User flow vs. funnel?

A funnel has predefined steps and returns a conversion rate; a user flow leaves the next destination open and shows every branch with its share. A funnel measures the route you intended, a flow shows the route that actually happens.

Is a user flow counted per session or per user?

In most tools the default is per session, because the path is cut when the session ends. If your product's behaviour spans several sessions, that default shortens long routes artificially and has to be accounted for when reading the report.

User Flow

Beginner

Updated Jul 11, 2026 Shahin editorial 2 min read

PronunciationEN/ˈjuzər floʊ/

A user flow is an aggregate view of movement between pages or screens, showing what share of users continues to each next destination and what share leaves.

The phrase carries two meanings and that is where design teams and data teams talk past each other. In product design a user flow is a prescriptive map drawn before build; in analytics the same words name an observed report of real behaviour. Most of the value sits in the gap between the two, where the designed route and the actual route separate. Flow reports are usually built per session, so one person returning twice produces two separate flows. The reading trap is mistaking band thickness for success: thickness is only volume, and the heaviest branch can be a loop of confusion. Hub pages such as the home page and search results also pull routes into their own node and flatten the picture.

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