What are monthly active users (MAU) in SaaS?<\/strong><\/h2>\nMonthly active users (MAUs) refer to the number of unique visitors that engage with your web or mobile app in a month (i.e. actively using your product).<\/p>\n
MAU is a key performance indicator (KPI) that companies use to track user engagement<\/a>. To make the metric more effective, only unique visits should be tracked.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/active-users_cfc1651186f3c3a6e96d0239c57760cb_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nHow to measure and track monthly active users (MAUs)<\/strong><\/h2>\nMeasuring MAU is beyond just checking figures; if those numbers don\u2019t tie directly to your business objectives, then they make no sense.<\/p>\n
To start tracking monthly active users, you should determine what constitutes an active user for your product. For instance, in a SaaS context, an active user might interact with your core feature on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n
Once this definition is clear, employ an analytics tool to collect user activity data via event tracking<\/a>. From there, identify key metrics that correspond to your business goals, such as login frequency or feature usage<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"no](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tag-feature-userpilot-user-analytics_1ffd5f7bb5e21c5f39b63fbbefe535a4.gif\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nWith these metrics established, proceed to calculate monthly active users by tallying the total number of unique users engaging with the product within the designated month.<\/p>\n
For more granular insights, you can even segment users based on attributes<\/a> like demographics or behavior.<\/p>\nHow to measure and track daily active users (DAUs)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTracking daily active users is almost the same as calculating monthly active users. You also have to define what it means as a daily active user for your product.<\/p>\n
From there, continue with determining all the relevant metrics that you should track i.e. daily logins, feature usage, etc.<\/p>\n
You can have all these metrics tracked and calculated automatically using an analytics tool. For example, once you know what event to track, you can monitor daily active users using various types of analytics dashboards<\/a> (i.e. line graphs, bar charts, etc.)<\/p>\n![\"trend](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/daily-user-activity-trend_c9fe0a3f2b46dcb155c0d205840a9c35_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nHow to increase product engagement and grow monthly active users<\/strong><\/h2>\nThis section will show you proven ways to improve engagement, which naturally increases MAUs. You\u2019ll find examples and actionable tips you can begin implementing right away.<\/p>\n
Offer personalized experiences from the start<\/strong><\/h3>\nStart by using a welcome survey<\/a> to gather information about your users’ feature preferences and the tasks they need to accomplish (jobs to be done).<\/p>\n![\"welcome](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/welcome-survey_216fedcc1c0cb1994c9f4abc5fa35ed0_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nBy doing so, you can trigger onboarding flows tailored to their specific needs. This tailored approach ensures that you can introduce users to the most relevant features and functionalities based on their responses.<\/p>\n
As a result, they are more likely to engage with your product – which contributes to overall user retention.<\/p>\n
Drive user engagement with interactive guidance<\/strong><\/h3>\nInteractive guidance is an effective tool to drive user acquisition<\/a> (for SaaS product-led growth<\/a>) and engagement.<\/p>\nIt involves leveraging tools such as tooltips<\/a>, interactive walkthroughs<\/a>, or guided tutorials to enhance the user experience and encourage ongoing interaction.<\/p>\nFor example, interactive walkthroughs can help new users navigate through the product’s features and functionalities, ensuring a smooth onboarding process. This reduces the learning curve and encourages users to explore more aspects of the product, thus increasing engagement.<\/p>\n![\"Kommunicate\u2019s](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kommunicate-aha-moment_adc0da8e105cbc322d2a12463f71f1ee.gif\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nUse gamification to encourage user interactions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBy incorporating elements of gaming mechanics into the user experience, you can create a more interactive and enjoyable journey for users.<\/p>\n
Some common gamification techniques<\/a> include onboarding checklists, challenges, progress tracking, rewards, etc.<\/p>\nFor example, you can implement an onboarding checklist that breaks down the onboarding process into manageable tasks. This makes it feel like a game where users strive to complete each step.<\/p>\n
As users progress through the checklist, they feel a sense of accomplishment, encouraging further engagement with the product.<\/p>\n![\"onboarding](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/checklist-user-engagement-strategy_d825d44d817be447eb1b534ca6fc1d5b_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nTrigger in-app messages contextually to enhance user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\nContextual messages<\/a> sometimes are a better alternative to push notifications. They serve as motivational triggers to encourage users to take specific actions or complete certain tasks within the product.<\/p>\nYou can use messages to congratulate users on their progress, remind them of uncompleted tasks, or offer incentives for further engagement. This encouragement fosters a sense of achievement and motivation, leading to increased user activity and retention.<\/p>\n
For example, based on user feedback, you can trigger an in-app message to address the issue promptly.<\/p>\n![\"Contextual](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/build-contextual-help_2d164c9ad86bded9d428a5ff861569cb_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nUse path and funnel analysis to optimize user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis approach involves analyzing user paths<\/a> to identify the most common path to a specific action. For example, you can analyze the sequence of actions leading to activation, such as signing up, completing onboarding, and performing key tasks.<\/p>\n![\"Path](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/conversion-path-event-analytics_0fdd30aa04cb55b362f467f3fde59ecd_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nOnce you’ve identified the common path to adoption, funnel analysis allows you to pinpoint friction points<\/a> or areas where users are dropping off or encountering obstacles.<\/p>\n![\"Funnel](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/top-path_1d787c46a60c9be21c9d57323656ef15_800.png\")
<\/picture><\/figure>\nBy identifying these barriers, you can focus on optimizing specific steps to streamline the user journey. This may involve simplifying the signup process, providing clearer instructions or tooltips during onboarding, etc.<\/p>\n
Collect and act on user feedback to retain existing users<\/h3>\n
By actively collecting feedback from existing users, you gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points.<\/p>\n
This understanding allows you to tailor your product to better meet user expectations, ultimately increasing engagement.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/active-users_cfc1651186f3c3a6e96d0239c57760cb_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nHow to measure and track monthly active users (MAUs)<\/strong><\/h2>\nMeasuring MAU is beyond just checking figures; if those numbers don\u2019t tie directly to your business objectives, then they make no sense.<\/p>\n
To start tracking monthly active users, you should determine what constitutes an active user for your product. For instance, in a SaaS context, an active user might interact with your core feature on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n
Once this definition is clear, employ an analytics tool to collect user activity data via event tracking<\/a>. From there, identify key metrics that correspond to your business goals, such as login frequency or feature usage<\/a>.<\/p>\nWith these metrics established, proceed to calculate monthly active users by tallying the total number of unique users engaging with the product within the designated month.<\/p>\n
For more granular insights, you can even segment users based on attributes<\/a> like demographics or behavior.<\/p>\nHow to measure and track daily active users (DAUs)<\/strong><\/h2>\nTracking daily active users is almost the same as calculating monthly active users. You also have to define what it means as a daily active user for your product.<\/p>\n
From there, continue with determining all the relevant metrics that you should track i.e. daily logins, feature usage, etc.<\/p>\n
You can have all these metrics tracked and calculated automatically using an analytics tool. For example, once you know what event to track, you can monitor daily active users using various types of analytics dashboards<\/a> (i.e. line graphs, bar charts, etc.)<\/p>\nHow to increase product engagement and grow monthly active users<\/strong><\/h2>\nThis section will show you proven ways to improve engagement, which naturally increases MAUs. You\u2019ll find examples and actionable tips you can begin implementing right away.<\/p>\n
Offer personalized experiences from the start<\/strong><\/h3>\nStart by using a welcome survey<\/a> to gather information about your users’ feature preferences and the tasks they need to accomplish (jobs to be done).<\/p>\nBy doing so, you can trigger onboarding flows tailored to their specific needs. This tailored approach ensures that you can introduce users to the most relevant features and functionalities based on their responses.<\/p>\n
As a result, they are more likely to engage with your product – which contributes to overall user retention.<\/p>\n
Drive user engagement with interactive guidance<\/strong><\/h3>\nInteractive guidance is an effective tool to drive user acquisition<\/a> (for SaaS product-led growth<\/a>) and engagement.<\/p>\nIt involves leveraging tools such as tooltips<\/a>, interactive walkthroughs<\/a>, or guided tutorials to enhance the user experience and encourage ongoing interaction.<\/p>\nFor example, interactive walkthroughs can help new users navigate through the product’s features and functionalities, ensuring a smooth onboarding process. This reduces the learning curve and encourages users to explore more aspects of the product, thus increasing engagement.<\/p>\nUse gamification to encourage user interactions<\/strong><\/h3>\nBy incorporating elements of gaming mechanics into the user experience, you can create a more interactive and enjoyable journey for users.<\/p>\n
Some common gamification techniques<\/a> include onboarding checklists, challenges, progress tracking, rewards, etc.<\/p>\nFor example, you can implement an onboarding checklist that breaks down the onboarding process into manageable tasks. This makes it feel like a game where users strive to complete each step.<\/p>\n
As users progress through the checklist, they feel a sense of accomplishment, encouraging further engagement with the product.<\/p>\nTrigger in-app messages contextually to enhance user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\nContextual messages<\/a> sometimes are a better alternative to push notifications. They serve as motivational triggers to encourage users to take specific actions or complete certain tasks within the product.<\/p>\nYou can use messages to congratulate users on their progress, remind them of uncompleted tasks, or offer incentives for further engagement. This encouragement fosters a sense of achievement and motivation, leading to increased user activity and retention.<\/p>\n
For example, based on user feedback, you can trigger an in-app message to address the issue promptly.<\/p>\nUse path and funnel analysis to optimize user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\nThis approach involves analyzing user paths<\/a> to identify the most common path to a specific action. For example, you can analyze the sequence of actions leading to activation, such as signing up, completing onboarding, and performing key tasks.<\/p>\nOnce you’ve identified the common path to adoption, funnel analysis allows you to pinpoint friction points<\/a> or areas where users are dropping off or encountering obstacles.<\/p>\nBy identifying these barriers, you can focus on optimizing specific steps to streamline the user journey. This may involve simplifying the signup process, providing clearer instructions or tooltips during onboarding, etc.<\/p>\n
Collect and act on user feedback to retain existing users<\/h3>\n
By actively collecting feedback from existing users, you gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points.<\/p>\n
This understanding allows you to tailor your product to better meet user expectations, ultimately increasing engagement.<\/p>\n
![\"no](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/tag-feature-userpilot-user-analytics_1ffd5f7bb5e21c5f39b63fbbefe535a4.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nWith these metrics established, proceed to calculate monthly active users by tallying the total number of unique users engaging with the product within the designated month.<\/p>\n
For more granular insights, you can even segment users based on attributes<\/a> like demographics or behavior.<\/p>\n Tracking daily active users is almost the same as calculating monthly active users. You also have to define what it means as a daily active user for your product.<\/p>\n From there, continue with determining all the relevant metrics that you should track i.e. daily logins, feature usage, etc.<\/p>\n You can have all these metrics tracked and calculated automatically using an analytics tool. For example, once you know what event to track, you can monitor daily active users using various types of analytics dashboards<\/a> (i.e. line graphs, bar charts, etc.)<\/p>\n This section will show you proven ways to improve engagement, which naturally increases MAUs. You\u2019ll find examples and actionable tips you can begin implementing right away.<\/p>\n Start by using a welcome survey<\/a> to gather information about your users’ feature preferences and the tasks they need to accomplish (jobs to be done).<\/p>\n By doing so, you can trigger onboarding flows tailored to their specific needs. This tailored approach ensures that you can introduce users to the most relevant features and functionalities based on their responses.<\/p>\n As a result, they are more likely to engage with your product – which contributes to overall user retention.<\/p>\n Interactive guidance is an effective tool to drive user acquisition<\/a> (for SaaS product-led growth<\/a>) and engagement.<\/p>\n It involves leveraging tools such as tooltips<\/a>, interactive walkthroughs<\/a>, or guided tutorials to enhance the user experience and encourage ongoing interaction.<\/p>\n For example, interactive walkthroughs can help new users navigate through the product’s features and functionalities, ensuring a smooth onboarding process. This reduces the learning curve and encourages users to explore more aspects of the product, thus increasing engagement.<\/p>\n By incorporating elements of gaming mechanics into the user experience, you can create a more interactive and enjoyable journey for users.<\/p>\n Some common gamification techniques<\/a> include onboarding checklists, challenges, progress tracking, rewards, etc.<\/p>\n For example, you can implement an onboarding checklist that breaks down the onboarding process into manageable tasks. This makes it feel like a game where users strive to complete each step.<\/p>\n As users progress through the checklist, they feel a sense of accomplishment, encouraging further engagement with the product.<\/p>\n Contextual messages<\/a> sometimes are a better alternative to push notifications. They serve as motivational triggers to encourage users to take specific actions or complete certain tasks within the product.<\/p>\n You can use messages to congratulate users on their progress, remind them of uncompleted tasks, or offer incentives for further engagement. This encouragement fosters a sense of achievement and motivation, leading to increased user activity and retention.<\/p>\n For example, based on user feedback, you can trigger an in-app message to address the issue promptly.<\/p>\n This approach involves analyzing user paths<\/a> to identify the most common path to a specific action. For example, you can analyze the sequence of actions leading to activation, such as signing up, completing onboarding, and performing key tasks.<\/p>\n Once you’ve identified the common path to adoption, funnel analysis allows you to pinpoint friction points<\/a> or areas where users are dropping off or encountering obstacles.<\/p>\n By identifying these barriers, you can focus on optimizing specific steps to streamline the user journey. This may involve simplifying the signup process, providing clearer instructions or tooltips during onboarding, etc.<\/p>\n By actively collecting feedback from existing users, you gain valuable insights into their needs, preferences, and pain points.<\/p>\n This understanding allows you to tailor your product to better meet user expectations, ultimately increasing engagement.<\/p>\nHow to measure and track daily active users (DAUs)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"trend](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/daily-user-activity-trend_c9fe0a3f2b46dcb155c0d205840a9c35_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nHow to increase product engagement and grow monthly active users<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Offer personalized experiences from the start<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"welcome](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/welcome-survey_216fedcc1c0cb1994c9f4abc5fa35ed0_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nDrive user engagement with interactive guidance<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Kommunicate\u2019s](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/kommunicate-aha-moment_adc0da8e105cbc322d2a12463f71f1ee.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nUse gamification to encourage user interactions<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"onboarding](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/checklist-user-engagement-strategy_d825d44d817be447eb1b534ca6fc1d5b_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nTrigger in-app messages contextually to enhance user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Contextual](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/build-contextual-help_2d164c9ad86bded9d428a5ff861569cb_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nUse path and funnel analysis to optimize user experience<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"Path](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/conversion-path-event-analytics_0fdd30aa04cb55b362f467f3fde59ecd_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\n![\"Funnel](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/top-path_1d787c46a60c9be21c9d57323656ef15_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\nCollect and act on user feedback to retain existing users<\/h3>\n
![\"csat](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/onboarding-experience-survey_8d7dda4bc89b63012bbf38579c01e9f1_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/ab-testing-aha-moment_4e939f3fc00baef6d0b1cc4405af7358_800.png)
<\/picture><\/figure>\n![](\"https:\/\/blog-static.userpilot.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/user-profile_8c2de4496c382671aeb5ff027ded5ad2.gif)
<\/picture><\/figure>\n