That confusing sessions vs users thing, finally explained

Original: Sessions v Users

May 29, 2025

11 min read

Article

Intermediate

Business Understanding

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Summary

This article discusses the importance of distinguishing between sessions and users when analyzing user behavior and product usage. It covers key concepts and metrics related to sessions vs. users, and provides guidance on how to leverage these metrics to gain deeper insights into your product's performance and user engagement.

Who This Is For

Marketing Analysts

Product Analysts

Marketing Managers

Key Takeaways

Learn how to define what 'success' means for your business before choosing between sessions and users metrics
Understand that sessions are artificial constructs with time-based rules that vary between analytics tools
Discover why Google Analytics 4 moved away from session-focused reporting to user-centric tracking
Get practical guidance on when to use session metrics vs user metrics for different business scenarios
Master the concept that both sessions and users can be 'successful' depending on your measurement goals

Tools & Technologies

Google Analytics Google Analytics 4 Amplitude Product analytics tools

Topics Covered

sessions users user-metrics product-analytics

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Topics

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