DAU/WAU Ratio¶

Definition¶

DAU/WAU Ratio compares the number of Daily Active Users (DAU) to Weekly Active Users (WAU) over a specified time period. It represents the proportion of weekly users who engage with your product daily, offering insight into how often users return.

Description¶

The DAU/WAU Ratio measures product stickiness by comparing how many of your weekly active users also use the product daily. It’s a signal of habit strength, feature relevance, and usage frequency—especially useful in identifying where your product stands in the user’s routine.

The relevance and interpretation of this metric shift depending on the model or product:

In collaboration tools, a high ratio reflects daily utility
In analytics tools or non-daily workflows, a lower but stable ratio might be fine
In content or consumer apps, it's essential for monetization and ad revenue

A higher ratio (e.g., >50%) indicates strong habit formation, while a low ratio could mean your product is more episodic—or that users are checking out instead of checking in. Segment by cohort, user type, or device to pinpoint usage patterns or friction.

DAU/WAU Ratio informs:

Strategic decisions, like when to invest in habit-forming features, UX reinforcement, or nudging mechanisms
Tactical actions, such as timing notifications, feature reminders, or digest emails
Operational improvements, including UX simplification or education around power features
Cross-functional alignment, by uniting product, growth, and PMM around deepening usage behavior and reducing passive accounts

Key Drivers¶

These are the main factors that directly impact the metric. Understanding these lets you know what levers you can pull to improve the outcome

Depth and Recurrence of Daily Value: The more users rely on your product for daily wins, the higher this ratio goes.
User Type and Role Fit: Some roles naturally need daily access (e.g., analysts), while others may dip in weekly or monthly. Role mix skews the ratio.
Reminder Systems and Workflow Triggers: Nudges and alerts that align with daily needs increase daily usage relative to weekly.

Improvement Tactics & Quick Wins¶

Actionable ideas to optimize this KPI, from fast, low-effort wins to strategic initiatives that drive measurable impact.

If DAU/WAU is low, identify power users and model what drives daily engagement — then replicate those patterns.
Add smart notifications or “daily digest” emails to create rhythm and routine.
Run a test promoting feature usage streaks or gamified usage milestones.
Refine feature positioning to focus on day-to-day outcomes (“save 30 min daily,” not “optimize reporting”).
Partner with product to prioritize micro-utility features that support daily workflows.

Required Datapoints to calculate the metric
- DAU (Daily Active Users): The number of unique users who interact with your product daily.
- WAU (Weekly Active Users): The number of unique users who interact with your product weekly.
Example to show how the metric is derived

A gaming app tracks DAU and WAU for a specific week:
- DAU = 10,000
- WAU = 25,000
- DAU/WAU Ratio = (10,000 / 25,000) × 100 = 40%

Formula¶

Formula

\[ \mathrm{DAU/WAU\ Ratio} = \left( \frac{\mathrm{DAU}}{\mathrm{WAU}} \right) \times 100 \]

Data Model Definition¶

How this KPI is structured in Cube.js, including its key measures, dimensions, and calculation logic for consistent reporting.

UserActivity

cube('UserActivity', {
  sql: `SELECT * FROM user_activity`,

  measures: {
    dau: {
      sql: `dau`,
      type: 'countDistinct',
      title: 'Daily Active Users',
      description: 'The number of unique users who interact with your product daily.'
    },
    wau: {
      sql: `wau`,
      type: 'countDistinct',
      title: 'Weekly Active Users',
      description: 'The number of unique users who interact with your product weekly.'
    },
    dauWauRatio: {
      sql: `dau / NULLIF(wau, 0)`,
      type: 'number',
      title: 'DAU/WAU Ratio',
      description: 'The proportion of weekly users who engage with your product daily.'
    }
  },

  dimensions: {
    id: {
      sql: `id`,
      type: 'number',
      primaryKey: true
    },
    activityDate: {
      sql: `activity_date`,
      type: 'time',
      title: 'Activity Date',
      description: 'The date of user activity.'
    }
  }
});

Note: This is a reference implementation and should be used as a starting point. You’ll need to adapt it to match your own data model and schema

Positive & Negative Influences¶

Negative influences

Factors that drive the metric in an undesirable direction, often signaling risk or decline.
- User Type and Role Fit: If the majority of users have roles that do not require daily access, the DAU/WAU Ratio may decrease as these users engage less frequently.
- Complexity of Use: A product that is difficult to use or understand may deter daily engagement, leading to a lower DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Technical Issues and Downtime: Frequent technical problems or downtime can frustrate users, reducing daily engagement and negatively impacting the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Lack of Personalization: A lack of personalized experiences can result in users not finding daily value, thus decreasing the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Competing Priorities: Users with competing priorities or alternative solutions may not engage daily, leading to a lower DAU/WAU Ratio.
Positive influences

Factors that push the metric in a favorable direction, supporting growth or improvement.
- Depth and Recurrence of Daily Value: When users find significant value in using the product daily, they are more likely to engage with it every day, increasing the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Reminder Systems and Workflow Triggers: Effective reminder systems and workflow triggers that prompt users to return to the product daily can boost daily engagement, thus improving the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- User Engagement Programs: Programs designed to increase user engagement, such as daily challenges or rewards, can encourage more frequent use, positively impacting the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Product Updates and Features: Regular updates and new features that enhance user experience can lead to increased daily usage, thereby raising the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Community and Social Features: Features that promote community interaction and social engagement can drive users to return daily, positively affecting the DAU/WAU Ratio.

Involved Roles & Activities¶

Involved Roles

These roles are typically responsible for implementing or monitoring this KPI:

Data & Analytics
Marketing
Product Management (PM)
Product Marketing (PMM)
Activities

Common initiatives or actions associated with this KPI:

Product Adoption and Use
Retention Strategies
Habit Loop Design

Funnel Stage & Type¶

AAARRR Funnel Stage

This KPI is associated with the following stages in the AAARRR (Pirate Metrics) funnel:

Activation
Type

This KPI is classified as a Lagging Indicator. It reflects the results of past actions or behaviors and is used to validate performance or assess the impact of previous strategies.

Supporting Leading & Lagging Metrics¶

Leading

These leading indicators influence this KPI and act as early signals that forecast future changes in this KPI.
- Daily Active Users: DAU is the numerator in DAU/WAU Ratio and directly reflects daily product engagement. Fluctuations in DAU signal immediate changes in user return frequency, acting as a primary input and early warning for shifts in the DAU/WAU Ratio.
- Weekly Active Users: WAU is the denominator in DAU/WAU Ratio. Changes in WAU impact the ratio's baseline and context for daily engagement trends, making it a foundational peer metric for multi-signal analysis of user stickiness.
- Stickiness Ratio: The Stickiness Ratio (DAU/MAU) tracks similar habitual usage patterns but on a monthly basis, providing a broader context for DAU/WAU Ratio. Comparing both helps detect shifts in daily vs. weekly vs. monthly engagement and catch leading retention or drop-off patterns.
- Session Frequency: Measures how often users initiate sessions, which underpins both DAU and WAU. Rising or declining session frequency among weekly users serves as an early indicator for changes in DAU/WAU Ratio, enriching the early warning system.
- Returning Visitors: Tracks how often users come back to the product, strongly influencing the pool of both DAU and WAU. Changes here can foreshadow increases or drops in the DAU/WAU Ratio by signaling evolving user loyalty or disengagement.
Lagging

These lagging indicators confirm, quantify, or amplify this KPI and help explain the broader business impact on this KPI after the fact.
- Customer Churn Rate: High churn often follows sustained drops in DAU/WAU Ratio, confirming that users who become less engaged on a daily and weekly basis eventually leave. Analyzing churn in tandem with DAU/WAU helps recalibrate thresholds for healthy engagement and forecast risk.
- Customer Engagement Score: Aggregates multiple engagement signals into a composite score, offering a lagging confirmation of how habitual usage (as captured by DAU/WAU) translates into deeper product engagement. Insights can help refine the definition of 'active' for DAU/WAU calculations.
- Activation Cohort Retention Rate (Day 7/30): Measures how well newly activated users are retained over 7 or 30 days. If DAU/WAU Ratio drops, a subsequent decline in cohort retention helps verify whether engagement is translating into longer-term habit—informing future DAU/WAU targets.
- Cohort Retention Analysis: Provides detailed breakdowns of how user groups behave over time. Lagging cohort retention patterns validate whether changes in DAU/WAU Ratio are temporary or part of a broader engagement trend, helping refine early warning KPIs.
- Customer Feedback Retention Score: Assesses whether users who provide feedback stay engaged over time. If DAU/WAU Ratio dips, examining this score can reveal if declines are tied to dissatisfaction or feedback loops, guiding improvement of leading stickiness signals.