# What percent of mobile apps have a dedicated empty-state screen?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Sample size: n=809
Tags: onboarding, ux-patterns, mobile, design, retention
HTML: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-have-an-empty-state-screen
Markdown: https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-have-an-empty-state-screen.md

**Answer.** 45.7% of tracked apps (370 of 809) have a captured empty-state screen [1]. So a purpose-built empty state is close to a coin flip: slightly under half of tracked apps invest in one. Given empty states are a high-leverage activation moment, that leaves a real design gap — the majority of apps show a blank list rather than a designed first-run screen.

> 370 of ~800 tracked apps (45.7%) have a dedicated empty-state screen — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

370 of 809 apps (45.7%) show a dedicated empty-state screen [1]. It sits just below the halfway mark, less common than search (55.6%) but far more common than niche patterns like onboarding quizzes (13.3%) [2].

| Screen | Apps | % |
|---|---|---|
| Search | 450 | 55.6% |
| Empty state | 370 | 45.7% |
| Onboarding quiz | 108 | 13.3% |

## How to apply it

An empty state is one of the cheapest activation wins available, and fewer than half of tracked apps have a designed one — so shipping a purposeful empty state (clear next action, not just 'No items') is a way to be above the median without heavy engineering [1]. It matters most in apps where a new user's first screen is legitimately empty (lists, inboxes, trackers).

## Caveats

Lower bound — reflects only empty states Lazyweb captured [1]. Empty states are easy to miss in capture because they only appear before a user has data, so true prevalence is likely somewhat higher than 45.7%. Tag matches on '%empty state%', deduped by company.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 45.7% (370 of 809) | prevalence_empty_state: 370/809 |
| Search 55.6% (450), Empty state 45.7% (370), Onboarding quiz 13.3% (108) | prevalence_search_screen, prevalence_empty_state, prevalence_onboarding_quiz |

## Methodology

Universe: 809 apps with >=1 captured screen. Method: COUNT(DISTINCT company_name) where any tag matches '%empty state%'. July 2026. Caveat: captured screens only; empty states are capture-sensitive.

## Sources & citations

- [1] Lazyweb Research analysis of 809 mobile apps (809 mobile apps with >=1 captured screen; 751 with tag data; median 41 screens/app), July 2026. Prevalence = COUNT(DISTINCT company_name) over LLM synonym tags; denominator is 809 tracked apps (reported conservatively over all apps-with-screens, not the 62,376-row companies table). Lower bound: only reflects screens Lazyweb captured (median 41/app).

## Related questions

- [What percent of mobile apps show an onboarding quiz or personalization questions?](https://www.lazyweb.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-show-an-onboarding-quiz)
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