Actions Per User (APU)
Actions Per User (APU) is a metric that measures the average number of actions taken by users within a specific time period. It is used to measure engagement and activity on a website or mobile app.
Actions Per User (APU) formula
The calculation formula for APU is:
APU = Total Number of Actions / Total Number of Users
Actions Per User (APU) example
For example, if a website has 100,000 total actions and 20,000 total users in a month, the APU would be:
APU = 100,000 / 20,000 = 5
This means that on average, each user took 5 actions on the website in that month.
Another example, if an e-commerce website has 1000 purchases and 2000 registered users in a month, the APU would be:
APU = 1000 / 2000 = 0.5
This means that on average, each user made 0.5 purchase on the e-commerce website in that month.
It's worth noting that, APU can be calculated over different time intervals such as daily, weekly or monthly. And also, it's important to consider the specific actions that you're measuring, as different actions may have different values.
| Metric | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Profile Views per User | The average number of times a user's profile was viewed by other users | 2.5 |
| Posts per User | The average number of posts made by a user | 0.5 |
| Comments per User | The average number of comments made by a user | 0.25 |
| Likes per User | The average number of likes given by a user | 1 |
| Shares per User | The average number of shares made by a user | 0.1 |
| Followers per User | The average number of followers a user has | 50 |
| Direct messages per User | The average number of direct messages sent by a user | 0.1 |
APU per day total for all users per day assuming user growth over 1 year at various rates starting from 10,000 users with 5 actions per day per user
| APU Growth Rate | Start APU/day | End of Month 1 | End of Month 2 | End of Month 3 | End of Month 6 | End of Month 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -20% | 50,000 | 40,000 | 25,600 | 20,960 | 12,935 | 8,705 |
| -10% | 50,000 | 45,000 | 32,700 | 29,610 | 27,715 | 20,795 |
| -5% | 50,000 | 47,500 | 34,525 | 31,656.25 | 33,437.06 | 25,699.79 |
| -1% | 50,000 | 49,000 | 34,900 | 33,190 | 34,680 | 28,905 |
| 1% | 50,000 | 51,000 | 51,010 | 51,030 | 51,060 | 51,100 |
| 3% | 50,000 | 52,500 | 53,835 | 55,311 | 59,344 | 67,735 |
| 5% | 50,000 | 54,000 | 55,700 | 57,645 | 66,834 | 80,907 |
| 10% | 50,000 | 55,000 | 66,000 | 73,550 | 83,205 | 92,525 |
| 20% | 50,000 | 60,000 | 72,000 | 86,400 | 131,040 | 256,080 |
| 30% | 50,000 | 65,000 | 78,500 | 102,350 | 361,830 | 1,244,700 |
Why it matters
APU is a useful metric for understanding the engagement level of your users and how active they are on your website or mobile app. A high APU indicates that users are highly engaged with your platform, while a low APU may indicate that users are not as active or engaged.
Actions Per User (APU) by App Type
APU can vary between different kinds of apps and features
The typical numbers of actions per user (APU) can vary greatly depending on the type of website or mobile app, the industry, and the target audience. However, some general ranges for APU can be:
- For e-commerce websites, the APU may range from 0.5 to 2 actions per user per month. This could include actions such as viewing products, adding items to a cart, and making a purchase.
- For social media platforms, the APU may range from 2 to 5 actions per user per day. This could include actions such as viewing posts, liking or commenting on content, and posting updates.
- For news websites, the APU may range from 2 to 10 actions per user per day. This could include actions such as viewing articles, clicking on links, and sharing content.
- For gaming apps, the APU may range from 10 to 50 actions per user per day. This could include actions such as playing levels, purchasing in-game items, and watching ads.
- For productivity apps, the APU may range from 1 to 5 actions per user per day. This could include actions such as creating a task, editing a document, and sending an email.
Examples of APU to track
- Page views per user: This can be done by recording the number of pages viewed by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Transactions per user: This can be done by recording the number of transactions completed by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Sessions per user: This can be done by recording the number of website sessions initiated by each user, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Product views per user: This can be done by recording the number of products viewed by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Searches per user: This can be done by recording the number of searches performed by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Number of add to cart per user: This can be done by recording the number of times an item is added to cart by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.
- Number of wishlist items per user: This can be done by recording the number of items added to a wishlist by each user on your website, and then dividing that number by the total number of unique users.