ARPDAU — the key metric for mobile F2P games, 2026 benchmarks
ARPDAU — the key metric for mobile F2P games, 2026 benchmarks
In the mobile gaming industry, ARPDAU (Average Revenue Per Daily Active User) is the pulse of monetization. If LTV is "how much a customer is worth over their entire lifetime", then ARPDAU is "how much they're worth today".
The formula
> ARPDAU = Total Daily Revenue / Daily Active Users
Example:
- Daily revenue $5,000
- DAU 50,000
- ARPDAU = $5000 / 50000 = $0.10
10 cents a day per active user. Sounds small? That's normal for casual games. For a top-tier RPG, the norm is $0.50-1.50.
Benchmarks by genre (2026 data)
| Genre | ARPDAU low | Median | Top tier | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyper-casual | $0.01 | $0.03 | $0.08 | ||
| Casual | $0.05 | $0.12 | $0.30 | ||
| Mid-core (puzzle) | $0.10 | $0.25 | $0.60 | ||
| Strategy / 4X | $0.30 | $0.80 | $2.00 | ||
| RPG / MMO | $0.50 | $1.20 | $3.00 | ||
| Casino / Slots | $1.00 | $2.50 | $8.00 | ||
| Premium / paid apps | n/a | $5.00 | $15.00+ |
How ARPDAU differs from ARPU
| Metric | Calculated | When to use | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARPDAU | Per daily active user | Mobile F2P — daily-engagement products | ||
| ARPU | Per active user in a period (mo/year) | SaaS, subscription, e-commerce | ||
| ARPPU | Per PAYING user | Free-to-play — conversion focus | ||
| LTV | Total over lifetime | Long-term unit economics |
Example: ARPDAU $0.20 × 180-day lifespan = LTV $36.
How to break ARPDAU into components
ARPDAU = (Paying Users / DAU) × (ARPPU per day)
= Conversion Rate × Avg payment frequency × Avg payment size
Decomposing it reveals the levers:
- Conversion: % of DAU who paid at least once
- Frequency: how often paying users pay
- Size: average transaction amount
4 levers to grow ARPDAU
1. IAP (in-app purchases) — the core for F2P
- Soft currency purchases (gems, gold)
- Cosmetic items — skins, emotes (high-margin, no balance impact)
- Power-ups — boosts, energy refills
- Battle Pass — seasonal subscription model (raises frequency)
Industry leader: Battle Pass converts +30% of non-paying users → paying. The highest impact on conversion rate.
2. Ad monetization — for a broad audience
- Rewarded video — optimal (high opt-in)
- Interstitial between levels (annoying but high RPM)
- Banner — outdated, low yield
- Playable ads — best for hyper-casual
Industry standard ad eCPM: $5-15 for the US, $2-5 for emerging markets.
3. Subscriptions
Pass / VIP / Premium tier:- Stable monthly revenue (recurring)
- 2-3× the ARPU of normal users
- A typical norm is 5-10% of DAU subscribed
4. Whale optimization
In F2P, 2% of paying users generate 70% of revenue. These whales are your revenue.- VIP program with perks
- Personal account managers (for the top-100 spenders)
- Limited editions / exclusive offers
- Faster customer support
ARPDAU growth — what does NOT work
❌ Pay-to-win mechanics — a short-term +30% ARPDAU, then a mass churn of casual players in 3-6 months → DAU drops -50%, so ARPDAU stays but Net Revenue falls.
❌ Aggressive ads — an interstitial every 30 seconds = retention crash.
❌ Annoying pop-up offers — one every minute = churn risk.
❌ Geographically uniform pricing — the same $0.99 price in the US and Indonesia. In emerging markets, local pricing is essential.
Real-world ARPDAU examples
| Game | Genre | ARPDAU (2024 est) | DAU | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honor of Kings | MOBA | $0.45 | 100M | ||
| Genshin Impact | RPG | $1.20 | 60M | ||
| Clash Royale | Strategy | $0.30 | 25M | ||
| Subway Surfers | Hyper-casual | $0.05 | 50M | ||
| Candy Crush | Match-3 | $0.15 | 75M |
Relationship to other metrics
| Metric | Relationship | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| DAU | The denominator of the formula | ||
| Retention | High retention → longer lifespan → higher LTV at the same ARPDAU | ||
| ARPU | The monthly equivalent ≈ ARPDAU × 30 | ||
| Conversion Rate | Free-to-paying conversion = the main component of ARPDAU |
When ARPDAU is MISLEADING
1. Cohort skew — if DAU drops but whales stay → ARPDAU rises even though the business is dying
2. Seasonal events — a Christmas event doubles ARPDAU for 2 weeks, then back to normal
3. Pricing experiments — sub-cohort tests distort the average
4. Currency — games run globally, USD-reported ARPDAU drifts with FX
Bottom line
ARPDAU is the key mobile metric for F2P games. Know yours. Compare it to the benchmark in your genre. If it's lower — work on the monetization mix (IAP/Ads/Subs). Top-tier ARPDAU in a category = ~10% of all published games, but they take 50%+ of category revenue.
Calculate your ARPDAU below + a genre benchmark.
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Further resources
- /en/dau — DAU calculator
- /en/arpu — ARPU (monthly equivalent)
- /en/ltv — LTV (ARPDAU × lifespan)
- /en/retention — Retention (mobile)
- AppMagic / Sensor Tower — ARPDAU benchmarks