kapa.ai I have a report based on an event regarding email subscribers. The report uses an "email total subscribers" figure that is pushed as an event to Mixpanel each night. I can build a report that shows me the latest figure, but I'd also like to be able to calculate how much that figure has changed by compared to the previous period, as a number rather than a percentage. Is there a way to do this?
Yes, you can do this in Mixpanel using the Compare to Past feature in Insights, combined with the Percent Change over Baseline option â however, that gives you a percentage. For an absolute number difference, here's the most practical approach:
Using Formulas in Insights
You can create a Formula that subtracts the previous period's value from the current period's value. Here's how:
In your Insights report, add your "email total subscribers" event metric twice â label them (e.g., A and B).
Use the Compare to Past feature to set one metric to the previous period.
Then use a Formula (A - B) to calculate the absolute difference.
Mixpanel supports subtraction in formulas using the - operator. [Insights Formulas]
Using Compare to Past
Alternatively, the Compare to Past feature lets you overlay the current period against a previous period (previous day, week, month, quarter, or year) directly on the chart. By default, it shows both values visually, and you can switch to "Percent Change over Baseline" â but this only gives a percentage, not an absolute number. [Compare to Past]
Recommended Approach
The Formula method (A - B) is likely your best bet for getting an absolute numeric difference. Set up:
Metric A: Total of your "email total subscribers" event for the current period
Metric B: Total of the same event for the previous period (using Compare to Past or a separate filtered metric)
Formula: A - B
This will give you the raw change in subscriber count between the two periods. [Insights Formulas]
Note: The knowledge sources confirm formula arithmetic is supported, but do not explicitly detail every step of combining a formula with a time-shifted metric in a single report. You may need to experiment with the exact setup, or reach out to Mixpanel support for confirmation of this specific configuration.
âšī¸Â Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.
kapa.ai where is the Compare to Past feature in the report builder for a metric?
In the Insights report builder, you can access the Compare to Past feature by clicking the "Compare to past" button at the top of your Insights graph. From there, you can select the time period you wish to compare to (previous day, week, month, quarter, year, or a custom date range). [Time Period Comparisons] You can also access comparisons more broadly via the Compare button, which offers options including "Compare to Past", "Compare to Segment", and "Compare to Overall". [Comparisons]
âšī¸Â Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.
kapa.ai how do I do this for a specific metric rather than the whole insight?
The knowledge sources do not explicitly mention a way to apply Compare to Past at an individual metric level within a single Insights report (as opposed to applying it to the whole report). What the documentation does describe is that the Compare to Past button applies to the report as a whole. [Time Period Comparisons] For metric-level time comparisons, the Metric Tree feature does support adding up to 3 time comparisons (e.g., WoW, MoM, YoY) on a per-metric-card basis. [Metric Tree] However, this is a different feature from the standard Insights report builder. I'm sorry, but based on the available knowledge sources, I can't confirm whether per-metric Compare to Past is available directly within the Insights report builder. I'd recommend reaching out to Mixpanel support or checking their documentation directly for clarification on this specific capability.
âšī¸Â Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.
kapa.ai in your answer above, you wrote "Use the Compare to Past feature to set one metric to the previous period."
You're right to flag that â it was an inaccurate suggestion on my part. In my earlier answer, I incorrectly implied that you could use Compare to Past to set an individual metric to a previous period for use in a formula calculation. The knowledge sources do not support this approach. The Compare to Past feature applies to the report as a whole, not to individual metrics within a formula. [Time Period Comparisons] I'm sorry for the confusion. Based on the available knowledge sources, I cannot confirm a straightforward way to calculate the absolute numeric difference between the current and previous period's subscriber count within a single Insights report using formulas. I'd recommend contacting Mixpanel support directly to ask about the best approach for this specific use case.
âšī¸Â Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.
