Revenue per session

Why it matters

It folds conversion rate and average order value into one number, which makes it the fairest single figure for comparing traffic sources and A/B tests that change both.

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:

₹28,28,700 ÷ 2,16,100 = ₹13.09

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

Revenue per session calculator

How to read it

It also tells you the most you can pay for a visit before marketing loses money once you apply your margin: revenue per session × gross margin.

Common mistakes

• Use revenue from the website only. Marketplace or retail revenue in the numerator inflates it.
• A test that raises conversion but lowers order value can leave RPS flat. That is the point of using it.
• Small traffic sources give jumpy figures; look at a longer period before deciding.

Calculate revenue per session 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(B2:B7) / SUM(K2:K7)

• Revenue per session in Excel and Google Sheets — per-month formula and zero-safe version
• Revenue per session in SQL — query by month and for the period
• Revenue per session in Python (pandas) — pandas script with expected output

Related metrics

• Conversion rate
• Average order value (AOV)
• Cost per click (CPC)

See all business metrics, or the statistics methods that sit behind them.

Questions people ask

What is revenue per session?

Revenue per session (RPS), or revenue per visit, is the average revenue earned from each website session: revenue divided by sessions.

How do you calculate revenue per session?

Revenue per session = Revenue ÷ Sessions. For example, with six months of sample data: ₹28,28,700 ÷ 2,16,100 = ₹13.09.

What is the revenue per session formula in Excel?

With the sample data laid out as in the downloadable CSV, =SUM(B2:B7) / SUM(K2:K7) gives the figure for the whole period. For one month, use =B2 / K2 and fill it down.

What is a good revenue per session?

There is no figure that is right for every business: it depends on your products, prices and channels. It also tells you the most you can pay for a visit before marketing loses money once you apply your margin: revenue per session × gross margin.

Check how stable it is

• Standard deviation
• Moving average
• Z-score
• Linear trend forecast

Guides

• How to find out what changed in your sales data — 2 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read
• Excel data analysis: formulas, PivotTables and the ToolPak — 3 min read

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.