Difference Between Calculations Using Events Together vs Separately

Muffaddal Q. · 2026-01-13T08:53:26.789Z

Hey Everyone, What the different between the calculation when you use the events together or separately as shown in the images.

Difference Between Calculations Using Events Together vs Separately | Mixpanel Community

4 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

Andrew S.
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If I am reading your question and images correctly, in image 1 (left), you are getting the total events of "level_end" where level status is win OR level status is wine and >0. In practical terms, that will be "level status is win" since the OR makes the broader filter cover the narrower filter. In your second example (on the right), Metric A will return the same as your first example, since it's just level_end where level status is win. But you will also get a second result with Metric B which is just the narrower case of level_end where level status is win and hint used is greater 0.
Muffaddal Q.
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thanks for getting back Andrew S.. So what I want to understand is when to use which. What are the benefits/use cases of using one over the other.
Andrew S.
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I like to think of it this way.
1.
If I want to see two things comparatively, your (right image) case is best because you are getting two metrics or two lines or two sets of bars, etc showing on the same screen. OR if you want to then add a formula as metric C (e.g., B/A*100) to get a % metric.
2.
If you want to see a filtered event with more than one condition (e.g., xyz or abc) then what you did in the (left image) case is best. Although in your example, I'm not sure what benefit you get since your first condition should fully consume your second condition, so in venn diagram terms, your second condition circle is completely inside your first condition circle. This is basically the same results as just asking for the first condition. But let's say you wanted to do "total events where category = wine or total events where category = beer", then your first (left image) case is best.
3.
If you want to use something over and over in your projects, you can also do a "custom event" which is like the left image use case. https://docs.mixpanel.com/docs/features/custom-events
Muffaddal Q.
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Perfectly makes sense. Appreciate the help.