Why Do Funnel Step Bars Show Different Heights for Total Conversions but Same for Total Sessions?

test123 · 2026-02-06T15:04:07.877Z

Let's say I have a three step funnel where step 1 is reaching a certain page, step2 is clicking a button on that certain page that leads to a popup, and then step 3 is 3 events that are combined together using 2 or statements that describe clicking three different buttons on the popup. How come when I do total conversions the three bars for the funnel at the homepage have differing heights but when I do total sessions the three bars in the beginning have the same heights? The three bars apparently represent the three events in step 3

kapa.ai
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Hi test123, Please stand by as I search the Mixpanel knowledge base for an AI-powered answer. I normally take about 15 seconds or so. In case AI cannot answer your question, feel free to reach out to Mixpanel support at mixpanel.com/get-support. If you have follow-up questions for this thread, please tag me again with your question: @kapa.ai <follow-up question> 👋
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kapa.ai
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The knowledge sources don’t describe your exact UI example, but they do explain the mechanics that likely cause what you’re seeing.Key pieces: 1. Totals vs Sessions counting - Totals: users can re-enter the funnel after they exit (convert, time out, or hit an exclusion). Each qualifying attempt is a separate “conversion” path. [Counting methods] - Sessions: users can enter once per session; all steps must happen in the same session. [Flows conversion criteria]2. Custom events / OR logic at Step 3 Multiple events can count toward the same funnel step via a custom event (your 3 popup button clicks combined with OR). [Funnels FAQ]3. Why Step 1 bars differ for Totals but not for Sessions The three bars you’re seeing at Step 1 are a breakdown by the Step 3 event (or custom event segments). For each segment, Mixpanel is effectively counting “how many funnel attempts started (Step 1) that eventually reached this particular Step 3 outcome.” - With Total Conversions: - A single user can start the funnel multiple times (e.g., reload the page, click different popup buttons in different attempts). - Different attempts can end in different Step 3 events. - So the number of Step 1 entries that eventually lead to each of the three Step 3 events can differ, giving you different bar heights at Step 1 per Step‑3 segment. [Counting methods] - With Total Sessions: - Each session can only contribute one funnel attempt. - If your breakdown is by Step 3 event but you’re measuring “Total Sessions,” Mixpanel is effectively counting sessions that reached Step 1 (and then that Step 3 outcome) — and in many setups, each session only ever reaches one of those three Step 3 events. - If every session that starts the funnel ends in exactly one of the three Step 3 events, then the Step 1 bar height per segment will all reflect the same underlying session count, so they appear equal at the start.In short: - Totals lets the same user contribute multiple funnel attempts that can end in different Step‑3 events, so Step‑1 counts differ by Step‑3 segment. - Sessions constrains to one attempt per session, and if each session maps cleanly to exactly one of the three Step‑3 outcomes, the Step‑1 bars line up.
If this doesn’t match what you expect, the docs recommend checking that you’re comparing the same counting method, time range, and filters, and then drilling into a small date range to inspect individual users/sessions. [Data discrepancies]
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test123
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kapa.ai but what I don't understand is that you say the first bar counts all the attempts that started in step 1 and finished in step 3, but how does that make sense if step 1 has a count of 17 and step 3 has a count of 4. How does it count step 1 for all the times it doesn't end in step 3? There are 13 steps where it doesnt end in step 3 but it still counts it somhow
kapa.ai
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Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! 📚
kapa.ai
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You’ve run into a subtle but important point: in Funnels, the number shown at Step 1 is “how many of these made it to Step 3”. It’s simply “how many entries into the funnel” for that segment, given your counting method and conversion criteria. [Counting methods]So in your example: - Step 1 shows 17 (for a given Step‑3 segment). - Step 3 shows 4.Interpretation: - 17 = 17 funnel entries (attempts) that started at Step 1 and belong to that breakdown segment (e.g. “Step‑3 button A”). - 4 = 4 of those 17 attempts actually made it all the way to Step 3 and converted. - The remaining 13 attempts entered the funnel (so they are counted at Step 1) but dropped off somewhere before Step 3 (e.g. never clicked the popup button, or timed out, or hit an exclusion step). Funnels always show these drop‑offs between steps. [Funnels FAQ]So Mixpanel is not “counting Step 1 only when it ends in Step 3.” It: 1. Counts all qualifying Step‑1 entries (17). 2. Then, at each subsequent step, shows how many of those entries progressed (4 at Step 3) and how many dropped off (13 between Step 1 and Step 3).If you want to verify this, narrow the date range and open the user/activity view from the funnel to inspect a few of those 17 attempts and see where they stop. This is also the recommended way to debug discrepancies. [Data discrepancies]
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test123
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kapa.ai ok so let's say for step 1: bar A has a count of 17, bar B has a count of 14, and bar C has a count of 14. In step 3, bar A has a count of 4, bar B has a count of 1, and bar C has a count of 1. Does this mean that if the user does step 1 but drops off, this count gets added to all bars but if the user specifically ends in a certain step 3, then that count gets added to only one of the set bars?
kapa.ai
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Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! 📚
kapa.ai
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You’re very close; just one part is off.In a Funnels breakdown, each funnel attempt belongs to exactly one segment (bar) at Step 1, based on the breakdown property and the chosen property attribution (First Step Defined, Last Step Defined, or a specific step). [Breakdowns; Property attribution]So in your example (Totals, broken down by the Step‑3 event type): - Step 1: - Bar A = 17 entries - Bar B = 14 entries - Bar C = 14 entries - Step 3: - Bar A = 4 conversions - Bar B = 1 conversion - Bar C = 1 conversion What this means: 1. Assignment at Step 1 (entries) - Each funnel attempt is assigned to one of A/B/C at Step 1, according to the breakdown + property attribution. - A user who does Step 1 but then drops off is still counted once at Step 1 in exactly one bar (A or B or C), not all three. [Breakdowns]2. Progress to Step 3 (conversions) - Of the 17 attempts in A, 4 reached Step 3. - Of the 14 attempts in B, 1 reached Step 3. - Of the 14 attempts in C, 1 reached Step 3. - The remaining attempts in each bar are drop‑offs between Step 1 and Step 3.So to answer your question directly: - No, a user who does Step 1 and drops off does not get added to all bars; they are counted once in exactly one bar at Step 1. - Yes, if a user’s attempt is in segment A, and they end in Step‑3 event A, that attempt contributes to bar A at both Step 1 and Step 3; it never contributes to B or C.If your bars at Step 1 look like they’re “sharing” users, that’s usually because: - You’re using Totals, so the same user can have multiple attempts that fall into different segments (e.g., one attempt ends with button A, another with button B). [Counting methods]
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test123
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kapa.ai ok but say a user does step 1 and then drops off and never reaches step 3, then how does mixpanel know which bar out of the 3 to add it to if it never reaches step 3?
kapa.ai
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Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! 📚
kapa.ai
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Mixpanel does not need the user to reach Step 3 to decide which bar (segment) they belong to.In a Funnels breakdown, the segment for each funnel attempt is determined by the breakdown property + property attribution setting (e.g. “First Step Defined”, “Last Step Defined”, or “Step 1”). [Breakdowns; Property attribution]So for a user who: - does Step 1, - then drops off and never does Step 3,Mixpanel will: 1. Look at the chosen attribution rule for the breakdown (e.g. “First Step Defined” or “Last Step Defined”). 2. Use the value of that property from the relevant step (often Step 1) to assign the attempt to one specific segment (one of your three bars). 3. Count that attempt at Step 1 only for that bar; it will not appear at Step 3 because it never converted.The docs don’t explicitly describe “breakdown by Step‑3 event type” as a property, but they do state that the breakdown segment value is always determined by the selected property attribution, and users count in each segment where they qualify based on that rule. [Breakdowns; Property attribution]So: even if the user never reaches Step 3, Mixpanel still knows which bar to use because it uses the configured attribution step/property, not “which Step‑3 event they ended on.”
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test123
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kapa.ai this still doesn't make sense to me because wouldnt it be the same for all bars if the user just did step 1 and nothing else. There is no differentiating factor between the three bars if the user only does step 1
kapa.ai
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Let me check the knowledge base for you again. One moment! 📚
kapa.ai
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You’re right to question this, and you’ve hit a limitation of what the docs spell out clearly.From the docs we do know: - When you apply a breakdown, each funnel entry is assigned to a segment (bar) based on a property and a “property attribution” rule (First Step Defined, Last Step Defined, or a specific step). [Breakdowns; Property attribution] - Users do not get counted in all bars at Step 1; they count in each segment “in which they qualify,” and to qualify for a new segment they must exit the previous attempt (unless you’re holding a property constant). [Breakdowns]What the docs do not explicitly describe is the exact attribution behavior when: - Your breakdown is effectively “by which of several OR’ed events was used at Step 3”, and - A funnel attempt never reaches Step 3 (only does Step 1).So I can’t definitively say, from the docs alone, how Mixpanel chooses between A/B/C for those “only Step‑1” attempts in your specific setup. The documentation just says: - The segment value is determined by the selected property attribution (which step’s property value is used). [Property attribution] - If that property is not defined on the chosen step, you can see undefined as a segment. [Property attribution]Given that, there are two possibilities consistent with the docs: 1. Your breakdown is actually using a property that present at Step 1 In that case, even if the user never reaches Step 3, Step‑1’s property value is enough to decide whether the attempt belongs to A, B, or C. Then it’s not “the same for all bars” — the Step‑1 property value is the differentiator.2. The breakdown is truly based only on which Step‑3 event fired The docs don’t say how Mixpanel attributes attempts that never reach Step 3 in this exact configuration. It might: - Put them into an undefined / $other segment, or - Use some internal rule that isn’t documented.Because the knowledge sources don’t go into this special case, I can’t reliably tell you which of those is happening in your project.**How to resolve this in your report (using only what the docs support):**1. Check the breakdown configuration and attribution:
- In the table under the funnel, click the attribution selector (e.g. “Step 1”, “First Step Defined”, “Last Step Defined”) and see which is chosen. [Property attribution] - Confirm which property you’re actually breaking down by (is it a real event property on Step 1, or a derived/custom event for Step 3?).2. Look for an undefined / $other segment: - If attempts that only do Step 1 can’t be attributed to A/B/C, they should logically fall into an undefined/other bucket per the docs. [Property attribution; Breakdowns]3. Narrow the date range and inspect entries: - Reduce the date range to a tiny window, click into a specific segment row, and inspect the user timelines to see: - Which property value is causing an attempt to be labeled A/B/C. - Whether attempts that only do Step 1 are ending up in a particular segment or in undefined. [Data discrepancies]Because the docs don’t explicitly cover “breakdown by which OR’ed Step‑3 event fired when Step‑3 never happens,” I can’t give a more precise rule than this without going beyond the provided sources.
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test123
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kapa.ai under the funnel in the table, it just tasys step 3

Why Do Funnel Step Bars Show Different Heights for Total Conversions but Same for Total Sessions?

17 comments

Why Do Funnel Step Bars Show Different Heights for Total Conversions but Same for Total Sessions?

17 comments