# Calculating monthly active users

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## TLDR

If any [event](/product/loyalty-engine/events/get-started-with-events.md) at all – intrinsic or custom – is reported for a user during the calendar month, that user is considered active and will count towards your MAU total.
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## What is a Monthly Active User (MAU)?

MAU stands for **Monthly Active User**. It's a billing metric used to measure program usage and scale. It’s also how many WLL contracts and licences are priced.

In the WLL platform, an MAU is defined as any user who triggers **at least one** [**event**](/product/loyalty-engine/events/get-started-with-events.md) during the month. Events can include actions like making a purchase, redeeming a reward, completing a task, or any other behavior tracked by your program.

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MAUs are counted based on unique user IDs. If a one user triggers 50 events in one month, they still count as just **one** MAU.
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## What counts as an event?

Any time an [event is reported](/product/loyalty-engine/events/reporting-events.md) to the Loyalty Engine for a user, it contributes to MAU calculation.

#### System event types

These are predefined event types used internally by the platform, such as:

* `PURCHASED_REWARD`
* `REDEEMED_VOUCHER`
* `CLOSED_ACCOUNT`
* `AUDIENCE_JOINED`

These are automatically reported by the Loyalty Engine, and are triggered by platform activity. Some events may be triggered by system logic even if the user isn’t actively engaging with your program.

> For example, if you enable [**audience joined/left events**](/product/loyalty-engine/audiences/audience-joined-and-left-events.md) for a specific audience, those events will count toward MAU.
>
> Let’s say you create an audience of users who joined *over a year ago* and you enable audience joined events. When a user enters that audience, the platform will automatically report an `AUDIENCE_JOINED` event for that user.
>
> That means even if they haven’t interacted with your program in 6 months, they will still count as an MAU in the month that `AUDIENCE_JOINED` event is reported.

#### Custom event types

These are defined by you to track user behavior that matters to your program, such as:

* `NEW_TRANSACTION`
* `SIGNED_UP_NEWSLETTER`
* `COMPLETED_SURVEY`

You report these events using the API, and they can be used to award points, segment users, or trigger other actions through [reactors](/product/loyalty-engine/reactors/get-started-with-reactors.md). Learn more about [custom event types](/product/loyalty-engine/events/event-types.md#custom-event-types).

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## What about other activity?

Unless otherwise specified in your agreement, users only count as an MAU if an event is reported against their loyalty account.

This means that simply opening or browsing your app or program interface does not necessarily cause them to count as an MAU (unless you report an event each time they access your interface). 

If you’re unsure how MAU is applied to your agreement, or how to monitor usage, contact your account manager or [WLL Support](mailto:support@whitelabel-loyalty.com).


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