DAU/MAU Ratio
The DAU/MAU ratio divides daily active users (DAU) by monthly active users (MAU) to show what share of a product's monthly users are active on a typical day. Often called stickiness, it is a common proxy for habit. A ratio of 20 percent means the average monthly user is active about one day in five, or roughly six days a month.
How the DAU/MAU Ratio Works
The standard calculation takes the average number of daily active users over a period and divides it by the number of unique users active at any point in that same period, usually a month or a rolling 28 or 30 days.
DAU/MAU = average DAU ÷ MAU × 100
Using an average DAU matters. Business tools see fewer users on weekends and consumer apps often see the opposite, so a single day's DAU can make the ratio swing for reasons that have nothing to do with engagement.
The most important decision is what counts as "active". Opening the app or loading a page inflates the number. A stronger definition uses an action that reflects real value, such as sending a message, editing a document or completing a workout. The same definition must apply to both DAU and MAU, and it should stay fixed so the trend is comparable over time.
Why the DAU/MAU Ratio Matters
Monthly active users measure reach. The DAU/MAU ratio measures depth. A product can grow MAU through marketing while each user comes back less often, which usually signals weaker retention ahead. A rising ratio means users are building the product into their routine.
The ratio only makes sense when daily use is the natural pattern. Chat, email and many consumer apps are built for daily habits. A scheduling tool, a documentation site or a payroll product may be used weekly or monthly, and a low DAU/MAU there is not a problem. Mixpanel notes that for products where daily use is not the natural rhythm, a weekly view gives a clearer signal. Those teams often use DAU/WAU or WAU/MAU instead. Published benchmarks vary widely by category, so the most useful comparison is usually the product's own trend.
Because it is easy to compute, DAU/MAU is sometimes treated as a North Star Metric. That works only when frequent use is genuinely how customers get value.
DAU/MAU Ratio Example
A team messaging app defines "active" as sending at least one message. Over a 30-day period it has 40,000 monthly active users and an average of 18,000 daily active users, a DAU/MAU ratio of 45 percent. After a redesign of notifications, MAU grows to 44,000 but average DAU stays near 18,000, so the ratio falls to about 41 percent. The team investigates and finds that many new users came from a promotion and use the app only occasionally, so it looks at new and existing cohorts separately before drawing conclusions.
DAU/MAU Ratio vs. Retention
Both describe whether users come back, but they answer different questions. Retention follows a group of users from a starting point and asks what share is still active later. DAU/MAU looks at the whole active base in one period and asks how frequently those users engage. A product can retain users well while they use it only weekly, which gives strong retention and a modest DAU/MAU.