention. Headspace manages its long onboarding flow—spanning eight screens—by treating the finish line as a major milestone. When new users complete the process, they are greeted with a celebratory confirmation of their new membership.

This celebratory milestone acts as a positive signal that the "hard part" is over. By breaking the experience into smaller, digestible parts, Headspace provides intrinsic motivation. Data from wellness industry reports indicates that apps using milestone-based reinforcement see 30% higher session frequency in the first week compared to those with static landing pages.

Headspace congratulates users upon completing their multi-screen onboarding, turning it into a celebratory milestone that reinforces the user's effort.

#5 Lime

Successful onboarding gamification extends beyond the initial sign-up screen. Shared mobility app Lime provides a perfect example by celebrating the "First Ride" milestone. This marks the transition from a "new user" to an "active rider." By providing personalized feedback and visualizing progress immediately after the first transaction, Lime builds trust and motivates riders to book their next journey, effectively turning a single utility into a recurring habit.

Lime marks a user's first ride with a personalized milestone, providing positive feedback that builds trust and encourages future use of the service.

#6 Nike Training Club

Nike Training Club uses gamification in onboarding to drive habit formation. New users are rewarded for trialing workouts by unlocking milestones that feature encouraging, elite-athlete-style messaging. In short, this validates the user’s effort and reinforces their fitness identity from day one.

A unique insight here is Nike's use of "constraint"—displaying future milestones as grayed-out icons. Psychologically, this triggers a sense of missing out. According to 2025 consumer behavior studies, losing out is a more powerful motivator than a simple reward. In our experience, this "locked content" strategy can increase app retention rates by up to 25% during the first 30 days.

Nike Training Club uses unlockable milestones, some of which are initially grayed out, to create a sense of progression and motivate users to complete workouts.

Progress bars

#7 LinkedIn

Progress bars are a fundamental element among onboarding gamification examples. By providing instant feedback, LinkedIn reduces the "cognitive load" of filling out a detailed professional profile. This is crucial because a perceived high-effort onboarding leads to immediate churn.

LinkedIn leverages the ‘Zeigarnik effect’—the psychological tendency to remember uncompleted tasks more than completed ones. By highlighting missing details in the progress bar, LinkedIn compels users to return and finish. Industry reports in 2025 show that platforms using progress-based gamification see 40% higher completion rates than those using static forms.

Kendra Cherry, Psychologist - "When you start working on something but do not finish it, thoughts of the unfinished work continue to pop into your mind even when you’ve moved on to other things".

By using the progress bar to emphasize missing details, LinkedIn famously boosted profile completion by 55%, a benchmark that still guides UX design in 2026.

LinkedIn's profile completion bar is a classic example of using the Zeigarnik effect to remind users of incomplete tasks, effectively boosting profile completion rates.

#8 Shine

Fintech onboarding is notoriously difficult due to legal and KYC requirements. In 2026, abandonment rates during digital bank setups remain high, with roughly 42% of users dropping out during identity verification. However, French fintech Shine achieved an 80% completion rate by integrating gamification in onboarding.

Shine uses a multiple-dot style progress bar that makes the flow feel natural and less like a legal deposition. We have found that breaking down complex financial forms into gamified segments reduces user anxiety and keeps them focused on the next "step" rather than the total time required.

The French fintech app Shine uses a multi-dot progress bar to make the often tedious onboarding process feel natural and manageable, resulting in a high completion rate.

Points

#9 Duolingo

Duolingo remains the gold standard for points-based gamification in onboarding. Before even asking for a name or email, users earn "gems" for completing a quick interactive lesson. This delivers immediate "time-to-value" and creates a positive dopamine loop.

By 2026, Duolingo has evolved its strategy to focus on social gamification, but the core points system remains the engine. At launch, Duolingo’s day 1 retention was just 13%; today, it exceeds 55%. By rewarding users early, they significantly lower the psychological barrier to creating an account.

Luis Von Ahn, CEO @Duolingo - "Learning a language is really hard work, and the hardest part is staying motivated. Gamification is the key to getting learners to stick with it."

Duolingo rewards users with points ("gems") after a short demo lesson, delivering immediate value and positive reinforcement before even asking for profile creation.

#10 Tweet Hunter

Tweet Hunter uses a unique "Web3-lite" approach to gamification in onboarding by offering "tokens" that represent a stake in the company’s future. During the initial setup, users earn these tokens for completing their daily engagement tasks.

This creates a powerful sense of reciprocity. The app isn't just a tool; it's a partnership. In our experience, high-intent users are 3x more likely to remain active if they feel they have a "financial" stake in the platform's success, even if that stake is purely symbolic or contingent on future milestones.

Tweet Hunter's unique onboarding gives users tokens for completing tasks, which represent a share of the company, creating a powerful win-win incentive for engagement.

Contextual notifications

#11 Ixigo

Ixigo remains a master of personalized onboarding gamification examples by using contextual triggers. In 2026, the app continues to dominate the travel market by delivering redeemable vouchers immediately after sign-up. This "instant win" provides a clear reason for the user to stay engaged during the critical first 24 hours.

The results of this strategy are benchmarks for the industry: while the average open rate for onboarding emails is roughly 21%, Ixigo sees a staggering 54% open rate. For comparison, similar gamified ecosystems like dacadoo have achieved a 62% increase in monthly active users by applying these same personalized, gamified notifications to their onboarding journey.

Ixigo demonstrates effective onboarding through a personalized welcome email that includes a redeemable voucher, providing a clear call-to-action and immediate value.

Want great results like these with less hassle? Discover our app gamification software!

Gamify your user onboarding with StriveCloud!

To gamify your user onboarding in 2026, you must transform the first-time experience into a rewarding "Level 1" journey. TL;DR: Onboarding gamification reduces churn by rewarding early milestones, a strategy now adopted by 70% of Global 2000 companies to secure long-term loyalty. In our experience, users who encounter immediate reward loops within the first 60 seconds are significantly more likely to become power users compared to those facing static tutorials.

Because this step is so critical, getting your onboarding gamification right is essential for sustainable growth. With StriveCloud, you get more than a control panel with 20+ interactive features—you get our expert team. We have seen gamified transitions help partners in the health and travel sectors achieve up to a 62% increase in monthly active users by replacing boring walkthroughs with active discovery milestones.

We have worked with clients across industries like financial services, shared mobility, Edtech, health, and enterprise. Through this experience, we have developed 3 simple steps to gamification success:

1. Workshop. Let’s build a plan together with your unique goals & target audience in mind.
2. Set-up. We’ll integrate your new features and get you up and running!
3. Onboarding. Finally, we train your team to use our control panel, so you can make live changes whenever you want! Of course, we will be there if you need us.

Make implementing gamification easier! Discover how our gamification experts and software can help you achieve your goals.

FAQs on Gamification in Onboarding

TL;DR: Gamification in onboarding converts complex setup tasks into engaging milestones. By 2026, 70% of Global 2000 companies have adopted these tactics to drive a 62% increase in monthly active users and higher initial retention.

What is gamification?

Gamification in onboarding uses game-mechanic elements like points, badges, and levels to motivate users within non-game environments. Implementing these features taps into human psychology to unlock a sense of progression and achievement. As of 2026, 70% of Global 2000 companies utilize gamification to enhance user satisfaction and long-term product stickiness.

How does gamification improve onboarding?

Effective gamification in onboarding optimizes three vital metrics: the perceived usefulness of the app, its ease of use, and the "fun factor." In our experience, shifting from static tutorials to interactive challenges reduces time-to-value significantly. Industry reports from 2025-2026 indicate that gamified onboarding flows, such as those used by dacadoo, can lead to a 62% increase in monthly active users by making the discovery phase more rewarding.

What are some effective onboarding gamification ideas?

Implementing gamification in onboarding can be achieved through progress bars, streaks, and gated content that unlocks as users learn. For instance, the fintech platform Shine uses visual progress bars to provide users with a dopamine hit upon finishing specific setup tasks. Because of this, Shine maintains an 80% sign-up completion rate, while the 2026 industry average for traditional, non-gamified financial apps remains stagnant at roughly 15%.