---
title: Daily Active Users (DAU): Definition and Calculator
description: Daily active users (DAU): what counts as active, single-day vs average DAU, why tools disagree, and a free average DAU calculator with example inputs to change.
url: https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/dau/
---

# Daily active users (DAU)

Engagement metric. How often and how deeply do they use it?

13 Dau Daily active users Engagement

Definition

## What is daily active users?

**Daily active users (DAU) is the number of unique users who do a qualifying action in an app on a given day.**

**Unique user:** a user counted once in the period, however many times they were active.

Formula

## How to calculate DAU

`Average DAU = Sum of each day's unique active users ÷ Days in the period`

**Each day's unique active users**

users counted once per day, however many sessions they had

**Days in the period**

the number of days you are averaging over

### Where definitions differ

| Variant | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Open-based DAU | Users who opened the app that day | The loosest definition and the highest number. |
| Action-based DAU | Users who did a core action that day | Closer to real usage; lower and more stable. |
| Timezone | Days cut in UTC or local time | Changing the timezone moves users between days; fix one. |

Calculator

## DAU calculator

> Interactive tool (metric calculator): runs in the browser at https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/dau/#metric-calc. Its text content follows.

**DAU calculator**

**Example inputs: change them to your own numbers.** The examples only make the calculator show a worked answer; they are not benchmarks or targets. Runs in your browser; nothing you type is sent anywhere.

**Average DAU**

15,000

**Track this automatically**

DAU usually comes from product analytics. To see which channels bring users who stay active, send key in-app events to your MMP as well.

- [Events tab docs](https://docs.linkrunner.io/features/events-tab?utm_source=appmetricslibrary&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=metric-dau&utm_content=panel)
- [Event capture API](https://docs.linkrunner.io/api-reference/event-capture?utm_source=appmetricslibrary&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=metric-dau&utm_content=panel)

[Create a free account (25k installs free)](https://dashboard.linkrunner.io/sign-in?utm_source=appmetricslibrary&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=metric-dau&utm_content=panel)

Answer

## What counts as an active user?

Whatever you define, which is why DAU varies so much between tools: an app open, a session over a few seconds, or a core action. Write the definition down and keep it fixed.

By vertical

## How DAU differs by vertical

| [EdTech](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/edtech/) | Daily learners matter more than daily opens; consider DAU on lesson started. |
|---|---|
| [Fintech](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/fintech/) | Many fintech apps are not daily-use; MAU or transacting users often fit better. |
| [OTT and streaming](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/ott/) | Daily viewers is the natural definition. |
| [Gaming](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/gaming/) | A core metric, and the denominator of ARPDAU. |

Pitfalls

## Common mistakes

- Adding up DAU across days and calling it MAU; the same user is counted many times.
- Comparing DAU from two tools that define active differently.

Related

## Related metrics

[14 Mau Monthly active users](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/mau/) [15 Stk DAU/MAU stickiness](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/dau-mau-stickiness/) [27 Arpd Revenue per daily active user](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/arpdau/) [17 Spu Sessions per user](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/sessions-per-user/) [22 Ret Retention rate](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/retention-rate/)

FAQ

## Questions

**How is DAU calculated?**

Count the unique users who did your qualifying action on a day. For a period, add each day's DAU and divide by the number of days to get average DAU.

**Is DAU the same as daily installs?**

No. DAU counts everyone active that day, new and returning; installs count only new devices.

**Why does DAU differ between my analytics tool and my MMP?**

They often define active differently (any open vs a session of a minimum length) and may cut days in different timezones. Align both before comparing.

**Are the calculator's example inputs benchmarks?**

No. The example inputs only make the calculator show a worked answer when the page loads; they are not typical, good or target values. Replace them with your own numbers.

**Does the calculator send my numbers anywhere?**

No. It runs entirely in your browser, and nothing you type is stored or sent anywhere.

**Why do tools report different values for the same metric?**

Because definitions differ: what counts as active, which attribution window applies, whether organic users are included and how days are cut by timezone. Align the definition before comparing numbers.