Your app has scaled the installs, and daily active users (DAU) are steady, but ARPDAU won’t budge. The average revenue per user on the dashboard is flatlining, top spenders have maxed out, and mid-tier users won’t convert. 

This is a story every app marketer knows too well: according to Business of Apps, 96.3% of users churn within the first month, leaving a small fraction of payers.

Many marketers experience a ‘plateau’ when the initial growth tactics work, but deeper engagement & monetization require different strategies. As retention and engagement costs rise, are your monetization models keeping up? 

ARPDAU is one performance metric that keeps score daily. In this post, we’ll explore ways to increase the average revenue per daily active user without compromising user experience. Let’s see what works.

How to Calculate ARPDAU?

// We’re skipping the basics (you can find it in our glossary), but here’s a 10-second rundown.

ARPDAU Formula: 

Why ARPDAU, and Why Should You Care?

Let’s say you launch a new in-app bundle, roll out a live op, or are experimenting with an exciting campaign. 

Your team has set clear goals: deeper engagement, longer sessions, or lift monetization without compromising UX or retention. 

How do you know your efforts are paying off? 

• Not LTV, that would take months.
• Not ARPU, as it would blur the behavior of both new & existing users.

ARPDAU will be one of your first indicators, throwing light on whether you moved the revenue needle and in which direction. 

• A 15% ARPDAU lift after promoting a limited-time offer? That’s momentum. 💪
• Sudden revenue dip after rolling out a new ad format? That’s a red flag. 🚩

Unlike broader metrics that paint a bigger picture, ARPDAU provides immediate visibility into what’s influencing user spending and how often. 

It reflects the impact of what you changed today, whether that’s pricing, ad placement, in-app events, or promotions. It also alerts drops before your monthly goals drift into ‘maybe next quarter’ territory.

For decision makers, ARPDAU can determine breakeven points & justify new user acquisition spend. For instance, if each active user earns you $0.40 on average per day, you already know not to go over that benchmark. 

ARPDAU has limitations

Some marketers get caught up focusing only on ARPDAU to compare revenue or predict profits. ARPDAU signals short-term metrics, limiting data to daily active users. It’s also sensitive to fluctuations such as weekends, holidays, or sudden spikes in traffic. 

For analysis, combine ARPDAU with key performance indicators like lifetime value, retention, & ARPU, showing a wider view of your app monetization strategy over time. 

Why Won’t ARPDAU Increase?  

Before we jump into solutions, let’s pinpoint some root causes holding back your ARPDAU.

• Low-quality users: The AppsFlyer report reveals that daily active users (DAU) don’t always correlate with paying users. Simply growing user numbers won’t effectively raise ARPDAU unless those users are truly engaged and convert.

• Weak engagement loops: If users aren’t hooked and returning regularly, you lose opportunities to boost revenue per user.

• Misaligned user targeting: Overlooking data insights and targeting the wrong users means your monetization strategy isn’t working. You need to find users similar to your high-quality users, and then monetize them. User acquisition that isn’t data-backed is bad for monetization and brings ARPDAU down.

It’s time to step back and rethink. 

Reverse-Engineer Your App Monetization Strategy

ARPDAU isn’t just a metric to watch but a target you design for. Start by defining your goal, then work backward to build the strategy to deliver it.

Ask yourself:

• What’s your target ROI payback window (D30 / D60 / D90)?
• How much of your engaged traffic is monetizable daily?
• What is your user retention curve over time?
• Are any blocks in user journeys affecting conversions? 
• Is your monetization mix unoptimized?

Gaining clarity over what’s not working will help you apply the following solutions faster and effectively. 

Best Ways to Boost ARPDAU for Publisher Apps

Smart Segmenting 

ARPDAU works a lot harder when it’s segment-optimized. Not all users are equal, and not all should be monetized the same way.

The strategy isn’t changing them all to be high-paying whales; the 80/20 Pareto principle still holds. But it’s designing your monetization mix for all of them differently. 

• Geo (Tier 1 vs. Tier 3)

• Engagement segment (Day 1-3, Day 7-14, etc.)

• Behavior segment (Payers, ad-watchers, churn-risk)

• New users vs. existing users (Installs, re-installs, purchases) 

Identify high-retention cohorts and push effective monetization tactics more aggressively. For low-quality segments (e.g., Tier 3, churn-prone users), focus on early session monetization.  

User quality matters more than your DAU count. Tier 1 users with higher purchasing power are more willing to spend, offering stronger monetization. When you prioritize markets that convert, the daily revenue difference isn’t subtle, it’s measurable. 

Experiment with Rewarded Advertising

Even with proper audience segments, marketers can miss the mark on what ad formats to show users. In-app advertising has the power to turn every daily active user into a revenue opportunity, but only with ad units that don’t chip away at retention.

Rewarded advertising offers steady revenue streams by inviting users to engage on their terms, trading attention for in-app value. It’s a format that supports ARPDAU without relying on big whales.

And here’s where most strategies fall short: ignoring high-engagement users who don’t spend (non-paying), leaving a chunk of revenue at the table. 

Using rewarded ads, this audience segment becomes monetizable, turning engagement into incremental profits, not just positive sentiment.

Faster rollouts and A/B testing

With rewarded ads, you don’t have to wait months to see what works. You can launch new offers and features fast, watch how they affect ARPDAU, and adjust on the fly.

As A/B testing becomes part of the growth rhythm, try different ad placements between gameplay, test reward variations after milestones, and spot the exact moments users lean in or drop off. 

Rapid insights, faster optimizations, and speed up app revenue.

Rewarded Ads: ARPDAU Performance

Gaming: Across multiple case studies, gaming apps see 15–30% gains in ARPDAU after adding rewarded ad formats.

Hyper-casual & casual games get the biggest wins.

Atlas: Earth is a prime example. The Atlas Reality team plugged in adjoe Arcade, a mobile gaming rewards layer, right into their app. Players started earning bonuses just by trying out new games. The result? A 25% lift in ARPDAU, without hurting existing monetization.

Non-gaming sees the same impact

Macadam, a ‘walk and earn’ app, used rewarded advertising and saw a +30% ARPDAU, no change to the core experience, just more time spent in-app. 

These increases aren’t just correlations; they show clear causation. Rewarded ads directly drive higher engagement and ARPDAU, something app developers and marketers globally are leaning into. 

Promotions Spark Re-Engagement 

We’ve laid the groundwork with the right segments and ad formats. Now, let’s shift into overdrive. Introducing a real engagement driver: Promotions. 

Promotions are time-bound reward multipliers that encourage users to engage more, faster. Timed reward multipliers like 2x or 3x points, available for a limited window, create urgency and immediate gratification.

Let’s consider a real-life case study. It’s Super Bowl Sunday, the biggest event of the year. Fetch (US’s largest rewards app) drops a timed promotion that doubles rewards.

That single promotion sparks 80,000 installs in the first minute, delivering nearly $1 million in rewards to users, and doubles engagement, all in a day’s work. 

Behind the scenes, adjoe’s team has worked overtime to handle the traffic surge (half a million within the first hour!), making sure every user got their moment. If you want the nitty-gritty, it’s all in adjoe’s Superbowl success story.

But here’s the driving point: promotions in rewarded ads have a massive impact on engagement and consequently ARPDAU. And because the rewards are paid by premium gaming advertisers, your margins stay intact. 

Add in smart re-engagement like push notifications reminding users, “Hey, your double rewards are live!”. Suddenly, you’ve got a daily habit from your DAU, not just a one-off. 

Proper re-engagement loops also boost in-app purchases (IAP). Check how Playtime rewarded ads help boost IAP.

Work with Your Advertising Partners

If your selected ads aren’t lifting ARPDAU or ARPU, they’re not making the most of your inventory. The best advertising technology partner helps you run high-performing formats, reach the right users, and use real-time data to keep improving.

Managing multiple formats, segments, and campaigns only gets harder as your audience grows. 

You need access to high-value campaigns that raise eCPMs and deliver experiences users want to engage with. That’s how you monetize more, per session, per user, every day. 

End Note

Marketers spend endless time tracking average revenue generated per daily active user and its impact on the lifetime value (LTV). ARPDAU grows when you start rewarding presence and give users a reason to return.

Strike the balance between engagement & revenue, and let your adtech partners do the heavy lifting. Be strategic, test rewarded formats and new monetization avenues that turn DAU into daily revenue.  

Want an impressive ARPDAU for your app? Speak with adjoe experts and discuss your app growth.