---
title: "What Is DAU/MAU?"
term: "DAU/MAU"
description: "DAU/MAU is the ratio of daily active users to monthly active users — a shorthand for how often monthly users return on a typical day, often called stickiness."
date: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
topics: ["venture-capital"]
source: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/glossary/dau-mau
---

# What Is DAU/MAU?

> DAU/MAU is the ratio of daily active users to monthly active users — a shorthand for how often monthly users return on a typical day, often called stickiness.

**DAU/MAU** divides daily active users by monthly active users to estimate **stickiness** — how frequently your monthly user base shows up on an average day.

### How it works

If MAU is 500,000 and average DAU is 100,000, DAU/MAU = 20%. Messaging and social products often target higher ratios because daily opens drive ad impressions and network effects. Utilities used weekly may show lower ratios but still be healthy businesses.

Teams calculate using consistent active definitions across both numerators and denominators. Some use rolling 30-day MAU vs calendar month; document the method.

Stickiness complements cohort retention: a product can have decent month-one retention but low DAU/MAU if usage clusters on weekends only — important for staffing push notifications and sales promises.

Cross-app benchmarks are tricky; compare within category and track your own trend line over time rather than chasing generic "good" thresholds.

### Why it matters

- **Founders:** Improving DAU/MAU usually means core loop improvements, not paid install spikes. Feature work should target repeat triggers.
- **Investors:** Sudden DAU/MAU drops after a redesign or paywall change signal product regressions before revenue impact appears.

### Common mistake

Optimizing push notifications to inflate DAU without deepening value — users open and churn, stickiness looks flat while satisfaction falls.

### Related ideas

See also [DAU](/glossary/dau), MAU, retention curves, and engagement loops.

## FAQ

### What is DAU/MAU in simple terms?

Divide daily active users by monthly active users. If 200k of 1M monthly users are active on a typical day, DAU/MAU is 20% — higher usually means more habitual use.

### Why does DAU/MAU matter?

For founders, it shows whether you are building a daily habit or a monthly utility. For investors, stickiness helps forecast retention, ad inventory, and viral loops independent of total downloads.


---
Source: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/glossary/dau-mau