Histogram
A histogram widget shows how a single numeric property is spread across buckets, so you can see the shape of your values instead of just one average number.
A histogram widget takes one numeric property and shows how its values are distributed. It sorts every matching event into a range of buckets and draws a bar for each bucket, so a tall bar means "lots of events landed in this range" and a short bar means "very few did".
Where a counter or an average gives you a single number, a histogram shows you the whole picture: where most values sit, how spread out they are, and whether there are unusual clusters at the low or high end.
Why you would use one
An average can hide a lot. Two sets of purchases can share the exact same
average of $20 while one is a tight cluster around $20 and the other is a
mix of $1 micro-transactions and a handful of $200 whales. A histogram makes
that difference obvious at a glance.
Reach for a histogram when you want to understand the spread of a number, for example:
- Distribution of purchase amount — do most players spend a little, or is your revenue driven by a few big spenders?
- Distribution of session length — how long is a typical session, and how many are very short or very long?
- Load times, scores, cart sizes, level numbers, or any other number you attach to an event.
What you need
A histogram is built from just two choices plus one dial:
Prop
Type
You can set the bucket count anywhere from 2 to 50. Fewer buckets give a broad, smooth shape; more buckets show finer detail. The default of about 20 is a good starting point for most numbers.
It has to be a number
A histogram only works on a number property. If you send a value as a
quoted string like "42", it is stored as text, not a number, and will not be
available here. Send numbers unquoted (42, 9.99) so they are stored as
numbers. See Property types for how values are
routed.
Build one
Add a widget
On your dashboard, click Add widget, then pick the event you want to measure
(for example purchase).
Choose the Histogram type and a numeric property
Select Histogram as the type, then pick the numeric property to chart, such
as amount for a purchase or duration_seconds for a session. Events that do
not carry that property are simply left out, so a missing value never distorts
the shape.
Set the number of buckets
Leave it at the default (about 20) or adjust it anywhere from 2 to 50. The live preview redraws as you change it, so you can dial in the level of detail that reads best.
Title it and save
Give the widget a clear title like "Purchase amount distribution" and save. It now refreshes with the rest of the dashboard.
Want to chart only part of your data, like purchases from one region or one item? Add filters to the widget. Only events that match every filter are counted into the buckets.
Related
Property types
How number, list, and string properties are stored, and what each one can do.
Widgets
Every widget type, filters, and display options in one place.
Metric widgets
Single numbers, time series, and breakdowns for a metric.
Dashboards
The canvas your widgets live on, pinned to one environment and time range.