Product metrics guide

Product metrics every PM must know

DAU, MAU, churn, NPS, CAC, LTV — these are the numbers product managers live by. Here is what each one measures, how to calculate it, and when it actually matters.

Pick 1-3 metrics as your north star. Tracking 20 metrics is the same as tracking none.

Engagement

3 metrics

DAUDaily Active Users

Unique users active in a day

When to use

Measure day-to-day product engagement. Good for consumer apps.

Benchmark

DAU/MAU ratio > 20% is considered healthy for most apps.

MAUMonthly Active Users

Unique users active in a month

When to use

Most common growth metric. Subscription and SaaS products.

Benchmark

Track month-over-month growth rate (aim for 10%+ MoM in early stage).

StickinessDAU/MAU Ratio

DAU ÷ MAU × 100

When to use

How often do users come back? High stickiness = high habit formation.

Benchmark

WhatsApp: ~70%. Twitter: ~25%. Most B2B SaaS: 15-30%.

Retention & Churn

3 metrics

Churn RateMonthly Churn Rate

Customers lost ÷ customers at start × 100

When to use

Key health metric for subscription businesses. High churn = leaky bucket.

Benchmark

Good SaaS churn: < 2% monthly. > 5% monthly is concerning.

Retention RateDay N Retention

Users still active on Day N ÷ users on Day 1 × 100

When to use

Measure if users come back after first use. Day 1, Day 7, Day 30 are key.

Benchmark

D1 > 40%, D7 > 20%, D30 > 10% is generally strong.

NPSNet Promoter Score

% Promoters − % Detractors (0-10 scale, promoters = 9-10)

When to use

Customer satisfaction and loyalty signal. Survey-based.

Benchmark

NPS > 50 is excellent. > 70 is world-class (Apple is ~70+).

Revenue

3 metrics

MRRMonthly Recurring Revenue

Active subscribers × average monthly subscription value

When to use

The most important metric for subscription businesses.

Benchmark

Track MoM growth. 10-20% MoM is strong for early stage.

ARRAnnual Recurring Revenue

MRR × 12

When to use

Used in investor reporting and annual planning.

Benchmark

$1M ARR is a common early milestone; $10M ARR is Series A territory.

ARPUAverage Revenue Per User

Total revenue ÷ total active users

When to use

Understand monetization efficiency. Higher ARPU = each user is worth more.

Benchmark

Depends heavily on market. B2B is usually $500-$5k+ ARPU/year.

Acquisition & Conversion

3 metrics

CACCustomer Acquisition Cost

Total sales + marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired

When to use

How expensive is each customer? Must compare to LTV.

Benchmark

LTV:CAC ratio should be > 3:1 for healthy unit economics.

LTVCustomer Lifetime Value

ARPU × average customer lifespan

When to use

The total value of a customer over their full relationship with you.

Benchmark

LTV should be 3-5x CAC for sustainable growth.

Conversion RateSignup or Purchase Conversion

Conversions ÷ visitors × 100

When to use

What % of visitors take the desired action?

Benchmark

Landing page → trial: 3-8%. Free → paid: 2-5% is common in SaaS.

Next steps

Practice metrics thinking in the PM track

Metrics are one layer of the PM skillset. The product manager track covers prioritization, roadmaps, user research, and the full interview playbook.

Explore the PM track