Checkout rate, or sessions-to-checkout rate, is the percentage of website sessions in which the visitor started checkout.
Checkout rate = Checkouts started ÷ Sessions × 100
On the sample data below, six months come to 4.22%.
Why it matters
It is the middle step of the funnel. With add-to-cart rate and checkout conversion rate it shows exactly where visitors drop out.
Worked example
The table shows the columns this metric needs from six months of a made-up subscription brand. Add each column up over the six months, then put the totals into the formula:
| Month | Website sessions | Checkouts started |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 31,200 | 1,310 |
| 2026-02 | 33,800 | 1,420 |
| 2026-03 | 36,500 | 1,560 |
| 2026-04 | 34,100 | 1,400 |
| 2026-05 | 38,900 | 1,650 |
| 2026-06 | 41,600 | 1,790 |
| Total | 2,16,100 | 9,130 |
9,130 ÷ 2,16,100 × 100 = 4.22%
Add up first, then divide. Averaging the six monthly figures gives a slightly different answer, because it counts a small month the same as a large one.
Month by month
| Month | Checkout rate |
|---|---|
| 2026-01 | 4.20% |
| 2026-02 | 4.20% |
| 2026-03 | 4.27% |
| 2026-04 | 4.11% |
| 2026-05 | 4.24% |
| 2026-06 | 4.30% |
Checkout rate calculator
How to read it
A large gap between add-to-cart rate and checkout rate points at the cart page: surprise shipping costs, a minimum order value, or a confusing cart. A gap between checkout rate and conversion rate points further down, at the checkout form and payment step. Comparing the three rates side by side, month by month, shows which step to work on first.
Common mistakes
- Accelerated checkouts (one-click wallets) may skip the step your analytics calls "checkout started". Check how they are tracked.
- Count each session once, however many times checkout was opened.
- Changes in what the analytics tool counts as a session change every rate in the funnel at once.
Calculate checkout rate in Excel, SQL or Python
The quickest version, for the sample sheet laid out as in the CSV (headers in row 1, months in rows 2 to 7):
=SUM(M2:M7) / SUM(K2:K7)- Checkout rate in Excel and Google Sheets — per-month formula and zero-safe version
- Checkout rate in SQL — query by month and for the period
- Checkout rate in Python (pandas) — pandas script with expected output
Related metrics
See all business metrics, or the statistics methods that sit behind them.
Questions people ask
- What is checkout rate?
- Checkout rate, or sessions-to-checkout rate, is the percentage of website sessions in which the visitor started checkout.
- How do you calculate checkout rate?
- Checkout rate = Checkouts started ÷ Sessions × 100. For example, with six months of sample data: 9,130 ÷ 2,16,100 × 100 = 4.22%.
- What is the checkout rate formula in Excel?
- With the sample data laid out as in the downloadable CSV, =SUM(M2:M7) / SUM(K2:K7) gives the figure for the whole period (format the cell as a percentage). For one month, use =M2 / K2 and fill it down.
- What is a good checkout rate?
- There is no figure that is right for every business: it depends on your products, prices and channels. A large gap between add-to-cart rate and checkout rate points at the cart page: surprise shipping costs, a minimum order value, or a confusing cart. A gap between checkout rate and conversion rate points further down, at the checkout form and payment step. Comparing the three rates side by side, month by month, shows which step to work on first.
Check how stable it is
A metric moves for ordinary reasons as well as real ones. These methods separate the two: the spread shows what a normal month looks like, the moving average smooths it, the z-score flags a month that is out of line and the trend line shows the direction.
Guides
About the data on this page
The figures come from a small made-up dataset, printed above in full so you can check every number by hand. Download it as monthly.csv. The results are computed from those rows when the page is built, and the Excel formulas, SQL and Python on these pages are run against the same rows before publishing, so the code and the answers agree.
To get these numbers from your own data without writing formulas, try AnalyzeIt: ask in plain words and it shows the working behind every figure.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in