Daily/Monthly Active Users (DAU/MAU)
What Is DAU/MAU?
Daily Active Users (DAU) measures the number of unique users who engage meaningfully with your product in a single day.
Monthly Active Users (MAU) measures the number of unique users who engage meaningfully with your product over the last 30 days.
These metrics help you understand usage patterns—how often users come back, and how engaged they really are.
Formulas:
- Daily Active Users (DAU): Number of unique users active on a specific day.
- Monthly Active Users (MAU): Number of unique users active in the last 30 days.
DAU/MAU Ratio (%): This ratio, also known as "stickiness," indicates how frequently users return to your product.
DAU/MAU Ratio (%) = (Average Daily Active Users over a period / Total Monthly Active Users in that same period) × 100
For example, to calculate the DAU/MAU ratio for a given month, you would take the average DAU across all days in that month and divide it by the total MAU for that month. A 30% DAU/MAU means users are active about 9 days in a 30-day month.
Why DAU/MAU Matters in SaaS CX
DAU/MAU goes beyond login counts. It reflects real behavioral engagement and helps CX teams align retention strategy with actual usage patterns.
Stickiness Indicator: A higher DAU/MAU means customers are coming back often—your product is part of their workflow.
Predicts Retention Risk: Declining ratios may signal disengagement before a drop in renewal likelihood.
Feature-Level Insight: When tracked across different modules, it helps product and CX teams pinpoint which features are driving habitual use.
CX-to-Product Feedback Loop: DAU/MAU helps Success teams identify power users vs. at-risk accounts, enabling targeted interventions or enablement.
How to Measure and Improve DAU/MAU
- Define “active” clearly: Choose meaningful actions—login, feature use, data entry, etc.—not just visits.
- Segment your users: Analyze DAU/MAU by role (admin vs. contributor), plan (free vs. paid), or company tier.
- Track trends over time: Look at cohorts pre- and post-onboarding, post-new feature launch, or nearing renewal.
How to interpret the DAU/MAU ratio:
- 10–20% → Low stickiness (occasional or monthly use)
- 30–50% → Moderate engagement (weekly or semi-regular use)
- 50–70%+ → High stickiness (frequent or daily use)
Unlike vanity metrics like raw signups, DAU/MAU reflects real-world usage patterns—what CX and CS teams need to act on.
DAU and MAU are essential CX metrics because they reflect actual user behavior—not opinions or assumptions. The DAU/MAU ratio tells you how deeply your product is embedded in the customer’s daily rhythm. Strong engagement now translates to stronger retention and expansion later.