Daily Active Users (DAU)

What is DAU (Daily Active Users)?

In app marketing terms, the daily active users metric, sometimes referred to as DAU, represents the number of users who engage with an app within a 24- hour period.

To clearly understand this term, we should define what an active user is. Put simply, an active user is someone who has downloaded an app and interacted with it in some way. While different apps define interactions differently, the basis of this definition holds.

Why is Measuring DAU Important?

DAU is an important metric, mostly because it measures success. The more engaged an app’s user base is, the more they’ll access said app. Since engaged users are more valuable than unengaged ones, DAU helps app developers determine their app’s earning potential.

How to Calculate Daily Active Users

To calculate DAU for your app(s) follow this simple two step process:

• Decide what qualifies as an “active user” to your company.
• Use an analytics tool to learn how many unique users meet the above criteria.

For example, you may decide that an “active user” is any user who logs into your app and clicks, swipes, or scrolls. After analyzing the data, you discover that 250 people opened your app yesterday and completed one of the aforementioned actions. So, your DAU count is 250.