Bounce rate vs exit rate: what each one counts
Bounce rate is counted over visits. Exit rate is counted over the views of one page. In Google Analytics 4, bounce rate is the share of visits (Google says sessions) that were not engaged.[1] Exit rate is, of all the views of a page, the share that were the last of their visit.[3] In Google’s own example, one page has a bounce rate of 0% and an exit rate of 33%.[3]
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The short answer
| Compared | Bounce rate | Exit rate |
|---|---|---|
| Counted over | Visits[1] | Views of one page[3] |
| The question it asks | Was the visit engaged?[1] | Was this view the last of its visit?[3] |
| Where it is in GA4 | A metric you add to a report[1] | Exits, a count, in Explore[2] |
Bounce rate in GA4
Google counts a visit as engaged (it says an engaged session) when it meets any one of three rules:[1]
- it lasted longer than 10 seconds,
- it had a “key event”,
- it had 2 or more page or screen views.
Bounce rate is the share of visits that met none of them (Google’s words: “The bounce rate is the percentage of sessions that were not engaged.”).[1] More on reading it: what a good bounce rate is.
Exit rate, and exits in GA4
In GA4, Exits is a count: the number of times the last event of a visit happened on a page or screen.[2][4] Entrances is its pair: the number of times the first event of a visit happened there.[2] Both are in Explore, and neither needs any setup.[2]
The rate is defined in Google’s help for Universal Analytics, which Google marks as legacy (Google’s words: “For all pageviews to the page, Exit Rate is the percentage that were the last in the session.”).[3]
Our reading: by that definition, a page’s exit rate in GA4 is its Exits divided by its Views.
How bounce rate changed
- Universal Analytics. A page’s bounce rate counted only the visits that started on that page, and a bounce was a visit with that one page view and no more (Google’s words: “For all sessions that start with the page, Bounce Rate is the percentage that were the only one of the session.”).[3]
- GA4. A bounce is a visit that was not engaged. A one-page visit that lasted longer than 10 seconds is engaged, so it is not a bounce.[1]
Google’s example
Google’s help works one example through. One visitor comes once a day for five days:[2][3]
- Monday: Page B, Page A, Page C.
- Tuesday: Page B.
- Wednesday: Page A, Page C, Page B.
- Thursday: Page C.
- Friday: Page B, Page C, Page A.
| Page | Exits[2] | Exit rate[3] | Bounce rate, Universal Analytics[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Page A | 1 | 33% | 0% |
| Page B | 2 | 50% | 33% |
| Page C | 2 | 50% | 100% |
Page A shows the difference. One visit began on Page A and went on to other pages, so its bounce rate is 0%. Three visits included Page A and one ended there, so its exit rate is 33%.[3]
Which to read, and when
- Every visit ends somewhere. Each visit adds one exit to one page, so a high exit rate is not a fault by itself.
- Read exit rate on a step that should lead to another: a cart, a form, a pricing page.
- Read bounce rate on a page where visits start: a landing page or a blog post.
For a path with several steps, a funnel shows the step where visits stop: see funnel analysis. More GA4 words in plain language: GA4 terms.
Questions
What is the difference between bounce rate and exit rate?
Bounce rate is counted over visits: in Google Analytics 4 it is the share of visits that were not engaged.[1] Exit rate is counted over the views of one page: the share that were the last of their visit.[3]
How is exit rate calculated?
Google’s Universal Analytics help defines it as the share of a page’s views that were the last of their visit.[3] GA4 gives Exits as a count,[2] so by that definition the rate is a page’s Exits divided by its Views.
Can a page have a low bounce rate and a high exit rate?
Yes. In Google’s example one page has a bounce rate of 0% and an exit rate of 33%: the one visit that began on it went on to other pages, and one of the three visits that included it ended there.[3]
Is a high exit rate bad?
Not by itself. Every visit ends on some page. It matters on a page that should lead to another step, such as a cart or a form.
Sources
- Analytics Help, its page on bounce rate (its title: [GA4] Engagement rate and bounce rate), support.google.com/analytics/answer/12195621, checked 12 November 2026.
- Analytics Help, “[GA4] Entrances and exits”, support.google.com/analytics/answer/11080047, checked 12 November 2026.
- Analytics Help, “[UA] Exit Rate vs. Bounce Rate [Legacy]”, support.google.com/analytics/answer/2525491, checked 12 November 2026.
- Analytics Help, “Analytics dimensions and metrics”, support.google.com/analytics/answer/9143382, checked 12 November 2026.
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