COUNT UNIQUE Billable Metric

Step-by-Step Setup When creating a COUNT UNIQUE-based metered feature:
  1. Navigate to Features
    • Go to Product Catalog → Features
    • Click “Add Feature”
  2. Basic Information
    • Name: “Active Users” (or descriptive name)
    • Type: Select “Metered”
  3. Event Configuration
    • Event Name: user.activity (must match your event data)
    • Aggregation Function: Count Unique
    • Aggregation Field: user_id (the property to count unique values for)
  4. Usage Settings
    • Usage Reset: Periodic (for monthly limits) or Cumulative
    • Unit Name: user / users
  5. Save Feature

Calculation Example

Event Data

[
  {
    "event_id": "evt_001",
    "event_name": "user.activity",
    "external_customer_id": "customer_123",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:00:00Z",
    "properties": {
      "user_id": "user_alice"
    }
  },
  {
    "event_id": "evt_002", 
    "event_name": "user.activity",
    "external_customer_id": "customer_123",
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:05:00Z",
    "properties": {
      "user_id": "user_bob"
    }
  },
  {
    "event_id": "evt_003",
    "event_name": "user.activity",
    "external_customer_id": "customer_123", 
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:10:00Z",
    "properties": {
      "user_id": "user_alice"
    }
  },
  {
    "event_id": "evt_004",
    "event_name": "user.activity",
    "external_customer_id": "customer_123", 
    "timestamp": "2024-01-15T10:15:00Z",
    "properties": {
      "user_id": "user_charlie"
    }
  }
]

Calculation Process

  1. Event Matching: All events with event_name = "user.activity"
  2. Property Extraction: Extract user_id values from each event
    • evt_001"user_alice"
    • evt_002"user_bob"
    • evt_003"user_alice" (duplicate)
    • evt_004"user_charlie"
  3. Count Unique Result: 3 distinct users (user_alice, user_bob, user_charlie)
Result: 3 users

Use Cases

Active Users Tracking

Perfect for: Monthly active users, daily active users, unique visitors
{
  "event_name": "user.activity",
  "external_customer_id": "acme_corp",
  "properties": {
    "user_id": "user_12345"
  }
}

Unique Sessions

Perfect for: Session tracking, device identification, unique connections
{
  "event_name": "session.activity",
  "external_customer_id": "user_456",
  "properties": {
    "session_id": "sess_abc123"
  }
}

Feature Usage

Perfect for: Unique feature users, distinct tool usage, unique resource access
{
  "event_name": "feature.usage",
  "external_customer_id": "merchant_789",
  "properties": {
    "feature_name": "advanced_analytics"
  }
}

IP Address Tracking

Perfect for: Unique IP addresses, geographic distribution, security monitoring
{
  "event_name": "api.request",
  "external_customer_id": "customer_101",
  "properties": {
    "ip_address": "192.168.1.100"
  }
}

Device Tracking

Perfect for: Unique devices, platform analytics, hardware usage
{
  "event_name": "app.usage",
  "external_customer_id": "mobile_user",
  "properties": {
    "device_id": "device_xyz789"
  }
}

When to Use COUNT UNIQUE

Use COUNT UNIQUE when:
  • Tracking distinct users, sessions, or resources
  • Need to count unique values, not occurrences
  • Measuring reach or adoption metrics
  • Eliminating duplicates for billing purposes

Next Steps