Calculated attributes

Calculated attributes let you create profile attributes from raw event data using a no-code formula builder. Instead of asking developers to define and maintain these attributes, you can create them directly in Braze if the required events are already tracked.

A calculated attribute is a custom attribute generated from a formula. The formula is built from three parts:

Part	Description
Aggregation	Sum, average, maximum, minimum, count, distinct count, first, last, or most common
Event and property	From supported event sources
Time frame	When the event occurred, as a relative lookback or a fixed date range of up to 2 years (730 days)

After you activate the calculated attribute, Braze writes it to the user profile and you can use it for segmentation.

Early access capabilities

In early access, you can:

• Create a calculated attribute from scratch using an aggregation, a purchase or eCommerce event, and a time period
• Save and activate the attribute so Braze can calculate values and store them on user profiles
• Refresh values once per day
• Segment using the calculated attribute
• Deactivate calculated attributes you no longer want to use

Each workspace can have up to 25 active calculated attributes at a time. Drafts and deactivated attributes don’t count toward this limit. If you reach the limit, deactivate one before activating another.

Use cases

Use calculated attributes to continuously compute a meaningful value for each user from recent behavior—especially when a pattern over time is a better indicator than a single event.

Use case	Example formula	Business value
Total amount of money spent	Aggregation: Sum Event: eCommerce order placed, with a property for total value	Identify high-value customers or recent spenders
Average order value	Aggregation: Average Event: eCommerce order placed, with a property for total value	Spot customers whose typical order size is rising or falling
Number of orders placed	Aggregation: Count Event: eCommerce order placed	Find frequent buyers for loyalty or retention messaging
Most recent purchase date	Aggregation: Last Event: Purchase	Target users based on how recently they bought

Set up calculated attributes

1. Go to Data Settings > Calculated Attributes, and then select Create calculated attribute.
2. Choose the aggregation you want to use for your formula. See Supported aggregations for the available options.
3. Select a criterion (your event).
4. Optionally, add an event property and nested event property.
   • For nested event properties, specify the data type (for example, string or number).
   • If using eCommerce recommended events, use the exact property naming structure for those events. See eCommerce recommended events.
5. Set the time range for the calculation. Choose a relative lookback (for example, the last 30 days) or a fixed date range. Either option can span up to 2 years (730 days).
6. Save the calculated attribute as a draft, or activate it to begin processing and daily refreshes.

Supported aggregations

Choose the aggregation based on the kind of customer insight you want to capture:

Aggregation	Description
Average	Typical value over the time frame, such as average order value
Sum	Total value over the time frame, such as total amount spent
Maximum	Highest value over the time frame, such as a high score
Minimum	Lowest value over the time frame
Count	How many times an event occurred
Distinct count	How many unique values occurred for a property
First	Earliest value in the time frame
Last	Most recent value in the time frame
Most common	Most frequent value, such as a preferred category

Statuses

A calculated attribute can show one of the following statuses:

Status	Description
Active	The attribute is enabled and participating in refreshes.
Inactive	The attribute isn’t currently active. This includes drafts you haven’t activated yet and attributes you’ve deactivated. Braze doesn’t run daily refreshes for inactive attributes.
Processing	Braze is running the calculation, and user values haven’t finished updating.
Processing failed	The latest processing attempt didn’t succeed, and the calculated attribute values didn’t refresh.

Only Active attributes refresh on an ongoing basis and count toward your workspace limit of 25 active calculated attributes. Activate an attribute when you’re ready for Braze to keep its profile values up to date, and deactivate it when you no longer want those refreshes.