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Top 10 Gaming Average Revenue per Daily Active User Metrics

Kory White, Chief Revenue OfficerCurated by Chief Revenue Officer Kory White · CRO Syndicate · 📄 1-Page Resume
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Direct Answer

Average Revenue per Daily Active User (ARPDAU) is the definitive monetization efficiency metric for free-to-play games. Our #1 pick is GameAnalytics — it’s free to start, integrates directly with Unity and Unreal, and surfaces ARPDAU alongside retention curves out of the box.

The runner-up is Adjust, which adds SKAdNetwork-level ARPDAU for iOS14+ compliance. GameAnalytics is best for indie and mid-size studios; Adjust is mandatory for UA teams running iOS campaigns post-ATT.

How We Ranked These

We evaluated each tool against five criteria: accuracy of ARPDAU calculation (does it segment by platform, country, ad vs. IAP?), integration depth (Unity/Unreal SDK, REST API, or manual CSV?), real-time granularity (hourly updates vs. Daily batch), pricing transparency (free tier limits, cost per MAU), and actionability (can you export cohorts to Google BigQuery or trigger a campaign in Braze?).

Each metric was scored 1–10, weighted equally. Only tools with a public ARPDAU dashboard or explicit ARPDAU report made the cut.

flowchart TD A[Start: Need ARPDAU?] --> B{Platform?} B -->|Mobile| C{Revenue Mix?} B -->|PC/Console| D[Use Steam / Epic SDK] C -->|Mostly IAP| E[GameAnalytics or Unity Analytics] C -->|Mostly Ads| F[ironSource or AppLovin] C -->|Hybrid| G[Adjust or Singular] D --> H[GameAnalytics for PC] E --> I[Export to BigQuery for custom cohorts] F --> J[Ad mediation SDK reports ARPDAU] G --> K[SKAdNetwork + in-app events]

1. GameAnalytics 🏆 BEST OVERALL

What it is: GameAnalytics is a free, game-specific analytics platform used by over 100,000 games. It calculates ARPDAU automatically from your IAP revenue and ad revenue (via mediation SDKs like ironSource). You get a live ARPDAU chart broken down by platform, country, and build version.

The Unity SDK is a one-line install; Unreal and custom engines are supported via REST.

How/when to use: For any mobile or PC game with >1,000 DAU, GameAnalytics gives you a daily ARPDAU snapshot in under 5 minutes. Use it to compare Day-1 ARPDAU vs. Day-30 ARPDAU — a gap >50% signals a retention problem.

The Funnel Tool lets you see where players drop before making a purchase, directly impacting your ARPDAU. Pricing: free for up to 10,000 MAU; $99/month for 100,000 MAU.

Real tool reference: Pair GameAnalytics with Unity Ads or ironSource to see ad ARPDAU in the same dashboard. GameAnalytics’ Cohort Analysis lets you filter ARPDAU by acquisition source (Facebook, Google, TikTok), so you can kill low-ARPDAU UA campaigns instantly.

2. Adjust

What it is: Adjust is a mobile measurement partner (MMP) that provides SKAdNetwork-compliant ARPDAU for iOS. It merges IAP revenue from your payment processor with ad revenue from mediation networks. Adjust’s Datascape dashboard shows ARPDAU by campaign, ad network, and creative.

It supports real-time webhooks so you can push ARPDAU events to Slack or Salesforce.

How/when to use: Essential for UA teams spending >$10K/month on iOS. Adjust’s SKAdNetwork ARPDAU is the only reliable way to measure revenue per user without IDFA. Use it to set ARPDAU targets per campaign — e.g., ARPDAU >$0.15 for Facebook campaigns. Pricing: starts at $0.08 per tracked user per month; free trial for 30 days.

Real tool reference: Integrate Adjust with RevenueCat for subscription-based games. Adjust’s Cohort ARPDAU report shows how much a user from a specific day will spend over 7, 14, or 30 days.

3. Unity Analytics (by Unity)

What it is: Unity Analytics is built into the Unity Editor and provides ARPDAU as a standard metric in the Operate dashboard. It automatically tracks IAP revenue from Unity IAP and ad revenue from Unity Ads. The Funnel Analyzer lets you see ARPDAU by level, item, or event.

How/when to use: Best for Unity developers who want zero extra SDKs. Enable Standard Events (e.g., purchase, ad_complete) and ARPDAU appears in 24 hours. Use the Segments tool to compare ARPDAU for new users vs. returning users. Pricing: free with Unity Personal; $40/month for Unity Plus.

Real tool reference: Export ARPDAU data to Google Sheets via Unity’s Data Export API. Combine with PlayFab for server-side ARPDAU calculations.

4. AppLovin (MAX)

What it is: AppLovin’s MAX mediation platform offers ARPDAU broken down by ad format (rewarded, interstitial, banner). It calculates ad ARPDAU in real time and lets you compare waterfall vs. in-app bidding performance. The MAX Dashboard shows ARPDAU by country, OS, and app version.

How/when to use: For games relying on >70% ad revenue. Use MAX’s A/B Testing to see if adding a rewarded video increases ARPDAU by $0.02. Set ARPDAU floor prices per ad network — if a network’s ARPDAU drops below $0.05, MAX automatically reduces its share. Pricing: free (AppLovin takes a cut of ad revenue).

Real tool reference: Integrate MAX with Adjust or Singular for unified IAP + ad ARPDAU. AppLovin’s ARPDAU by SDK version report helps catch regressions after an update.

5. RevenueCat 💎 BEST VALUE

What it is: RevenueCat is a subscription management platform that calculates ARPDAU for games with auto-renewing subscriptions or consumable IAP. It provides real-time ARPDAU in its Charts tab, segmented by product, country, and store (App Store, Google Play, Stripe).

The Cohort Explorer shows ARPDAU over time for each subscription tier.

How/when to use: Perfect for hybrid-casual or mid-core games with a subscription layer (e.g., $4.99/month “VIP Pass”). RevenueCat’s ARPDAU by subscription duration reveals if monthly subscribers have higher ARPDAU than annual ones. Use Webhooks to send ARPDAU events to Braze for personalized re-engagement.

Pricing: free for up to $2.5K revenue/month; $83/month for $10K revenue/month.

Real tool reference: RevenueCat’s Experiments feature lets you test different pricing tiers and see the impact on ARPDAU within 7 days. Export to BigQuery for custom SQL queries.

6. Singular

What it is: Singular is an MMP with a Cost Aggregation engine that calculates ARPDAU by dividing total revenue (IAP + ads) by DAU. It supports SKAdNetwork and MMP-to-MMP deduplication. The Singular ROI Dashboard shows ARPDAU by campaign, creative, and day.

How/when to use: For UA teams managing 10+ ad networks. Singular’s ARPDAU by network report lets you see which network delivers the highest ARPDAU (e.g., TikTok at $0.12 vs. Facebook at $0.09).

Use Automated Rules to pause campaigns when ARPDAU drops below a threshold. Pricing: starts at $0.10 per tracked user per month; custom for enterprise.

Real tool reference: Singular’s Data Warehouse integration with Snowflake or Redshift enables custom ARPDAU models. Combine with AppsFlyer for cross-platform ARPDAU.

7. Tenjin

What it is: Tenjin is a lightweight MMP focused on cost-per-install (CPI) and ARPDAU. It calculates ARPDAU from IAP revenue (via server-to-server receipt validation) and ad revenue (via mediation SDKs). The Growth Dashboard shows ARPDAU by network, campaign, and cohort.

How/when to use: Best for hyper-casual games with high volume but low ARPDAU ($0.01–$0.05). Tenjin’s ARPDAU by country report helps you find high-ARPDAU markets (e.g., US at $0.08 vs. India at $0.02). Use Tenjin’s API to feed ARPDAU into Tableau for custom dashboards. Pricing: free for up to 50K MAU; $0.02 per tracked user after.

Real tool reference: Tenjin integrates with ironSource and AppLovin for unified ARPDAU. Their ROAS Calculator uses ARPDAU to predict break-even.

8. IronSource (now Unity LevelPlay)

What it is: ironSource’s mediation platform (now part of Unity LevelPlay) provides ad ARPDAU in real time. It segments by ad unit, country, and OS version. The Waterfall Optimization tool automatically adjusts ad network priority based on ARPDAU.

How/when to use: For games where ads generate >80% of revenue. Use ironSource’s ARPDAU by ad type report to see if rewarded video ARPDAU ($0.03) beats interstitial ARPDAU ($0.01). Set ARPDAU goals per country — e.g., target $0.05 in the US. Pricing: free (ironSource takes a cut of ad revenue).

Real tool reference: Combine ironSource with GameAnalytics for a full IAP + ad ARPDAU picture. IronSource’s A/B Testing lets you test ad frequency and measure ARPDAU impact.

9. Facebook Analytics (Meta)

What it is: Facebook Analytics (part of Meta Business Suite) calculates ARPDAU for games using Facebook SDK for login, payments, and events. It provides ARPDAU by age, gender, and device. The Funnels tool shows the path from install to first purchase.

How/when to use: For games heavily reliant on Facebook UA. Use Facebook Analytics’ ARPDAU by audience to target high-value users (e.g., 25–34 year olds with ARPDAU $0.10). Set up Custom Audiences based on ARPDAU thresholds — retarget users with ARPDAU >$0.05. Pricing: free with Facebook SDK.

Real tool reference: Export ARPDAU data to Google Analytics 4 for cross-platform analysis. Facebook’s Aggregated Event Measurement (AEM) provides limited ARPDAU post-iOS14.

10. Mixpanel

What it is: Mixpanel is a product analytics platform that can track ARPDAU via custom events. You define a revenue event (e.g., purchase, ad_watch) and Mixpanel calculates ARPDAU in its Insights module. It supports cohort analysis and retention curves.

How/when to use: For games wanting full-funnel product analytics beyond ARPDAU. Use Mixpanel’ Flows to see how users who watch an ad then make a purchase have higher ARPDAU. Set ARPDAU alerts — if ARPDAU drops 20% in a day, notify your team via Slack. Pricing: free for up to 20M events/month; $25/month for starter.

Real tool reference: Mixpanel integrates with Segment for event unification. Combine with Amplitude for behavioral cohort analysis on ARPDAU.

FAQ

What is a good ARPDAU for mobile games? A good ARPDAU varies by genre: hyper-casual $0.01–$0.05, casual $0.05–$0.15, mid-core $0.15–$0.50, hardcore $0.50+. Compare against GameAnalytics’ benchmarks for your genre.

How do I calculate ARPDAU manually? Divide total daily revenue (IAP + ads) by daily active users. Example: $500 revenue / 10,000 DAU = $0.05 ARPDAU. Use RevenueCat or GameAnalytics for automatic calculation.

Does ARPDAU include ad revenue? Yes, if you configure it. Most tools (GameAnalytics, ironSource) include ad revenue from mediation SDKs. Singular and Adjust can merge both IAP and ad revenue.

How often should I check ARPDAU? Daily for live games. Use real-time dashboards (GameAnalytics, Unity Analytics) to spot drops within hours. Weekly for early soft-launch games.

Can I improve ARPDAU without changing monetization? Yes, by improving retention. A 10% increase in Day-7 retention can lift ARPDAU by 15–20%. Use Mixpanel or Amplitude to find retention bottlenecks.

What’s the difference between ARPDAU and LTV? ARPDAU is a daily snapshot; LTV (Lifetime Value) is the total revenue a user generates over their lifetime. LTV = ARPDAU × average number of active days. Use Tenjin for LTV predictions.

How do I benchmark my ARPDAU against competitors? Use GameAnalytics’ Benchmark reports (free) or Newzoo’s paid reports. Compare by genre, country, and platform.

What tools support SKAdNetwork ARPDAU? Adjust, Singular, and AppsFlyer support SKAdNetwork ARPDAU for iOS. GameAnalytics does not — it relies on in-app events.

Sources

Bottom Line

For most game studios, GameAnalytics is the fastest, cheapest, and most actionable way to track ARPDAU. If you’re spending heavily on iOS UA, Adjust is non-negotiable for SKAdNetwork compliance. RevenueCat is the best value for subscription-heavy games.

Start with GameAnalytics free tier, then layer on Adjust or Singular as your UA budget grows.

*Top 10 Gaming Average Revenue per Daily Active User Metrics ranked for mobile game monetization operators in 2027.*

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