ARPU, ARPPU, and ARPDAU are the three revenue-per-user metrics, and mixing them up is the single most common error in monetization reporting. They share the same numerator — revenue over a period — and differ only in what they divide by. That one change in denominator answers a completely different question.
[[arpu]] (Average Revenue Per User) divides total revenue by *all* active users, paying and non-paying. It is the blended, dilution-inclusive number — the truest measure of "what is an average user worth?" and the one to compare against blended CPI in [[ltv]] and UA math.
[[arppu]] (Average Revenue Per Paying User) divides the same revenue by *paying users only*. It answers "how much does a customer who actually pays spend?" It is always higher than ARPU, and the ratio between them is exactly your paying-user share: ARPU = ARPPU × payer share.
[[arpdau]] (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User) divides one day's revenue by that day's daily active users. It is ARPU normalized to a single day — built for high-frequency products (free-to-play games especially) where daily active counts swing with campaigns, weekends, and content drops, and a monthly average would hide what is actually happening.
ARPU vs ARPPU vs ARPDAU at a glance
| Metric | Divides revenue by | Question it answers | Best used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| ARPU | All active users (paying + free) | What is an average user worth? | Blended health, LTV / UA math |
| ARPPU | Paying users only | How much does a payer spend? | Pricing, payer segments, whale analysis |
| ARPDAU | Daily active users (one day) | What does a day of engagement earn? | F2P live-ops, daily monetization, campaign reads |
All three share the same revenue numerator. Pick the denominator that matches the decision: the whole base (ARPU), the paying base (ARPPU), or a single day's active base (ARPDAU).
How they relate
The three are not independent — they are tied by identities. ARPU = ARPPU × paying-user share, so when ARPU moves you can decompose whether the payer mix or the per-payer spend changed. And ARPDAU is essentially daily ARPU: monthly ARPU is roughly ARPDAU × the number of active days per user per month. A product with ARPDAU of $0.05 whose users are active ~10 days a month lands near $0.50 monthly ARPU.
Reading them together is the diagnostic move. ARPU flat but ARPPU up → fewer payers each paying more (payer share shrinking). ARPU flat but ARPPU down → monetization is democratizing (more payers, lower spend each). ARPDAU down while ARPU holds → daily engagement is softening even though per-user value is steady.
When to use which
- ARPU — when comparing monetization to acquisition cost, sizing LTV, or reporting blended health. The number that includes the free-rider dilution every real business carries.
- ARPPU — when designing pricing, analyzing payer segments (median payer vs whale), or comparing monetization depth within a model. Never compare ARPPU across different models (subscription vs F2P) — the payer-share shapes are incomparable.
- ARPDAU — when running daily live-ops, reading campaign or content-drop impact, or monetizing a high-frequency product where daily swings matter. The default revenue KPI for free-to-play games.