Understanding Page View Discrepancies in Filter Approaches

Robert Š. · 2025-10-20 10:19:59.525446+00

I have a situation where I'm counting page views of the "First seen ever", and I have two approaches. The first approach is to create a general filter using "news creation date" for the report, and the second one is to add a "news creation date" filter inside the event itself. I get a huge difference in results, but I'm using the same time frame for both reports. Why is that?

Understanding Page View Discrepancies in Filter Approaches | Mixpanel Community

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kapa.ai
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Hi Robert Š., 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 difference in results between applying a general (global) filter on "news creation date" for the report and adding the same filter inside the event (inline filter) is due to how Mixpanel processes global vs. inline filters.Global filters are applied to the entire report after the main query has been run. This means the funnel or report first calculates all qualifying events or users, and then the global filter is used to include or exclude entire conversions or events based on the property value at a specific attribution point (e.g., first step, last step, or a specific step) [Reports: Filters].Inline filters, on the other hand, are applied pre-query to each event or step. This means only events that meet the inline filter criteria are considered at each step of the funnel or report. For example, if you add an inline filter to the "page view" event for "news creation date," only those page view events that match the filter will be counted from the start [Reports: Filters].This difference in filtering logic can lead to significant discrepancies in your results, even if the time frame is the same: - Inline filter: Only counts events that match the filter at the event level, potentially reducing the number of qualifying events/users right from the beginning. - Global filter: Counts all events/users first, then filters out those that don't match the criteria at the report level, based on the chosen property attribution method.This is a common source of confusion in Mixpanel, especially in Funnels, and is explicitly documented as a key difference between inline and global filtering [Funnels FAQ: Inline vs Global Filtering].In summary: The huge difference in results is expected due to the fundamental difference in when and how the filters are applied in Mixpanel. Inline filters restrict data at the event level before the query runs, while global filters restrict data after the query, based on property attribution.For more details, see: - Reports: Filters - Funnels FAQ: Inline vs Global Filtering - Funnels Advanced: Filters
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kapa.ai
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Hi Robert Š., 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> 👋
Feel free to ask a follow-up question once I've answered by mentioning me with @kapa.ai
kapa.ai
APP
·
·
The difference in results between applying a general (global) filter on "news creation date" for the report and adding the same filter inside the event (inline filter) is due to how Mixpanel processes global vs. inline filters.Global filters are applied to the entire report after the main query has been run. This means the funnel or report first calculates all qualifying events or users, and then the global filter is used to include or exclude entire conversions or events based on the property value at a specific attribution point (e.g., first step, last step, or a specific step) [Reports: Filters].Inline filters, on the other hand, are applied pre-query to each event or step. This means only events that meet the inline filter criteria are considered at each step of the funnel or report. For example, if you add an inline filter to the "page view" event for "news creation date," only those page view events that match the filter will be counted from the start [Reports: Filters].This difference in filtering logic can lead to significant discrepancies in your results, even if the time frame is the same: - Inline filter: Only counts events that match the filter at the event level, potentially reducing the number of qualifying events/users right from the beginning. - Global filter: Counts all events/users first, then filters out those that don't match the criteria at the report level, based on the chosen property attribution method.This is a common source of confusion in Mixpanel, especially in Funnels, and is explicitly documented as a key difference between inline and global filtering [Funnels FAQ: Inline vs Global Filtering].In summary: The huge difference in results is expected due to the fundamental difference in when and how the filters are applied in Mixpanel. Inline filters restrict data at the event level before the query runs, while global filters restrict data after the query, based on property attribution.For more details, see: - Reports: Filters - Funnels FAQ: Inline vs Global Filtering - Funnels Advanced: Filters
kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
ℹ️ Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.