Analyze and compare Funnel data

This article walks you through how to read your funnel results, what each number means in practice, and how to dig deeper into the steps where users are stopping.

What you're analyzing and why it matters

Your funnel data shows you where users are making it through each step, and where they're not. Every drop-off (a user who stopped before completing the journey) represents someone who didn't take the action you needed them to take, whether that's completing a purchase, finishing a sign-up, or reaching a key page.

The goal isn't just to see the numbers. It's to understand which step is costing you the most, why users might be stopping there, and what you can do about it.

Reading the funnel

At the top of the funnel, you'll see the overall conversion rate, the percentage of sessions that made it all the way from the first step to the last. In other words: out of everyone who started the journey, how many completed it?

By default, your funnel shows data by sessions. On Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans, you can switch to the Users tab at the top of the funnel to view the same data at user level instead, useful when you want to understand how many individual people (rather than sessions) are converting.

Below that, the graph breaks this down step by step:

• Dark blue: step completion (the percentage of sessions/users that moved on to the next step).
• Grey/lighter area: step drop off (the percentage of sessions/users that stopped here and didn't continue).

Hover over any bar step to see the exact numbers.

Digging deeper with the table

Below the graph, a table gives you a step-by-step breakdown that's easier to scan when your funnel has many steps. For each step, you'll see:

• Conversion: the percentage of sessions that moved from this step to the next.
• Drop-off percentage: the percentage of sessions that stopped at this step.
• Time to conversion: how long it typically took users to move from this step to the next one.

The time to conversion figure is particularly useful for spotting something slowing users down. If users are taking a long time between two steps that should be quick , like clicking "Pay now". That gap suggests something is getting in the way.

Watch sessions of users who dropped or converted

(Requires Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans)

Watch sessions of users who dropped off or converted. You can choose to watch:

• Sessions where users dropped off.
• Sessions where users converted.

Hover over a step and click 'See in Session Replay'. 

This turns a number into a real story. Instead of knowing that 40% of users dropped off at the payment step, you can see what they actually did, where they hesitated, what they clicked, and where they left.
 

Step drop off details

(Requires Pro and Enterprise plans)

Hover over the lighter shaded area (top bar of the step) and click 'Step drop off details' on any step to see to see a breakdown of the sessions that dropped off from your funnel versus the sessions that exited your site altogether.

See what happens in-between steps

(Requires Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans)

By default, a user counts as progressing from one step to the next even if they visited other pages in between. This gives you a realistic view of how many users eventually complete each step, even if they take a detour along the way.

To see what they're doing in between:

1.  Click the arrow icon between any two steps. 

   

2. Select the mapping from the drop down menu.

   

3. You'll see the most common paths users took between your defined steps, up to 12 paths in total, with the top 4 shown by default.

Compare two audiences or two time periods

(Requires Growth, Pro, and Enterprise plans)

Comparison mode lets you run your funnel for two different groups or time periods side by side. For example:

• Two groups of users: new users vs. returning users
• Two date ranges: this month vs. last month, before a redesign vs. after

1. Open the Analysis Context (the filter bar at the top of the page).

   

2. Click 'Compare'

   

3. Select your two groups or date ranges to compare.

   

4. Click 'Apply'.

   

The first one you add becomes your reference point (shown on the left); the second is measured against it (shown on the right).

The percentage difference shown for the conversion rate is a relative change. It tells you how much better or worse one segment performs compared to the other. For example, if segment A converts at 13.4% and segment B converts at 10.5%, the difference shown is +28%. meaning segment A converts 28% more than segment B, not 2.9 percentage points more.

What to read next

• How to improve your conversion funnels: A Contentquare University course
• Set up a funnel