At a glance
Primary Funnel Conversion % is the end-to-end conversion rate of your primary purchase funnel in Mixpanel, the share of users who enter at the first step and complete all the way to the purchase step. It is the single headline number that says how well your core buying journey is working. Because Mixpanel funnels track ordered, step-by-step completion within a conversion window, this card captures the real rate at which shoppers move from first touch to checkout. As a Hero card it anchors the Funnels view, and a drop against the prior period is one of the clearest early warnings that something in the journey has broken.
| What it counts | The percentage of users who entered the first funnel step and completed every step through to the purchase step within the conversion window. |
| Sample type | Backend API data from Mixpanel Funnels, computed over the defined ordered steps for the window. |
| Why it matters | This is the headline measure of how well the core purchase journey converts. A fall directly reduces revenue and usually points to a new friction point or a broken step. |
| Reading the value | A higher percentage is better. The card shows the current 30-day rate against the prior 30 days; a downward move means fewer entrants are completing the funnel. |
| Currency | percent |
| Time window | 30D vsP |
| Alert trigger | drop >5pp vsP |
| Sentiment key | mix_funnel_conversion |
| Roles | owner, marketing |
Calculation
Vortex IQ reads your primary Mixpanel funnel, the ordered set of steps from the first event through to the purchase event, and computes the overall conversion rate over a rolling 30-day window. The rate is the number of users who completed every step in order within the funnel’s conversion window, divided by the number who entered at the first step. That figure is compared against the previous 30 days to surface the trend. Because Mixpanel enforces step order and a conversion window, the number reflects genuine sequential completion rather than users who merely fired the events in any order. The card renders the result as a funnel chart, stage by stage, so you can see where entrants fall away as well as the headline rate.Worked example
A representative reading of Primary Funnel Conversion % for a typical merchant on Mixpanel. Say the funnel runs Product Viewed, Add to Cart, Begin Checkout, Purchase, and for the 30 days to 14 Jun 26 the end-to-end rate reads 3.1%, down from 3.9% in the prior 30 days. That 0.8pp move is under the 5pp alert line but still meaningful on a Hero metric. Reading the stage-by-stage chart, you see Product Viewed to Add to Cart held steady, but Begin Checkout to Purchase fell sharply, which the Biggest Funnel Step Drop-off card confirms. Digging in, a new mandatory account-creation step was added before payment. You make guest checkout available again, and the purchase step recovers toward the prior rate across the following weeks. For deeper investigation, use Vortex Mind to trace upstream causes; for natural-language exploration, ask Ask Viq.Sibling cards merchants should reference together
| Card | Why merchants reach for it |
|---|---|
mix_funnel_dropoff | Pinpoints the single step costing you the most users, the usual reason this rate moves. |
mix_funnel_time_to_convert | Shows whether slow conversion or outright abandonment is dragging the rate. |
mix_alert_conversion_drop | The fast-twitch alert that fires when this rate drops sharply within a day. |
mix_funnel_conversion_by_segment | Breaks the headline rate down by segment to find who is converting worse. |
mix_xc_funnel_vs_ecom_conversion | Compares the Mixpanel funnel rate against your ecommerce conversion for a sanity check. |
Reconciling against Mixpanel
Where to look in Mixpanel’s own dashboard: Open Funnels, select your primary funnel definition, set the window to the last 30 days, and read the overall conversion figure at the end of the funnel. Mixpanel shows the percentage completing all steps along with the stage-by-stage breakdown, which should align with the card. Make sure the conversion window and the step order in your saved funnel match the definition the card uses. Why the Vortex IQ value may legitimately differ:| Reason | Direction | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Conversion window length. A longer window lets more entrants complete and lifts the rate. | Vortex IQ higher or lower | Match the conversion window between the card and your funnel. |
| Counting basis. Unique users versus sessions changes the denominator. | Either direction | Confirm both count on the same basis. |
| Step definition. Adding, removing, or reordering a step changes the rate. | Either direction | Use the same ordered steps when comparing. |