noticeCOVID-19 UPDATE ASO World entire team is working remotely. we expect no disruptions in our ASO services.
Browser close
50% OFF FIRST ORDER
Referral Program
bonusprogram
50% OFF FIRST ORDER
Referral Program
bonusprogram
logo
  • App Promotion
    Keyword Installs
    Package(Direct) Installs
    Ratings & Reviews
    Guaranteed Reviews Service
    Guaranteed Keyword Ranking Service
    ASO Service
    Customized Solution
    More Services
  • ASO Tools
    Free ASO Tools
    Keyword Research Tools
  • Solutions
    By vertical
    News
    NEW
    Sports
    HOT
    Dating
    HOT
    Health & Fitness
    Ecommerce
    Fintech
    HOT
    Gaming
    Education
    Entertainment
    Travel
    Social Media
    Restaurant & Foodtech
    AI
    Productivity
    Lifestyle
    Music
    Utility
    Photo & Video
    Casino
    Business
    By Performance
    Boost App Rankings & User Acquisition
    NEW
    Improve Organic Conversions & User Experience
    NEW
    Mobile App Launch Marketing
    Increase Keyword Rankings & Organic Downloads
    solution-suffix
    Customer Stories
    Explore inspiring Customer Stories to see how businesses like yours have successfully leveraged ASO World to create powerful mobile apps.
  • ASO Academy
    Blog
    Case Studies
    Guides & Insights
    FAQs
    Glossary
  • Pricing
Login Register
logo
  • App Promotion
    Keyword Installs
    Package(Direct) Installs
    Ratings & Reviews
    Guaranteed Reviews Service
    Guaranteed Keyword Ranking Service
    ASO Service
    Customized Solution
    More Services
  • ASO Tools
  • Solutions
    By vertical
    News
    Sports
    Dating
    Health & Fitness
    Ecommerce
    Fintech
    Gaming
    Education
    Entertainment
    Travel
    Social Media
    Restaurant & Foodtech
    AI
    Productivity
    Lifestyle
    Music
    Utility
    Photo & Video
    Casino
    Business
    By Performance
    Boost App Rankings & User Acquisition
    Improve Organic Conversions & User Experience
    Mobile App Launch Marketing
    Increase Keyword Rankings & Organic Downloads
  • ASO Academy
    Blog
    Case Studies
    Guides & Insights
    FAQs
    Glossary
  • Pricing
Important Notice
Important Notice:Beware of scams using ASOWorld's name for part-time recruitment or ASO earning app activities. ASOWorld is not hiring any part-time staff. Trust only official information posted by ASOWorld.
Close the Important Notice
https://asoworld.com/en/aso-glossary/active-user

Active user for Marketing

As a marketer looking to encourage growth, or a product manager after maximizing retention, you not only need to know how often users access your app/website, but understand the depth of their use and level of engagement.

View all ASO glossary terms

Home ASO Glossary Active user

Active user

Posted: Feb 14 2022
Updated: Oct 16 2024
What is an active user?
As a marketer looking to encourage growth, or a product manager after maximizing retention, you not only need to know how often users access your app/website, but understand the depth of their use and level of engagement.

What do we mean by engagement?
In the app world, the most common example of an active user’s engagement is an account log-in. However, engagement can differ across industries and business models.

An online banking app, for example, could define engagement as making a transfer. An eCommerce app, on the other hand, could define this as adding an item to a cart, whereas a SaaS company could focus on software usage.

Either way, active users are identified through a personal unique identifier, which could be their email, user ID, cookies – when dealing with web users – or a combination of all, in case one fails.

Benefits of measuring active users
An increasing volume of active users is a good sign you’re doing something right.

Determining the number of your active users over time helps you to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns, and the customer experience your app delivers. It also ties into other key metrics; Lifetime value (LTV) can’t be calculated without knowing your retention rates, while retention rates rely on active users count.

In other words, your number of active users provides a basic measure of the general health of your app, and maintaining a finger on the pulse of your active users trends allows you to align their needs with your values.

Common types of active user metrics
As mentioned above, the criteria used to define an active user depends on your line of business and definition of an active user’s engagement. Is your user logging into the app, completing a specific action, or performing a certain number of actions? 

However you choose to define your activity criteria, your active users will be counted over a set period of time, which would fall under one of the following categories:

  • Daily Active Users (DAU) – The number of unique users that engage with your app within a 24-hour window. DAU is typically used by businesses where users are expected to interact with the app on a daily basis (e.g. gaming apps).
  • Weekly Active Users (WAU) – The number of unique users that engage with your app within a 7-day window. WAU is typically used by businesses where users are expected to interact with the app at a weekly frequency (e.g. analytics tools).
  • Monthly Active Users (MAU) – The number of unique users that engage with your app within a 30-day window. MAU is typically used by B2B apps where users are expected to interact a few times a month or less (eg. banking apps).
Calculating active users
Theoretically speaking, calculating active users could be regarded as deceptively simple, but it can become more complicated depending on how your activity is defined. 

Here are the steps you need to take in order to get started:

  1. Define the criteria for an active user
  2. Define the frequency of engagement you’re looking to measure (DAU, WAU, MAU)
  3. Collect the data using your analytics tool of choice, and sum the number of unique users who meet your active user criteria for each period of time.
Let’s review an example together:

  • Criteria – app user clicked a button, swiped, or scrolled
  • Frequency of engagement – DAU
  • On day X, the following engagements were registered:
User 1 clicked a button, and then closed the app
User 2 logged into the app but then remained idle
User 3 logged into the app, scrolled, swiped, or clicked a button
User 1 logged back into the app, and clicked another button
  • Bottom line: Our DAU count adds up to 2. Why?
User 1 is an active user (counted once)
User 2 is not considered active
User 3 is also an active user
Keep in mind that measuring active users heavily depends on the long-term growth goals and business model of your company. 

For example, let’s say the main objective of the UK’s National Health Service is to increase vaccination awareness through their app. The best way for them to measure their active users would be to count the number of unique users that logged into their app.

Uniqlo’s key objective, however, is to get more sales, in which case their active user measurement would be the number of unique users that completed a purchase on their app over a given period.

Different business goals = different active user criteria.

The DAU/MAU ratio – measuring product stickiness
This ratio allows you to measure the relative volume of monthly active users who engage with your app over a 24-hour time period. 

Using the DAU/MAU metric, you can forecast traction and potential revenue over time, but even more importantly – it helps you determine the value of your product for your users by keeping track of how often they return to your app. 

It’s calculated in the following way:

If, for example, you had 2,000 DAU and 8,000 MAU during the month of August, your stickiness ratio for that month would be 25%. That’s a very happy place to be in, considering that across industries, a stickiness average of 20% is considered good, while 25% and beyond is considered exceptional. 

 Key takeaways
In the app world, an active user is most commonly regarded as a user logging into their account. However, the various types of engagement that make up an active user can differ between business sectors and business goals.
Determining the number of your active users over time helps you to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns, and the customer experience your app delivers. 
Counting your active users over a set period of time can fall into one of the following categories: Daily Active Users (DAU), Weekly Active Users (WAU), and Monthly Active Users (MAU). Different industries and business needs should dictate the ideal frequency for measuring the volume of active users.

ASO World App Promotion Service
Related Terms
RuStore
Explore RuStore, Russia’s Android app store, and learn ASO strategies to boost your app’s visibility in this growing market.
Read More
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing drives cost-effective app installs and complements ASO by boosting organic visibility through targeted promotions and keyword-aligned content.
Read More
App Store Trader Status
Ensure your app’s compliance with EU’s Digital Services Act by declaring your App Store Trader Status for uninterrupted distribution and optimal growth in the European market.
Read More
Start Your Store Ranking Acquisition Capability Detection
Step by step to measure all of your app store optimization efforts with our ASO tools.
Featured Terms
  • App Ranking
    App Rankings refers to the over-all app rankings from the store, or from a particular category in the store, based on downloads and revenue.
    See More
  • App Store Acquisition Channels
    App Store Acquisition Channels are all the potential channels that user acquisition (UA) teams can utilize.
    See More
  • App Store Optimization (ASO)
    App store optimization(ASO) is all about applying the scientific method to mobile key performance indicators (KPIs) that are related to the app stores.
    See More
Popular Topics
  • App Marketing Basics
  • User Acquisition Essentials
  • User Retention & Engagement
  • App Monetization Strategies
  • Advanced App Marketing Campaigns
  • Advanced Data Insights
  • Tech Optimization
  • App Market Trends
Related Terms
RuStore
Explore RuStore, Russia’s Android app store, and learn ASO strategies to boost your app’s visibility in this growing market.
Read More
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing drives cost-effective app installs and complements ASO by boosting organic visibility through targeted promotions and keyword-aligned content.
Read More
App Store Trader Status
Ensure your app’s compliance with EU’s Digital Services Act by declaring your App Store Trader Status for uninterrupted distribution and optimal growth in the European market.
Read More
Promote now, and start your App adventure!
Whether you are a big company or a small startup, we can help you to promote your app in Google Play , App Store, Galaxy Store and RuStore with the lower price.
Promote now, and start your App adventure!
  • ASO
  • Email [email protected]
  • Contact Contact Us
  • twitter facebook linkedin instagram
  • SERVICE
  • Keyword Installs
  • Package(Direct) Installs
  • Ratings & Reviews
  • Guaranteed Reviews Service
  • Guaranteed Keyword Ranking Service
  • ASO Service
  • More Services
  • ASO Academy
  • Blog
  • Case Studies
  • Guides & Insights
  • FAQs
  • Glossary
  • Marketing News
  • COMPANY
  • Why ASO World
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Reseller program
ASO World © 2020-2025 All Rights Reserved
Privacy Policy Terms of Service

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking "Accept", you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.