What is the difference between Funnels and User Journey?

Funnels and User Journey serve different purposes in analyzing user behavior and engagement.

Funnels focus on specific sequences of predefined steps that users take to accomplish a specific goal or conversion. They provide insights into the overall completion rates, drop-off points, and time taken at each step. Funnels help identify bottlenecks and optimize the user flow. They are linear and predefined, representing a specific sequence of steps or events, making them ideal for tracking conversions and specific user actions within a defined process or workflow.

Here is an example of how a Funnel looks.

User Journeys, on the other hand, encompass the entire end-to-end experience of a user across multiple touchpoints and interactions. They capture the user's path, actions, and behavior throughout their entire session or visit. User Journeys provide a holistic view of the user's experience and can help identify patterns, preferences, and pain points. They are flexible and can encompass multiple paths and interactions, going beyond predefined steps or events.

Here is an example of how a User Journey looks.

Here is a table summarizing the key differences between Funnels and User Journey.

To summarize, Funnels are ideal for tracking and optimizing specific conversion/productivity flows, while User Journeys provide a holistic view of the user's overall experience and behavior across various touchpoints. Both are valuable analytical tools that serve different purposes in understanding and improving user engagement and conversion rates.