DAU/MAU ratio (stickiness)
Also known as: DAU/MAU, stickiness ratio, user stickiness
DAU/MAU ratio, often called stickiness, is the average number of daily active users divided by the number of monthly active users for the same month, showing how many days a month a typical user comes back.
DAU/MAU = average daily active users in the month / monthly active users × 100%DAU/MAU shows how often people use the product, while retention shows whether they keep using it at all. A product can retain users well and still have low stickiness if people only need it once a week. Multiply the ratio by 30 for a rough number of active days per user per month: 10% is about 3 days, 50% about 15.
Example
A fintech budgeting app reviews September. Monthly active users: 60,000. Average daily active users over the 30 days: 12,000.
DAU/MAU: 12,000 / 60,000 = 20%, or about six active days per user in the month.
In October the team adds a daily spending summary. Average DAU rises to 15,000 with MAU unchanged, so the ratio moves to 15,000 / 60,000 = 25%, or about 7.5 days. The figures are illustrative.
How to use it
Define “active” as a meaningful action, not an app open or a login. For a budgeting app that might be checking or categorising a transaction; for a B2B tool, creating or editing something.
Use the ratio only when daily use is the goal. Payroll software, tax tools and clinic booking apps are used 1 or 2 times a month, and for them a WAU/MAU ratio or monthly retention says more.
Watch the ratio next to activation. A wave of new sign-ups inflates MAU first, so stickiness can fall during a growth month even when existing users behave the same.
Common mistakes
- Counting background syncs, push opens or automated API calls as activity.
- Comparing DAU/MAU between products with different natural usage frequency.
- Using DAU from one day instead of the monthly average.
- Treating a rising ratio as growth when MAU is shrinking and only loyal users remain.