Visits vs visitors vs page views: what's the difference?
Every analytics tool starts with three numbers: page views, visits and visitors. They answer different questions and are easy to mix up.
| Metric | What it counts | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Page views | How many times pages were opened | One person opens 4 pages — 4 page views |
| Visits (sessions) | How many times people came to the site | Morning and evening — 2 visits |
| Visitors (users) | How many different people (devices) | The same person — 1 visitor |
It always holds that page views ≥ visits ≥ visitors. Page views divided by visits is pages per visit.
Page view
A page view is one load of a page. Reloading counts as another view. On single-page apps, the tracker watches
URL changes instead. In LightMetrica, a new path is a page view; query strings and #anchors aren't.
Visit (session)
A visit or session is a run of activity by one person without long breaks. The standard rule: a visit ends after 30 minutes of inactivity. Come back an hour later — new visit.
Details differ. In LightMetrica a new visit also starts when someone arrives from a different external source — say, from search first and from a newsletter link ten minutes later — so each source gets its own visit. Google Analytics 4 doesn't start a new session when the campaign changes.
Visitor (user)
A visitor or user is a distinct person — more precisely, a browser on a device. This is where tools differ most:
- Google Analytics recognises visitors with a cookie stored in the browser. While the cookie lives, the person is the same user for weeks or months. But their phone and laptop are two users, and clearing cookies creates a new one.
- LightMetrica uses no cookies. A visitor is an anonymous hash of the IP address, browser and site, mixed with a salt that changes every day. People can be recognised within a day but not across days. Visitors for a period are the sum of daily unique visitors: someone who visits on Monday and Tuesday counts twice in the weekly total.
That's a deliberate trade-off. Not tracking people across days is what makes cookie-free analytics possible — the cost is that "new vs returning visitors" can't be measured. More in the guide on cookieless analytics.
Why numbers never match between tools
Running two trackers side by side, a 5–15% difference is normal:
- different rules for visits and visitors;
- different bot filtering;
- ad blockers that block some trackers and not others;
- different time zones, so days start at different moments.
Compare trends — ups and downs — rather than absolute numbers.
FAQ
Which matters more — visits or visitors? Visits are handier for judging channels and pages: every visit is a separate chance to convert. Visitors help you understand audience size.
Why does LightMetrica show more monthly visitors than Google Analytics? LightMetrica sums daily unique visitors, while Google Analytics recognises the same cookie across the whole month. If people come back on different days, LightMetrica's number is higher. Visits and page views should be close.
How long does a visit last if someone leaves a tab open? A visit ends after 30 minutes without activity. If the person comes back to the tab later and keeps browsing, a new visit starts.
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