Introduction
Stickiness measures how habitually your app is used—not just whether users eventually return, but how large a fraction of your monthly base is active on any given day. This guide covers calculation, benchmarks, and improvement strategies.
What Is App Stickiness
App stickiness: A measure of how frequently active users engage with your app relative to your total monthly base—the density of engagement, not just its existence.
How to Calculate Stickiness
Stickiness = DAU / MAU (Daily Active Users divided by Monthly Active Users)
Example: 20,000 DAU, 100,000 MAU → 20% stickiness. See our DAU/MAU ratio guide for detailed calculation methodology.
Stickiness Benchmarks by Category
| Category | Typical Stickiness |
|---|---|
| Social/Messaging | 40-60% |
| Gaming | 20-35% |
| Fintech | 15-25% |
| Productivity | 10-20% |
| Utility | 5-15% |
Strategies to Improve Stickiness
- Build genuine habit loops around daily-relevant use cases
- Use streaks to create loss-aversion-driven daily return
- Deliver fresh, relevant content daily (via personalized content cards)
- Send well-timed push notifications tied to daily-relevant triggers
Stickiness vs Retention
Retention (see our retention curves guide) tracks whether a specific cohort survives over time. Stickiness is a real-time snapshot of engagement density across your entire active base—both matter, but they answer different questions.
Conclusion
Stickiness (DAU/MAU) reveals how habitual your app usage truly is. Benchmark against your category, and focus improvement efforts on habit loops, streaks, and daily-relevant content rather than generic engagement tactics.
Related Resources
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