Definitions
- DAU (daily active users): unique users who opened the app on a given day.
- MAU (monthly active users): unique users who opened it at least once in the past 30 days.
Stickiness = DAU ÷ MAU × 100
A ratio of 50% means the average monthly user is active about every other day.
How to read it
What's "good" depends on how often the app is meant to be used. A messaging app should be used daily; a travel booking app a few times a year. For apps meant for daily use, ratios around 20% or more are often cited as healthy, but your own trend matters more than a benchmark.
How to improve it
- Build a reason to return daily: streaks, new content, notifications that are actually useful — see push notifications.
- Improve early retention; users who form a habit in the first week stay sticky.
- Check session length alongside DAU/MAU to see whether people engage or just open and close.
Example
A news app has 30,000 DAU and 150,000 MAU: a stickiness ratio of 20%. After launching a morning briefing notification, it rises to 26%.