---
title: Monthly Active Users (MAU): Definition and Calculator
description: Monthly active users (MAU): rolling 30 days vs calendar month, why MAU is not the sum of DAU, MAU growth and new vs returning share, with a free calculator.
url: https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/mau/
---

# Monthly active users (MAU)

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

14 Mau Monthly active users Engagement

Definition

## What is monthly active users?

**Monthly active users (MAU) is the number of unique users who do a qualifying action in an app over a 30-day period or a calendar month.**

**Returning user:** a user active this month who was acquired in an earlier month.

Formula

## How to calculate MAU

`MAU = Unique users active in the last 30 days (or the calendar month)`

**Unique users active**

each user counted once in the period

### Where definitions differ

| Variant | Formula | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Rolling 30-day MAU | Unique users active in the 30 days up to today | Moves every day; smooth for trend charts. |
| Calendar-month MAU | Unique users active in the month | Easier for monthly reports, but months have different lengths. |
| MAU growth | (MAU this month − MAU last month) ÷ MAU last month × 100 | The month-on-month change. |

Calculator

## MAU calculator

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

**MAU 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.

**MAU growth**

15%

**Returning users this month**

72,000

**Share of MAU that is new**

21.7%

**Track this automatically**

MAU usually comes from product analytics. To split active users by acquisition channel, 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-mau&utm_content=panel)
- [Event capture API](https://docs.linkrunner.io/api-reference/event-capture?utm_source=appmetricslibrary&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=metric-mau&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-mau&utm_content=panel)

Answer

## Why is MAU not the sum of DAU?

MAU counts each user once a month, while adding up DAU counts a user once for every day they were active. A user active on 10 days adds 10 to the sum but only 1 to MAU.

By vertical

## How MAU differs by vertical

| [EdTech](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/edtech/) | Monthly learners is the usual board-level number. |
|---|---|
| [Fintech](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/fintech/) | Monthly transacting users is often more useful than MAU on opens. |
| [OTT and streaming](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/ott/) | Monthly viewers or subscribers. |
| [Gaming](https://appmetricslibrary.com/verticals/gaming/) | Monthly players; read with DAU for [stickiness](https://linkrunner.io/glossary/what-is-stickiness-dau-mau-ratio?utm_source=appmetricslibrary&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=metric-mau&utm_content=inline). |

Pitfalls

## Common mistakes

- Reporting MAU growth driven mainly by new users without checking returning users.
- Comparing a February calendar MAU with a 31-day month.

Related

## Related metrics

[13 Dau Daily active users](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/dau/) [15 Stk DAU/MAU stickiness](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/dau-mau-stickiness/) [23 Chn Churn rate](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/churn-rate/) [25 Arpu Average revenue per user](https://appmetricslibrary.com/metrics/arpu/)

FAQ

## Questions

**How is MAU calculated?**

Count every unique user who did your qualifying action in the last 30 days or the calendar month. Each user counts once however often they were active.

**Should I use rolling or calendar-month MAU?**

Rolling 30-day MAU is better for trend charts because it updates daily; calendar MAU suits monthly reporting. Pick one and label it.

**What does falling returning-user MAU mean?**

It means fewer people from earlier months are staying, even if total MAU grows on new users. That is a retention problem hidden by acquisition.

**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.

**Which currency do the calculators use?**

The calculators show US dollars, but every formula works in any currency: enter your own figures in the currency you report in and read the results in that currency.