Retargeting vs. New User Acquisition: What’s Actually Worth Your Budget?

When it comes to mobile growth strategies, teams often find themselves in the middle of a classic debate: Should we focus on acquiring new users — or work harder to re-engage the ones we've already paid for?

At Mobihunter, we’ve seen both sides play out across dozens of campaigns and verticals — from travel apps to fintech platforms. The answer isn’t black and white. But it is measurable.

Here’s our take on the retargeting vs. new user acquisition conversation — and how to think about your own budget split in 2025.

Retargeting is often the overlooked cousin of user acquisition. It’s less sexy, harder to attribute directly to installs, and sometimes gets deprioritized by early-stage teams. But here’s the thing: it works.

We’ve seen cases where retargeting campaigns brought back dormant users at a fraction of the original CPA — with a much higher intent to convert. Especially for subscription or transactional apps, this can mean unlocking new LTV from “lost” users who already know your product.

Some overlooked facts:

• Retargeting ads typically convert 3-5x better than cold traffic.
• With SKAN 4.0+ and privacy updates, retargeting can be a safer bet for performance marketers — since the signal is stronger on known users.
• Creative fatigue hits slower in retargeting pools — users already recognize your brand.

Pro tip: For apps with 100K+ downloads and decent MAU, not running retargeting is leaving money on the table. It’s especially effective in mid-funnel journeys (like cart abandoners or users who dropped during onboarding).

Of course, UA is the foundation of mobile growth. You need a healthy top-of-funnel to feed everything else. Especially for apps in scaling phase, this is non-negotiable.

But let’s not romanticize it. In 2025, UA has gotten:

• More expensive. CPIs across Meta, TikTok, and Google have increased 15–30% YoY in many regions.
• Less predictable. Post-IDFA attribution is tricky, and signal loss is real.
• Creative-heavy. The best-performing UA campaigns we run now rotate 30–50 unique creatives per month.

That said, there are strong upsides:

• You scale only by bringing in new audiences.
• It’s easier to track and justify to non-marketing stakeholders (boards, investors).
• It forces your team to stay sharp with messaging, funnels, and product positioning.

In short: you still need UA. But the days of “let’s just throw more budget into Meta” are gone.

Neither. It’s not a fight. It’s a portfolio.

What we recommend to clients now is not to choose — but to balance. Think of it like this:

There’s no universal formula — but a good rule of thumb: If your app has retention problems, don’t just pour in more UA budget. That’s like filling a leaky bucket.

In 2025, smart mobile growth means playing both sides: cold and warm traffic, installs and re-installs. Retargeting is not a bonus tactic anymore — it’s core to performance.

Mobihunter doesn’t push one strategy over another. We look at the numbers, the funnel, and the creative toolkit — and build what’s right for each stage.

If your current media mix is 100% UA and 0% re-engagement — it might be time to rethink the math.