TL;DR:
A pageview is one page load; a session is one visit, a run of activity by a visitor that includes all the pageviews and events until they leave or go idle (typically after 30 minutes). One session usually contains several pageviews. Use sessions to measure visits and engagement, pageviews to measure content consumption and to size an analytics plan that meters pageviews.
Pageviews and sessions are two of the most-quoted metrics and the two most often mixed up. The short version: a session is a visit, and a pageview is a page load within it. One visit usually racks up several pageviews. Getting the difference right matters, not least because some analytics plans are sized in one and some in the other.
The difference
| Pageview | Session | |
|---|---|---|
| Counts | A single page load | A single visit |
| Contains | Nothing smaller | Many pageviews and events |
| Ends when | The next page loads | The visitor leaves or goes idle |
| Best for | Content consumption | Visits and engagement |
How a session starts and ends
A session begins when a visitor arrives and continues through every pageview and event they trigger. It ends when they leave and do not return within an idle window, commonly 30 minutes of inactivity. Come back an hour later and that is a new session. So a single person can produce several sessions in a day, and each session several pageviews.
Which to use, and why the meter matters
Use sessions to measure how many visits you get and how engaged they are; use pageviews to measure how much content is consumed. The practical wrinkle is billing: some privacy tools meter pageviews and some meter events, and a content-heavy site racks up far more pageviews than sessions, so read which one a plan counts before comparing prices.
Open Analytics shows pageviews, sessions and unique visitors side by side, cookielessly.
See how it worksFrequently asked questions
- What is the difference between a pageview and a session?
- A pageview is one page load; a session is one visit that can contain many pageviews and events. A visitor who reads five pages in one visit generates 5 pageviews and 1 session. Sessions measure visits and engagement; pageviews measure content consumption.
- How long does a session last?
- A session lasts from the visitor's arrival until they leave and stay idle past a timeout, commonly 30 minutes of inactivity. Returning after that starts a new session. This is why one person can produce several sessions in a single day.
- Should I track pageviews or sessions?
- Both, they answer different questions. Sessions tell you how many visits and how engaged; pageviews tell you how much content is read. For billing, check which one your analytics plan meters, since a content-heavy site produces many more pageviews than sessions.