Skip to main content
Mobius
Beginner

What is MAU

Full name: Monthly Active Users

Also known as: monthly active users

Definition

MAU (monthly active users) is the number of different people who take a meaningful action in your product at least once in a month, each counted once.

Why it matters

MAU says how many people use your product in a month, and whether that group is growing or shrinking.

Common mistakes

Counting duplicate accounts or test users as separate people.

Related terms

Worked exampleIllustration

How many and how often

Illustrative: a fictional gym booking app, no real business. The month of September.

  1. MAU

    120 different members book or cancel a class at least once in September.

    120

  2. Average DAU

    On an average day in September, 30 members book or cancel.

    30

  3. Stickiness

    The average DAU divided by the MAU.

    30 ÷ 120 = 25%

  4. What it means

    The average member books or cancels on about one day in four.

    1 in 4

MAU says how many, stickiness says how often.

Illustration

One booking in the month is enough

One dot per member who booked or cancelled at least once in September: 120 dots.

MAU = 120

Over the month all 120 count, each once, whether they booked once or every week. That is MAU: how many, not how often.

Illustrative: September in a fictional gym's booking app. Switch between one average day and the whole month.

How often: stickiness

30 ÷ 120 = 25%. About one day in 4 for the average member0%100%25%

Average DAU ÷ MAU

30 ÷ 120 = 25%

About one day in 4 for the average member

Illustrative: the same gym app in September. Stickiness is the average DAU divided by MAU. No benchmark line is drawn, because no source fits every business.

Definition

MAU, short for monthly active users, counts the different people who did something in your product at least once in a month that counts as activity. One booking in the month is enough to count, and a person who came twenty times still counts once. Each tool defines the month its own way. Google Analytics takes MAU as the active users in the last 30 days. Meta, in its annual report for 2023, counted a monthly active user as a registered, logged in user who visited in the last 30 days as of the date of measurement. The older version of Google Analytics, Universal Analytics, offered 28 day active users. So check the window before you compare two numbers.

Why it matters

It fits products used a few times a month, such as a booking app or a loyalty app. It never says how often people come or whether they stay, so read it next to stickiness (DAU ÷ MAU) and retention. For a salon or clinic without software, the same idea is the number of different paying customers in the month.

Directly related: DAU, Retention, Activation.

Improvement tips

  • Count the same action as your DAU, such as booking or cancelling, so the two numbers can be compared.
  • Read MAU next to retention: a steady MAU can hide members who left and were replaced by new ones.
  • State the window next to the number, such as the last 30 days or the calendar month, and do not mix the two.

Common mistakes

  • Treating MAU as a measure of success without looking at retention, which turns it into a vanity metric.
  • Comparing your MAU with another company's figure without knowing how each defined active and the month.

Related terms

ProductBeginner

DAU

DAU (daily active users) is the number of different people who take a meaningful action in your product on one day, each counted once however often they return.

ProductIntermediate

Retention

Retention is the share of customers who keep buying or using your product over a set period, counting only those you already had at the start.

ProductIntermediate

Activation

Activation is the moment a new customer first gets the result they came for, such as a first booking kept, and an early sign of who will come back.

MarketingIntermediate

CAC

CAC (customer acquisition cost) is what you spend on marketing and sales to win one new customer: a period's spend divided by the new customers it brought.

MarketingBeginner

Vanity metrics

Vanity metrics are numbers that look impressive, like followers, views or total sign ups, but do not tell you what to do next or whether sales are growing.

Quick check

In September 120 different members booked a class at least once, and on an average day 30 did. What does this say?

Choose an answer

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to track MAU before I start my business?
No, there is nobody to count yet. Decide now what will count as active, such as a booking, so the number for the first month means something.
When does MAU start to matter?
After the first full month with real users. One month is a starting point, and the trend over several months is what tells you something.
How do I estimate MAU for a business plan?
Build it from your own numbers rather than someone else's: the budget, what one sign up costs you, the share of sign ups who reach the first real result, and the share still active a month later. Each link is an assumption you can test once you launch.
Should I show MAU to investors?
Only with retention beside it. A growing MAU can come from new sign ups replacing people who left, and a careful reader will ask how many stay.
What does MAU mean in business?
In business, MAU is the number of different people who used your product at least once in a month. For a booking or loyalty app it shows the size of the active customer group. For a clinic the same idea is the number of different paying customers in the month.
What goes wrong when a business watches only MAU?
It can look healthy while regulars quietly leave, because new users fill the gap. A member who booked once counts exactly like one who came every week.
How do I track MAU without stopping daily work?
Let an analytics tool count it, or in a small business count the different customers in the month from the booking diary. Check which window the tool uses: Google Analytics counts the last 30 days, not the calendar month.
How can a business owner raise MAU when growth stalls?
First find out why people stopped: ask a few who left. Fixing that usually does more than reaching new people. Reminding a member who signed up how to book is one thing. Sending them advertising later by email, SMS, fax or an automatic call is another: section 30A of Israel's Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law, 1982, requires the recipient's express prior consent for it, with a narrow exception for existing customers. If you plan to send offers later, ask for that consent on the form, in its own box. The law does not name any app. It limits the action itself, sending advertising without the recipient's prior consent, so the same rule applies whatever app sends the message, WhatsApp being one example. Educational material, not legal or tax advice. Check your own case with a lawyer or an accountant.
What does MAU stand for?
MAU stands for monthly active users: the different people who did something in your product at least once in a month that counts as activity, each counted once.
Is tracking MAU complicated?
No. Most analytics tools count it automatically. What takes thought is choosing the action that counts and keeping the same window every month.
What is stickiness, and why read it with MAU?
Stickiness is DAU divided by MAU, times 100. MAU says how many people use the product in a month, and stickiness says how often. 25% means the average monthly user is active about one day in four.
What is the difference between MAU and DAU?
DAU counts the different people active on one day, MAU those active at least once in a month. Dividing the first by the second gives stickiness, how often people come back.

Sources: Google Analytics Help, "User stickiness" (support.google.com), Meta Platforms, Form 10-K for 2023 (sec.gov), Google Analytics Help, "[UA] Active Users [Legacy]" (support.google.com), Communications (Telecommunications and Broadcasting) Law, 1982, section 30A (nevo.co.il)

Last reviewed: 2026-09-24

I have worked with

What Clients Say

From different fields, at different stages of business

Dan Manto

Eclipse Capital

Real Estate Investment and Finance, USA

Arty McLabin

GameReady

Game Development Education and Outsourcing, International

Anna, Beautician

Anna

Beautician

After I finished a cosmetology course at a leading company, I was confused. I didn't know how to open a business, what to sell from home, or how to bring in clients. Since I reached out to Mobius, everything has changed. We built an organized plan with clear steps and no unnecessary risks. Today I see results, and I'm growing and developing every month.

Mark, Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

Mark

Massage therapist, Gan Yavne

When I finished a massage course, I imagined a different world. I found out it's a hard field, and financial stability isn't easy to find. When I came to Mobius, something changed. We started an organized process and built a business plan. Without Mobius? I probably would have given up. Today I believe in myself and in my own path.

Building a product and unsure of the next step?

Alex helps Israeli teams turn product ideas into something that ships and sells. The first call is free.

+972 055-248-6151. Better on WhatsApp: I am in meetings most of the day and answer as soon as I am free.