How to calculate Weekly Active Users (WAU)

Formula

WAU = count of distinct users with at least one qualifying event in the week

SQL query

This example assumes: events(user_id, occurred_at, event_name). It is written in PostgreSQL syntax; date functions differ slightly in MySQL, BigQuery and SQLite, and your column names will differ from these.

SELECT DATE_TRUNC('week', occurred_at) AS week,
       COUNT(DISTINCT user_id)             AS wau
FROM events
WHERE event_name IN ('created_report', 'ran_query', 'shared_dashboard')
  AND occurred_at >= CURRENT_DATE - 90
GROUP BY 1
ORDER BY 1;

Common mistakes that make Weekly Active Users (WAU) wrong

• Choose qualifying events deliberately; 'logged in' alone overstates usage.
• The first and last weeks in the range may be partial.
• Test and internal accounts should be excluded.

Ask for Weekly Active Users (WAU) in plain English

Instead of writing the query yourself, you can type the question. SchemaChat turns it into SQL against your connected database or uploaded file, runs it, and shows the SQL and the figures it used so you can check the answer before you share it. It does not replace your judgement about the definition: check that the query matches the formula your business uses.

• How many weekly active users did we have each week this quarter?
• Which accounts have the most active users?