App Rating in App Development — Essence, How It's Calculated and Ways to Improve

What is App Rating

App Rating is the average rating of an app displayed on its Google Play or App Store page. Users see the rating in search results, on the app page, and in advertisements. The rating is formed from all ratings users have left over the entire lifetime of the app and updates in real time as new ratings are added.

The difference between ratings in Google Play and App Store is significant. Google Play uses a simple average score (sum of all ratings divided by the number of ratings). App Store uses a weighted rating where newer ratings have more weight. This means the App Store rating can change faster when new ratings come in. According to Appfigures (2025), the average app rating in Google Play is 4.1, while in the App Store it is 4.3, which is due to different calculation algorithms and rating thresholds in the ecosystems.

App Rating differs from the period average rating (current rating). Since 2020, Google Play shows the current rating separately from the overall rating. The current rating is calculated over the last 30 days and appears below the overall rating on the app page. This allows users to see fresh ratings and notice quality changes after updates. If a developer releases a bad update, the current rating will drop faster than the overall rating, serving as a signal for the developer that fixes are needed.

How the Rating is Calculated

App Rating in Google Play is calculated using the arithmetic mean formula. If an app received 100 ratings: 60 fives, 20 fours, 10 threes, 5 twos, and 5 ones, the overall rating would be (60×5 + 20×4 + 10×3 + 5×2 + 5×1) / 100 = 4.25. The App Store uses a formula with a weighting factor, where recent ratings carry more weight, but Apple does not disclose the exact formula.

Calculation Formula in Google Play

Google Play uses a simple arithmetic mean: the sum of all ratings divided by their count. The algorithm automatically excludes suspicious ratings — bot-inflated ratings, mass negative ratings from one group of users (review bombing), and ratings with abnormal activity. According to App Radar (2025), Google Play filters out about 5–8% of all ratings as suspicious, while the App Store filters about 2–3%.

Calculation Formula in App Store

The App Store uses a weighted rating that prioritizes recent ratings. Apple does not disclose the exact algorithm, but analysis of Appfigures (2025) data shows that a rating given in the last 30 days has roughly 2 times more weight than a rating older than 6 months. This means the App Store rating is more dynamic and reflects the current app quality faster after updates.

The number of ratings needed for statistical significance is at least 50. With fewer ratings, a single rating can significantly change the overall rating, making it unreliable for users. Google Play and App Store display ratings with any number of ratings, but user trust in a rating with fewer than 50 ratings is significantly lower. Developers are advised to build up the number of ratings to 100–200 before starting marketing campaigns so the rating is resilient to individual negative ratings.

Factors Influencing the Rating

App Rating is influenced by three groups of factors: app quality, the timing of the rating request, and external circumstances. App quality is the fundamental factor: if the app crashes, runs slowly, or fails to deliver promised features, users give low ratings regardless of requests and incentives.

The timing of the rating request is the second most important factor. Asking at the wrong time (first launch, on error, when exiting the app) is guaranteed to result in a low rating. According to Apptentive (2025), correctly chosen timing increases the average rating by 0.3–0.5 stars. The optimal moment is after a user successfully completes a key action, such as completing a game level, a successful payment, or obtaining a result in the app.

External circumstances include seasonality, changes in monetization policy, and the competitive landscape. For example, changing subscription prices almost always triggers a wave of negative ratings. A major competitor update can temporarily lower the rating if users compare apps unfavorably to yours. App updates are a critical moment: every update carries the risk of lowering the rating if the new version contains bugs or changes the familiar interface.

Strategies for Improving the Rating

Improving App Rating requires a systematic approach combining technical measures and user communication. All strategies can be divided into three groups: technical stability, proper timing of requests, and engaging with loyal users.

Basic App Stability

The first step is a stable app without critical bugs. According to Instabug (2025), 60% of negative ratings are related to performance and stability. Fixing bugs and optimizing performance is the foundation for any rating improvement. If the app crashes or lags, no rating request strategies will help — users will give ones regardless of timing.

Smart Rating Request

The second strategy is setting up a smart rating request. Use the In-App Review API on Android and SKStoreReviewController on iOS for an in-app request without leaving the app. Do not use custom dialogs for rating requests — they violate Google Play rules (policy 4.8 on rewards for ratings) and can lead to blocking. Rewarding for ratings (coins, bonuses) is prohibited by both stores' rules and leads to app removal.

Working with Loyal Users

The third strategy is engaging existing users through in-app communication and email campaigns. Ask loyal users to rate the app after they have spent more than 5 sessions or completed a targeted action. According to Appsflyer (2025), an email campaign asking for ratings among active users boosts the rating by 0.2–0.3 stars with a 5–8% response rate. An example implementation in Kotlin:

import com.google.android.play.core.review.ReviewManager
import com.google.android.play.core.review.ReviewManagerFactory

fun requestRating(activity: Activity) {
    val manager = ReviewManagerFactory.create(activity)
    val requestFlow = manager.requestReviewFlow()
    requestFlow.addOnCompleteListener { task ->
        if (task.isSuccessful) {
            val reviewInfo = task.result
            manager.launchReviewFlow(activity, reviewInfo)
        }
    }
}

The code requests a review flow through ReviewManager and launches the system Google Play rating dialog. The API automatically limits frequency — no more than one request per week. For iOS, use SKStoreReviewController.requestReview(), which works similarly. It is important to request ratings only at key interaction moments to avoid annoying the user and to get the highest possible ratings.

Statistics and Case Studies

App Rating statistics show a direct correlation between rating and app success in stores. According to Appfigures (2025), apps in the Education category have an average rating of 4.2, Games — 4.0, Finance — 3.8. The difference is explained by user expectations: in educational apps, users are more patient with flaws, while in financial apps, they are critical of security and stability.

Spotify Case: Rating Drop and Recovery

The Spotify case (2024) demonstrates the impact of updates on ratings. After a UI redesign in 2024, Spotify's rating in Google Play dropped from 4.5 to 3.8 in 2 weeks. The company quickly released fixes, and within a month the rating recovered to 4.3. This case shows that even large apps with loyal audiences lose ratings after drastic interface changes. According to Google Play Console, each major UI update reduces the rating by an average of 0.2–0.4 for 2–4 weeks.

The recommended target rating for a new app is 4.3+ with 100+ ratings. For an existing app with a large number of ratings — maintaining a rating above 4.0. Each 0.1 of rating in the 3.8–4.5 range affects conversion by approximately 5–7%. A drop below 3.8 requires immediate action: analysis of negative reviews, fixing issues, and communicating with users about the work done.