DAU / MAU
Daily Active Users and Monthly Active Users, measuring product engagement and the percentage of users who return regularly.
DAU (Daily Active Users) and MAU (Monthly Active Users) measure how many unique users engage with a product in a given day or month. The DAU/MAU ratio (sometimes called "stickiness") indicates what percentage of monthly users come back every day. A 50% DAU/MAU ratio means half of all monthly users use the product daily, indicating strong engagement.
These metrics are most relevant for consumer and prosumer products. Social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok have DAU/MAU ratios above 60%. Productivity tools like Slack aim for 40-60%. A ratio below 20% suggests the product is not part of users' daily habits, which can indicate weak retention.
DAU and MAU are only meaningful if "active" is well-defined. Simply opening the app is a weak definition; performing a core action (sending a message, creating a document, making a transaction) is more meaningful. Companies that define "active" loosely to inflate their numbers may mislead themselves and their investors about actual engagement. The definition should reflect genuine value delivery.
Example
A messaging app has 3M MAU and 1.5M DAU, giving a DAU/MAU ratio of 50%. This means half of monthly users open and use the app every single day. By comparison, a weekly planning tool might have 500K MAU and 80K DAU (16% DAU/MAU), which is healthy for a product used primarily once a week.
Related Terms
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