# What percent of mobile apps have a settings screen?

Source: Lazyweb Research
Author: Ali Abouelatta, Lazyweb Research
Published: 2026-07-07
Updated: July 2026
Sample size: n=809
Tags: ux-patterns, mobile, design, web, saas
HTML: https://lazylanding-labs.onrender.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-have-a-settings-screen
Markdown: https://lazylanding-labs.onrender.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-have-a-settings-screen.md

**Answer.** 71.4% of tracked apps (578 of 809) have a captured settings screen — the most universal non-home screen in the corpus [1]. Even so, it is not literally everywhere: ~29% of tracked apps have no captured settings screen. Settings is the closest thing to a default expected screen, but its absence in nearly 1 in 3 apps shows many products push configuration into a profile or account surface instead.

> 578 of ~800 tracked apps (71.4%) have a settings screen — the most universal non-home screen — Lazyweb Research, July 2026.

## The finding

578 of 809 apps (71.4%) show a settings screen, the single most common non-home surface tracked [1]. For context against neighboring surfaces [2]:

| Screen | Apps | % |
|---|---|---|
| Settings | 578 | 71.4% |
| Profile / account | 469 | 58.0% |
| Search | 450 | 55.6% |
| Empty state | 370 | 45.7% |

## How to apply it

A settings screen is the safest 'yes, everyone has this' pattern in the corpus — if you are debating whether to ship one, the answer is almost always yes [1]. The ~29% without a captured settings screen are often lightweight or feed-first apps that fold preferences into a profile/account page, so a combined profile+settings surface is a legitimate alternative rather than an omission.

## Caveats

Lower bound — reflects only settings screens Lazyweb captured [1]. Many apps merge settings into profile; the 71.4% counts screens tagged as settings specifically, so combined profile-settings surfaces may under-report here and show up in the 58.0% profile figure instead.

## The numbers

| Stat | Computed from |
| --- | --- |
| 71.4% (578 of 809) | prevalence_settings_screen: 578/809 |
| Profile 58.0% (469), Search 55.6% (450), Empty state 45.7% (370) | prevalence_profile_screen, prevalence_search_screen, prevalence_empty_state |

## Methodology

Universe: 809 apps with >=1 captured screen. Method: COUNT(DISTINCT company_name) where any tag matches '%settings%'. July 2026. Caveat: captured screens only.

## Visual references

Real, in-market app screens tracked by Lazyweb Research:

- United: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/travel7_united/lazyscreenshots/2024_11_23_15-29-23_6285FF63.png
- Iscanner: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_iscanner/main_tabs/compare/2026-05-27/1779934107184_00_iScanner-20260528-020826-01.png
- Cnbc: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/uploaded_cnbc/compare/2026-01-28/1771005852699_t__-_389.PNG
- Hulu: https://zlfyzdmohcskkucuunmk.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/screenshots/ent5_hulu/backlog/2025_08_30_22-30-06_1E412DC3.png

## 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

- [How common are account-setup and login screens across mobile apps?](https://lazylanding-labs.onrender.com/research/what-percent-of-apps-have-account-setup-screen)
- [What are the most universal screens across mobile apps — and which are rare?](https://lazylanding-labs.onrender.com/research/what-are-the-most-universal-mobile-app-screens)