Difference between User Flows and Funnels features in Application Insights

Question

Azure Application Insights has two different features called User Flows and Funnels.

The documentation states for User Flows:

The User Flows tool starts from an initial page view, custom event, or exception that you specify. Given this initial event, User Flows shows the events that happened before and afterward during user sessions. Lines of varying thicknesses show how many times each path was followed by users.

And for Funnels:

If your application involves multiple stages, you need to know if most customers are progressing through the entire process, or if they are ending the process at some point. The progression through a series of steps in a web application is known as a funnel. You can use Azure Application Insights Funnels to gain insights into your users and monitor step-by-step conversion rates.

Question:

Both features look similar especially if I see these statements even if they are different ones:

1. ...how many times each path was followed by users...
2. ...you need to know if most customers are progressing through the entire process, or if they are ending the process at some point...

Can they be used interchangeably once you would like to make a decision if there are any repetitive events by users like going through a process with exactly the same steps on a website?

Any clarification is appreciated, thanks!

Answer 1

I would say that both features have similarities, but they have differences as well. Whereas with the User Flows feature you are able to analyze individual user journeys on your website, with more granularity, using Funnels is meant to give you an aggregated vision of relevant metrics such as user conversion and user drop percentage, and in those cases understand in which step of the funnel the users are dropping, so then you can enhance your website to retain more users and avoid any drops. I would use funnel in scenarios that you have a specific workflow on your website that you want users to follow (e.g. form to collect data (reviews, specific information,etc.). The user flows is something that you can use in any website to understand the different user flows you have from your website visitors, so then maybe you can change to redirect users to other less visited sections of your website.