Metrics·5 min read

What Is the DAU/MAU Ratio?

Measuring product stickiness — how often your monthly users come back every day.

Definition

The DAU/MAU ratio compares Daily Active Users to Monthly Active Users, expressed as a percentage. It measures product stickiness — what proportion of your monthly users engage with your product every day.

A DAU/MAU of 50% means that on any given day, half of your monthly active users are using your product. Higher ratios indicate a more habit-forming product.

How DAU/MAU Is Calculated

DAU/MAU Ratio = (Daily Active Users ÷ Monthly Active Users) × 100.

Define "active" consistently. Does it mean opening the app? Performing a core action? The definition matters enormously. A generous definition (any visit) inflates the ratio; a strict definition (completed a workflow) gives a truer picture of engagement.

Varsal computes this from your connected analytics platforms like Firebase or Mixpanel.

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Why DAU/MAU Matters

Stickiness predicts retention. Users who engage daily are far less likely to churn than those who visit once a month. The DAU/MAU ratio is a leading indicator of churn — it drops before cancellations rise.

For consumer and prosumer products, DAU/MAU is often the primary health metric. It captures the behavioral foundation that revenue is built upon.

DAU/MAU Benchmarks

Social and messaging apps target 50%+ (Facebook historically maintained ~65%). Productivity tools like Slack and Notion aim for 30–50%. SaaS dashboards and analytics tools typically see 15–30%.

B2B tools used for specific workflows (e.g., weekly reporting) may naturally have lower DAU/MAU. Context matters — a weekly-use product with 15% DAU/MAU may be perfectly healthy.

How to Improve DAU/MAU

Build daily habits: notifications for time-sensitive events, daily digests, streak mechanics, and features that create daily check-in value (like a dashboard showing real-time metrics).

Reduce friction for the daily use case. Make the core action achievable in under 30 seconds. If users can get value from a quick glance, they will come back daily. If every session requires five minutes of setup, they will come back weekly at best.

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