- Formula
- Total sessions / DAU
- Unit
- count
- Models
- Media, Gaming
| Dating apps | ~2.5 opens/day (illustrative) | a16z; GameAnalytics |
| Games | ~4 sessions/day (illustrative) | a16z; GameAnalytics |
What it is
Sessions per DAU measures how many distinct sessions the average daily active user initiates in a day. It captures within-day engagement frequency, complementing time-spent metrics that measure depth.
How to calculate it
Divide total sessions logged in a period by the number of daily active users in that same period. A 'session' definition varies by product — common conventions are a user action followed by N minutes of inactivity, or an explicit app-open/close event.
Why it matters
For gaming and media products, session frequency is a proxy for habit strength and directly drives ad impression inventory, engagement-loop efficacy, and daily monetisation opportunity. Low sessions-per-DAU in a product designed for frequent re-opens signals friction in re-engagement flows (push notifications, home-screen presence, social hooks).
Benchmarks & pitfalls
This metric has only illustrative reference points, not rigorous published bands. A16z and GameAnalytics data suggest dating apps around 2.5 opens per day and games around 4 sessions per day. Because sourcingTier is directional, these figures should be treated as rough orientation, not targets. Session definitions vary significantly across platforms and products; always align on a shared definition before comparing cohorts or running A/B tests on this metric.