---
title: "What Is MAU?"
term: "MAU"
description: "MAU (monthly active users) counts distinct users who engage with a product at least once in a calendar month—a standard traction metric for consumer and product-led businesses."
date: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-07-25T00:00:00.000Z
topics: ["venture-capital"]
source: https://venturecapitaltracker.com/glossary/mau
---

# What Is MAU?

> MAU (monthly active users) counts distinct users who engage with a product at least once in a calendar month—a standard traction metric for consumer and product-led businesses.

**MAU** stands for monthly active users—the number of unique users who performed a defined active action in a given month.

### How it works

Teams must define **active** consistently: logged in, completed core action, or opened app. Changing definitions inflates growth artificially.

MAU is often reported with:

- **DAU/MAU ratio** — stickiness (daily actives ÷ monthly actives)
- **New vs returning MAU** — growth quality
- **MAU by cohort** — retention curves

Example: a social app with 2M MAU and 800K DAU has 40% DAU/MAU stickiness. A fintech app may track funded accounts as active rather than installs.

MAU differs from [MRR](/glossary/mrr)-based metrics: large MAU with weak monetization signals ad or freemium models needing conversion work.

### Why it matters

- **Founders:** Report MAU with the activity definition footnoted. Boards compare MAU growth to CAC and infrastructure cost per user.
- **Investors:** Vanity MAU without retention triggers skepticism. Pair with engagement depth and revenue per active user.

### Common mistake

Counting installs or registered accounts as MAU. Inactive accounts inflate reach without proving product value.

### Related ideas

See also DAU, [MRR](/glossary/mrr), [retention](/glossary/retention), and [monetization](/glossary/monetization).

## FAQ

### What is MAU in simple terms?

How many unique people used your product in the last month. If someone opens your app twice in March, they count once toward March MAU.

### Why does MAU matter?

It measures reach and growth of user base. Investors ask what active means, whether MAU converts to revenue, and how many users return month after month.


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