Funnels: Metric Definitions & Calculations

This article explains the key metrics used in Funnels—what they mean, how they’re calculated, and what questions they answer. Understanding these definitions helps ensure you’re drawing accurate conclusions about content performance and user behavior in your Funnels.

Funnels Leaderboard:

• Funnel Name

  • Definition: The custom name assigned to your funnel.

  • Example: “Checkout Funnel – Spring Promo”

  • Question it answers: "Which funnel am I looking at?"

• Date Created

  • Definition: Date the funnel was created.

  • Calculation: System timestamp of funnel creation.

  • Example: 5/8/25

  • Question it answers: "When did I create this funnel?"

• Funnel Steps

  • Definition: Number of unique steps defined in the funnel.

  • Calculation: Count of steps configured by the user.

  • Example: 3 steps (Product → Cart → Purchase)

  • Question it answers: "How long is this funnel?"

• Starts (total)

  • Definition: Number of users who entered the funnel (i.e., reached Step 1). If a user enters the funnel more than once, they are only counted once. Note that Starts is a subset of Unique Visitors (e.g., if you use Condition Type: Entered Site Via Specific Page, we’ll only count visitors who entered via that page — not just visitors who saw that page in their journey. Also, if you use Excludes Rules, you could exclude additional visitors from being counted in Step 1.).

  • Calculation: StepCount₁

  • Example: 1,000 Starts

  • Question it answers: "How many visitors entered the funnel?"

• Completions (total)

  • Definition: Number of unique users who completed all steps in the funnel. If a user completes the funnel more than once, they are only counted once.

  • Calculation: StepCount_final

  • Example: 300 Completions

  • Question it answers: "How many finished the journey?"

• Completion Rate

  • Definition: Percentage of users who started the funnel and completed it. If a user completes the funnel more than once, they are only counted once.

  • Calculation: Total Completions ÷ Total Starts × 100%

  • Example: 300 ÷ 1,000 = 30%

  • Question it answers: "What percentage of visitors completed this funnel?"

• Avg Time to Completion

  • Definition: Average time it takes a user to complete the funnel.

  • Calculation: Σ(time_finish − time_start) ÷ Total Completions

  • Example: 4d 12h

  • Question it answers: "On average, how long does it take to complete the funnel?"

• Avg Pages to Completion

  • Definition: Average number of page views per user from start to finish (completers only).

  • Calculation: Σ(page_views_between) ÷ Total Completions

  • Example: 5.2 pages

  • Question it answers: "How many pages does a completion usually take?"

• Largest Drop-Off

  • Definition: The step where the highest percentage of users exited the funnel.

  • Calculation: DropOffRateₙ = 1 − (StepCountₙ₊₁ ÷ StepCountₙ); return max.

  • Example: 40% between Step 4 & Step 5

  • Question it answers: "Where’s the biggest leak in the funnel?"

• Largest Progression

  • Definition: The step with the highest rate of users moving forward.

  • Calculation: ProgRateₙ = StepCountₙ₊₁ ÷ StepCountₙ × 100%; return max.

  • Example: 85% from Step 2 to Step 3

  • Question it answers: "Which step moves users forward most smoothly?"

Lift Analysis:

• Funnel Type (Visible only in Lift Analysis)

  • Definition: Indicates whether the funnel represents the control group or the variant group, used for comparing performance and measuring lift.

  • Example: Control or Variant

  • Question it answers: “Within my lift analysis, which category does this funnel fall into?”

• Lift vs Control (Visible only in Lift Analysis)

  • Definition: The relative improvement or decline in completion rate of a funnel variant compared to a control.

  • Calculation: ((Variant_CR − Control_CR) ÷ Control_CR) × 100%

  • Example: +5.5% lift

  • Question it answers: "By how much does this variant outperform (or underperform) the control?"

Funnels Dashboard:

Key Metrics

• Starts

  • Definition: Number of users who entered the funnel (i.e., reached Step 1).

  • Calculation: StepCount₁

  • Example: 1,000 Starts

  • Question it answers: "How many visitors entered the funnel?"

• Completions

  • Definition: Number of users who completed all steps in the funnel.

  • Calculation: StepCount_final

  • Example: 300 Completions

  • Question it answers: "How many finished the journey?"

• Completion Rate

  • Definition: Percentage of users who started the funnel and completed it.

  • Calculation: Total Completions ÷ Total Starts × 100%

  • Example: 300 ÷ 1,000 = 30%

  • Question it answers: "What percentage of visitors completed this funnel?"

• Avg Time to Completion

  • Definition: Average time it takes a user to complete the funnel.

  • Calculation: Σ(time_finish − time_start) ÷ Total Completions

  • Example: 4d 12h

  • Question it answers: "On average, how long does it take to complete the funnel?"

• Avg Pages to Completion

  • Definition: Average number of page views per user from start to finish (completers only).

  • Calculation: Σ(page_views_between) ÷ Total Completions

  • Example: 5.2 pages

  • Question it answers: "How many touches does a completion usually take?"

Step-Level Metrics (Per Funnel Step)

• Step Population

  • Definition: Unique visitors who reach Step N after completing all previous steps.

  • Calculation: StepCountₙ = number of visitors who reach Step N

  • Example: Step 2 Count = 700 users

  • Question: "How many people actually got to the pricing page (Step 2)?"

• % of Total Population (a.k.a. Cumulative Reach)

  • Definition: Percentage of original funnel entrants (Step 1) that also reach Step N.

  • Calculation: Reach%ₙ = StepCountₙ ÷ StepCount₁ × 100%

  • Example: 700 ÷ 1,000 × 100% = 70% reach at Step 2

  • Question: "What share of everyone who started the funnel made it to the pricing page?"

• Point-in-Funnel Completion Rate

  • Definition: Among visitors who reach Step N, the percentage that complete the final step.

  • Calculation: PIF Rateₙ = Final Completions ÷ StepCountₙ × 100%

  • Example: 380 ÷ 700 × 100% = 54.3% from Step 2 to final

  • Question: "Of the users who got to pricing, what % eventually completed checkout?"

Transition Metrics (Step-to-Step Movement)

• Progression Count

  • Definition: Absolute number of users who advance from Step N to Step N+1.

  • Calculation: ProgCountₙ = users who complete Step N and later complete Step N+1

  • Example: Step 1 → 2: 500 users; Step 2 → 3: 250 users

  • Question: "How many people moved from the product page to the cart?"

• Progression Rate

  • Definition: Percent of Step N users who move to Step N+1.

  • Calculation: ProgRateₙ = ProgCountₙ ÷ StepCountₙ × 100%

  • Example: 800 ÷ 1,000 = 80%

  • Question: "What % of visitors who saw the product page actually added to cart?"

• Direct Progression

  • Definition: % of users who went directly from Step N to Step N+1 without visiting any other page in between.

  • Calculation: For Each User: IF [Funnel Step n’s 1st Journey Touchpoint] - 1 IN [All Funnel Step n-1’s Journey Touchpoints] THEN True ELSE False

  • Example: 4959 users went directly from Step 2→3

  • Question: "How many users went directly from Step 3→4 without visiting other pages in between?"

• Drop-Off Count

  • Definition: Number of visitors who reach Step N but not Step N+1.

  • Calculation: DropOffₙ = StepCountₙ − ProgCountₙ

  • Example: 1,000 Step 1 users − 800 = 200 drop-offs

  • Question: "How many visitors bail after the product page?"

• Drop-Off Rate

  • Definition: Percent of Step N users who exit before Step N+1.

  • Calculation: DropRateₙ = DropOffₙ ÷ StepCountₙ × 100% or 100% − ProgRateₙ

  • Example: 200 ÷ 1,000 = 20%

  • Question: "What % of product-page viewers abandon without adding to cart?"

• Step Exit Rate

  • Definition: % of users who left the site entirely directly after Step N. Their last recorded interaction with the site was on this step of the funnel. Users that exit from other parts of the site or return to the site later are not considered exits.

  • Calculation: For Each User: IF ([User Journey Exit Touchpoint] IN [All Funnel Step n’s Journey Touchpoints]) AND (Step n IS NOT Last Funnel Step) THEN True ELSE False

  • Example: 899 users exited the site after Step 3

  • Question: "How many users left the site after Step 4 and did not finish the funnel?”

• Average Time to Next Step

  • Definition: Average time taken to move from Step N to Step N+1.

  • Calculation: AvgTimeₙ = Σ(time between steps N and N+1) ÷ ProgCountₙ

  • Example: Total 1h 28m across 800 users → Avg = 6 min 36 sec

  • Question: "On average, how long does it take someone to go from product page to cart?"

• Average Pages to Next Step (formerly Average Touches to Next Step)

  • Definition: Mean number of page views between Step N and Step N+1 (not distinct pages).

  • Calculation: AvgTouchesₙ = Σ(page views between N and N+1) ÷ ProgCountₙ

  • Example: 1,600 touches ÷ 800 visitors = 2.0 touches

  • Question: "On average, how many pages do people browse between product page and cart?"