What Are Daily Active Users (DAU) and How to Calculate It

by Andrea Knezovic, June 25, 2024

Daily Active Users (DAU) Meaning
DAU/MAU Ratio
Daily Active Users Formula
How to Calculate Daily Active Users?
How to Increase Daily Active Users for Mobile Apps?
Daily Active Users of Leading Platforms in 2024

Daily active users (DAU) is one of the most important engagement metrics for mobile apps and games. Keep reading to learn more about DAU, including its formula, how to calculate it and how to increase it!

Daily Active Users (DAU) Meaning

DAU stands for daily active users.

Daily active users (DAU) are the total number of unique users who interact with a product or service within a single day.

This metric is commonly used to measure the engagement and popularity of online platforms, such as mobile apps, mobile games, websites, and social networks.

What is MAU?

MAU stands for monthly active users.

Monthly active users (MAU) are the total number of unique users who interact with a mobile app within a 30-day period.

DAU/MAU Ratio

The DAU/MAU ratio is a metric used to measure user engagement on a mobile platform.

It is calculated by dividing the number of daily active users (DAU) by the number of monthly active users (MAU).

This ratio indicates the proportion of monthly users who engage with the platform on a daily basis.

A higher DAU/MAU ratio suggests higher user engagement and retention. For example, a DAU/MAU ratio of 0.2 (or 20%) means that, on average, 20% of the monthly active users are using the platform each day.

Daily Active Users Formula

The formula for calculating DAU is:

DAU= Number of unique users who interact with an app in a single day

To find DAU, you simply count the number of unique users who perform any kind of interaction with your app or platform within a 24-hour period. Each user is only counted once per day, regardless of how many times they interact with the platform on that day.

How to Calculate Daily Active Users?

To calculate Daily Active Users (DAU), follow these steps:

Define User Interaction: Decide what constitutes an “active” user for your platform. This could be logging in, viewing content, making a purchase, etc.
Collect Data: Use analytics tools to gather data on user interactions. Ensure that you’re collecting unique user IDs or other identifiers to track individual users.
Filter Data: Filter the collected data to identify the interactions that occurred within a specific 24-hour period.
Count Unique Users: Count the number of unique users who interacted with the platform during that 24-hour period. Each user should be counted only once, regardless of the number of interactions.

How to Increase Daily Active Users for Mobile Apps?

Increasing Daily Active Users (DAU) for your mobile app involves several strategies focused on improving user engagement, retention, and acquisition.

Here are some effective methods:

Improve User Experience (UX)

Simplify Onboarding: Make the initial experience seamless and easy to understand. Offer tutorials or guides to help users get started quickly.
Optimize Performance: On the development side, ensure the app is fast, responsive, and free of bugs. Regularly update the app to fix issues and improve performance.
Intuitive Design: Use a clean and intuitive design to make navigation easy and pleasant for users.

Enhance User Engagement

Push Notifications: Send personalized and relevant push notifications to remind users about your app and encourage them to return.
In-App Messaging: Use in-app messages to engage users with updates, promotions, and tips.
Regular Updates: Continuously add new features and content to keep the app fresh and interesting.

Create Value

Exclusive Content: Offer exclusive content or features that users can only access by using the app daily.
Loyalty Programs: Implement rewards or loyalty programs that incentivize daily use.

Build a Community and Social Features

Social Sharing: Enable users to share their activities or achievements within the app on social media platforms.
Community Building: Create in-app communities or forums where users can interact, share experiences, and support each other.

Marketing and User Acquisition

Referral Programs: Encourage existing users to invite their friends by offering incentives for both the referrer and the referee.
Targeted Advertising: Use targeted ads on social media and other platforms to attract new users who are likely to be interested in your app.

Analyze and Optimize

User Feedback: Regularly collect and act on user feedback to improve the app.
Analytics: Use analytics tools to monitor user behavior and identify areas where users are dropping off. Optimize those areas to retain users.

Gamification

Achievements and Rewards: Implement a system of achievements and rewards to motivate users to complete tasks and engage with the app regularly.
Challenges and Competitions: Introduce gamification features like challenges or competitions that encourage daily participation.