What are active users in GA4?
Active users is GA4's main visitor count. What counts as an active user, how it differs from total and new users, and where to find it in GA4.
Active users is the main visitor number in Google Analytics 4: the number of distinct people who were engaged on your site in a period. When GA4 says "Users" in most reports, it means active users. SimpleDash calls it Visitors.
Active users vs total users vs new users
| GA4 metric | Counts |
|---|---|
| Active users | People who had an engaged session, visited for the first time, or spent time with the site in view |
| Total users | Everyone who triggered any event, engaged or not |
| New users | People visiting for the first time in the period |
Active users is usually close to total users, and slightly lower. GA4's reports use active users by default.
How GA4 recognises a person
GA4 recognises a returning visitor by a cookie in their browser. So the same person on their phone and laptop counts as two users, someone who clears cookies counts as new, and people who block GA4 or decline cookies aren't counted. "Users" are really browsers.
Where to find it
Reports → Acquisition overview (the Active users card), and the "Active users" column in most reports.
In SimpleDash
Visitors is GA4's active users, for the same dates, with the help text "Visitors that Google Analytics counted. People who refuse cookies or block GA aren't included."
Related
Sources
- Google: Understand user metrics
Last updated
Overview
The Google Analytics 4 terms people ask about most, from active users to (not set), explained in plain words, with the SimpleDash word for each.
Sessions
A session is one visit to your site. When GA4 starts and ends a session, how it differs from Universal Analytics, and how sessions relate to users.