Product
Monthly Active Users (MAU)
Definition of
Monthly Active Users (MAU) is a metric used to measure the number of unique users who engage with a particular product, service or platform during a given month. This metric is particularly important for digital companies that rely on user engagement to generate revenue. MAU can be a useful tool for measuring growth and assessing user retention. Many social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram use MAU to report their user base to investors. For example, Facebook reported over 2.7 billion monthly active users as of 2021, which is a key metric in their quarterly earnings report. MAU is a critical metric for any digital business looking to track user engagement and growth over time.
Short definition of Monthly Active Users
The number of users in your product within a specific 30 day period of time. Often used alongside DAU (Daily active users) and WAU (Weekly active users) to determine product improvement over time.
More context on Monthly Active Users
Monthly Active Users (MAU) is a popular SaaS metric that measures the number of unique users who engage with a product or service at least once a month. For example, if a PLG platform has 50 million MAUs, it means that 50 million users have used the platform at least once in the last 30 days.
MAU is a cornerstone metric for businesses as it provides insights into user engagement and retention over a longer period of time. For instance, a video streaming service may track their MAUs to understand how many subscribers are actively using the platform and to evaluate the impact of new content releases on user engagement. If the number of MAUs is consistently going up, it's a good sign that the product is resonating with users and keeping their interest. On the other hand, a decline in MAUs could suggest a need for product improvement or new marketing strategies.
MAU can sometimes be misleading, though, due to how new signups are counted in the total MAU number. The higher your product's churn, the less accurate MAU will be.
