Power-user curve (L5+/L30)

Formula

% of MAU active >=5 days/week (L5+)

Unit

%

Models

Media, Subscription

What it is

The power-user curve plots the distribution of monthly active users by their number of active days in a month (the L30 histogram). L5+ is the share of MAU active 5 or more days per week — the most commonly cited single-number summary of the full curve.

How to calculate it

For a given month, bucket every MAU by their active-day count (0–30). L5+ is the fraction of MAU whose active-day count is ≥ 5 × 4 = 20 days in a 30-day month (equivalently, ≥ 5 days per week on average). Report the full histogram where possible; the L5+ ratio is a useful summary but loses distributional shape.

Why it matters

For media and subscription products, a 'smile' curve (many users at the high-frequency end) signals strong habit formation and anchors durable retention. High L5+ shares correlate with lower churn, higher NPS, and stronger word-of-mouth. A16z explicitly recommends tracking the full L30 histogram rather than relying on the L5+ ratio alone, because two products can share the same L5+ yet have very different retention profiles in the mid-frequency buckets.

Benchmarks & pitfalls

A16z benchmarks L5+ at 30% (OK), 40% (Good), and 50%+ (Great). These bands have no published asOf year, so treat them as directional reference points. Be cautious about comparing L5+ across products with different natural engagement frequencies: a daily-utility app and a once-a-week video product have inherently different L30 distributions, and a single L5+ threshold cannot apply equally to both.