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Braze onboarding flow analytics is a set of four views, and the order you read them in matters. Start with Canvas step analytics to see where users stall. Use a funnel report to find the exact drop-off. Then check any fix against variant results and a retention report.
Key Takeaways
- We recommend reading Canvas step analytics first, then the funnel report, then variant results, then the retention report.
- A variant total can exceed the sum of its steps, because variant conversions count on entry and step conversions count after the message is sent.
- Funnel reports filter the date range by entry date and require events in order, while Canvas analytics filter by when events occurred.
- Conversion events can't be edited after a Canvas has launched, so choose them before you start.
- The Canvas Retention Report covers the 30 days from the time users received the Canvas.
- Custom Canvas alerts notify you by email or webhook when a volume or percentage threshold is crossed.
Which Braze onboarding flow analytics view should you open first?
Open Canvas step analytics first. It shows how many users entered each step, moved on or exited, so it tells you where to look before you build anything. The table below gives the order we recommend, and the Braze reports documentation lists the same views side by side.
| Order | View | Question it answers | Where to find it |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canvas step analytics | Which step has weak conversion or high exits? | Canvas Details page, step-level metrics |
| 2 | Canvas Funnel Report | In what order do users leave? | Analyze Variants, Canvas Funnel Report tab |
| 3 | Analyze Variants | Did a variant beat the control? | Analyze Variants tab |
| 4 | Canvas Retention Report | Do users come back after the change? | Analyze Variants, Canvas Retention Report tab |
That order is our judgement, not a Braze rule. We put the funnel and retention reports after step analytics because each needs a query and a wait, while step analytics are already on screen. The funnel report may take several minutes to generate, so have a specific question before you press Build Report.
What does Canvas step analytics show about an onboarding flow?
Select a step or component and the panel focuses on that part of the journey, with impressions, unique recipients, conversion count and revenue generated. Braze attributes each conversion to the latest message the user received. A user can only convert once per conversion event per Canvas entry.
Variant conversions are counted as soon as the user enters the variant, while step conversions are counted only after the step's message is sent. A user who activates before the tutorial email goes out counts toward the variant total but toward no step. The variant total is therefore often higher than the sum of its steps.
When a step looks weak, we recommend comparing the variant total with the sum of the steps before you rewrite anything. A wide gap suggests users are converting ahead of the message, which makes the message a poor suspect. Fix the timing or the entry point first.
How do you find the step where users actually drop off?
The funnel report shows the journeys users take after receiving a Canvas, including where drop-offs occur. Build it with this procedure.
- Open the Canvas Details page, select Analyze Variants, then open the Canvas Funnel Report tab.
- Choose a time frame. Braze supports reports within the past six months.
- Add the events in the order you designed the onboarding path. The first event is always when the user receives your message.
- Pick from the available events, such as Received Canvas Step, Performed Custom Event and Interacted with Step. Interacted with Step is available only for Canvas steps that use the email or push messaging channels.
- Set a completion window of up to 30 days, then select Build Report.
Braze sets no hard limit on funnel events, and four to six events covers the common cases. A user leaves the funnel at the first step where they don't perform the next event in the exact sequence you configured. We recommend ending the sequence on your activation event so the last bar means something.
A funnel also helps when you launched without the conversion event you now want. If there's a conversion event you didn't add initially, you can still track conversions for it using a funnel.
Why do the funnel and Canvas analytics show different numbers?
They answer different questions, and Braze documents the differences. Canvas step analytics can show higher counts than the funnel for the same calendar dates. Step analytics include broader engagement and conversions, while the funnel enforces event order and timing rules.
| Setting | Canvas analytics (Analyze Variants) | Funnel report |
|---|---|---|
| Date range filters | Events, by when they occurred | Users, by when they entered the Canvas |
| Event order | No ordering constraint | Events must occur in the specified order |
| Counting | All conversions and engagement | Each user counted once |
One more documented rule matters for onboarding. Orphaned users aren't tracked in funnel reports, and when an anonymous user later becomes identified through the changeUser() method, their Braze ID changes. Events after that point aren't included in the funnel.
Our reading is that if your onboarding Canvas is entered before sign-in, the funnel may show a drop at account creation that is partly an identity change. Check how your app calls changeUser() before you read that drop as lost users.
How do you test a fix without muddying the result?
Decide the conversion events before launch, because conversion events can't be edited after a Canvas has launched. The primary conversion event is the first one you add, and Braze uses it to select the best-performing variation in multivariate Canvases. We recommend putting your activation event first.
Braze's guidance is that it's best practice to avoid editing live Canvases, as there may be unexpected behaviour. Updating an active Canvas ends any active or in-progress Winning Path experiment. Deleting a variant deletes its steps, and the step analytics and top-level analytics for the Canvas are deleted too.
If the fix is large, duplicate the Canvas and launch the copy. Braze's tip for larger edits that create a new Canvas copy is to exclude users who received the first Canvas. We recommend adding that exclusion before launch, so the same users don't receive both versions and blur the comparison.
How do you check that a fix lasts?
Use the Canvas Retention Report. It shows the rate at which users who received the Canvas performed a retention event you specify, over the 30 days from the time they received it. Open it from the Analyze Variants modal, in the Canvas Retention Report tab.
Rolling retention counts users who do the retention event on or after any of the listed days, while range retention counts users who come back within the range of days. A user who repeats the event is counted in several columns of a rolling report, which Braze notes could push the retention rate above 100%. Keep one type through a comparison.
We recommend choosing the retention event before you read any results. Once a report has been generated it can't be re-run with the same retention event for 24 hours, and you may need to wait up to five minutes before it loads. In our view, an event picked after you've seen the data is easy to bend toward the story you already had.
Where you have a control group, look at its retention data to see what retention looks like if you didn't send a message. Braze compares each variant's conversion rate against the control's with a statistical procedure called a Z Test to calculate a confidence percentage. Read that confidence figure before you call a winner.
How do you get warned when the flow stops working?
Custom Canvas alerts watch the flow for you. Set a volume or percentage threshold for user entries or messages sent, and Braze notifies you by email or webhook if the threshold is crossed. You can create up to two alerts for the same Canvas.
You can set the check frequency anywhere from 3 to 12 hours, or every 24 hours. Percentage rules compare against a baseline, the average of the same time window over the previous 7 days, and they need seven complete prior same-window days after the Canvas launches. Our suggestion for a new onboarding Canvas is to start with volume rules.
Saving an alert doesn't activate it, so check its status after you save. Slack incoming webhooks aren't supported yet for custom Canvas alerts.
What does a worked example look like?
This is a hypothetical, not client work. Imagine a subscription app with an onboarding Canvas that sends a welcome email, a tutorial email, a push prompt and a final reminder. The tutorial email looks weak in step analytics, and the team's first instinct is to rewrite it.
Before rewriting, they compare the variant conversion total with the sum of the step conversions. The variant total is clearly higher, which suggests some users reach activation before the tutorial email sends. A funnel using Received Canvas Step, Performed Custom Event, Interacted with Step and the activation event then shows the sharpest exit between the welcome email and the first in-app action.
So the fix is the timing of the prompt, and the tutorial copy stays as it is. They duplicate the Canvas, exclude users who received the first one, and launch a variant that moves the prompt earlier, with a control group kept. Analyze Variants gives the conversion uplift and confidence, and a retention report with the retention event chosen beforehand shows whether the change holds.
How does this connect to the rest of the onboarding programme?
Analytics only help if the metrics behind them are the right ones, which Measuring Onboarding Success: Key Metrics in Braze covers. A Canvas built in a clean sequence is easier to measure, as in Building an Onboarding Workflow in Braze, Step by Step. Personalised branches create more variants to compare, so read Creating Personalized Onboarding Experiences with Braze before you split a flow.
Qualitative signal fills the gaps that numbers leave, which Using Feedback Surveys in Braze to Improve Onboarding covers. For the push step specifically, see Braze Push Notifications for Onboarding Completion, and for what happens after activation, Retention Metrics Every Marketer Should Track in Braze.
As a Braze implementation partner, CustomerIK recommends fixing the conversion events and the retention event before launch. Read the views in the order above, and change one thing per test. If you want help reading them alongside the rest of your reporting, our marketing analytics service covers dashboards, attribution models and predictive models.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Why is my variant conversion total higher than the sum of my steps?
Variant conversions are counted as soon as the user enters the variant, while step conversions are counted only after the step's message is sent. A user who converts before receiving a step counts toward the variant total but toward no step.
2. Why do funnel numbers differ from Canvas analytics?
The date range filters users by entry date in the funnel and events by occurrence date in Canvas analytics. The funnel also requires events in order and counts each user once.
3. Can I change conversion events after a Canvas launches?
Conversion events can't be edited after launch, so choose them before you start. A funnel can still track an event you didn't add initially.
4. How long can the retention report look back?
It covers the 30 days from the time users received the Canvas. After it generates, it can't be re-run with the same retention event for 24 hours.
5. Can I be alerted if onboarding entries drop?
Custom Canvas alerts let you set a volume or percentage threshold for entries or messages sent, and Braze notifies you by email or webhook.
Sources
- Braze, Reports. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Canvas analytics. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Funnel reports. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Retention reports. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Conversion events. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Custom Canvas alerts. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Braze, Edit Canvases after launch. Retrieved 01 Nov 2026.
- Limits and windows can change, so check the linked Braze pages before you rely on a number.
- Written by CustomerIK, a Braze implementation partner.
CustomerIK is a Braze implementation partner working across onboarding, technical integration, marketing operations and customer data management.
If you want a second opinion on how your onboarding Canvases are measured, let's talk.
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