How to See Mobile vs Desktop in Google Analytics 4
Knowing how many visitors browse your website on a smartphone versus a desktop computer is one of the most fundamental pieces of marketing data you can have. This simple breakdown influences everything from web design and ad targeting to your overall conversion strategy. In this tutorial, we'll show you exactly how to find and analyze mobile vs. desktop data within Google Analytics 4.
Why Is Mobile vs. Desktop Traffic Data So Important?
Viewing your website analytics through the lens of device type isn’t just a nice-to-have, it's essential for understanding user behavior and optimizing performance. The context of a user on a small phone screen is completely different from someone sitting at a desk with a large monitor.
Here’s why you should be paying close attention to this data:
User Experience (UX): A site that looks great on a desktop might be a nightmare to navigate on a mobile device. High bounce rates or low engagement rates on mobile could be red flags indicating that your pop-ups are intrusive, forms are hard to fill out, or buttons are too small to tap easily.
Conversion Optimization: Buying habits often differ between devices. Users might use their phones for initial research but prefer to complete a complex purchase on a desktop. By analyzing conversion rates per device, you can identify friction points in your mobile checkout process or learn that certain offers resonate better with desktop users.
Marketing and Ad Strategy: Platforms like Google Ads and Meta Ads allow you to target users based on their device. If you know that mobile users convert at a higher rate for a specific campaign, you can allocate more ad spend to mobile devices to maximize your return on investment (ROI).
Content Strategy: How users consume content varies by device. Mobile users might be scrolling quickly on a commute, preferring short videos or scannable blog posts. Desktop users, on the other hand, might have more time for long-form articles, webinars, or detailed product pages.
Method 1: Using Standard GA4 Reports
The quickest way to get a snapshot of your device traffic is by using the default reports built into GA4. It only takes a few clicks once you know where to look.
Step-by-Step Guide: How to Find the Device Category Report
Follow these simple steps to access the report:
Log in to your Google Analytics 4 property.
Navigate to the Reports section using the left-hand navigation menu (it looks like a little bar chart icon).
On the left, under the "User" collection, click on Tech, and then select Tech details.
By default, GA4 will show you a report with "Browser" as the primary dimension. This is useful, but not what you want. Click the dropdown arrow next to "Browser".
From the dropdown menu, select Device category.
That’s it! The report will now update to show your website's traffic metrics broken down by three categories: Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet. You’ll see key metrics like Users, New users, Sessions, Engagement rate, and Conversions for each of these device types, giving you a clear overview of performance.
Method 2: Adding a Secondary Dimension to Other Reports
An even more powerful way to analyze device performance is by adding 'Device category' as a secondary dimension to other standard reports. This allows you to cross-reference data and uncover deeper insights. For example, you can see which marketing channels are driving the most mobile traffic or which landing pages perform best on desktop.
Example: Viewing Traffic Acquisition by Device
Let’s say you want to see how much mobile- and desktop-specific traffic is coming from your different marketing channels (like Organic Search, Direct, or Paid Social).
In the Reports section, navigate to Acquisition > Traffic acquisition.
This report shows you where your traffic is coming from, with 'Session default channel group' as the primary dimension.
To add the device breakdown, click the blue "+" icon next to the primary dimension column heading.
A search box will appear. Type "Device" and select Device category from the list.
The table will now show a second column, breaking down each traffic source by Desktop, Mobile, and Tablet. You can now answer specific questions like:
Does our Organic Search traffic primarily come from mobile users?
Are our Paid Social campaigns more effective at driving desktop or mobile sessions?
Do visitors from our Email Marketing campaigns convert better on desktop?
You can apply this same technique to almost any standard report in GA4, such as the Pages and screens report (under Engagement) to see how specific pages perform on different devices.
Method 3: Creating a Custom 'Explore' Report
If checking device performance is something you do regularly, manually adding a secondary dimension every time can be tedious. A better solution is to build a saved, custom report in the GA4 'Explore' section. This lets you design a report from scratch that has all the dimensions and metrics you need in one place.
Here’s how to build a simple, reusable device performance report:
Navigate to the Explore section from the left-hand menu (it looks like a blank canvas with shapes).
Click on Blank report to start fresh.
Add Your Dimensions:
In the "Variables" column on the left, click the "+" next to Dimensions.
Search for and import Device category. You might also want to import others like Session default channel group or Landing page + query string for more granular analysis. Select them and click "Import".
Add Your Metrics:
Just below Dimensions, click the "+" next to Metrics.
Search for and import the key numbers you want to see. Good ones to start with are Sessions, Users, Engagement rate, Conversions, and Total revenue. Click "Import" when you're done.
Build the Report:
Now you have all your building blocks. Drag Device category from the "Variables" column over to the Rows area in the "Tab Settings" column.
Next, drag your desired metrics (like Sessions, Conversions, and Engagement rate) from "Variables" to the Values area in "Tab Settings".
As you drag and drop, you will see a table instantly populate on the right side of your screen. You have now created a clean, dedicated report focused entirely on device performance. You can give this report a name (e.g., "Monthly Device Performance") in the top left corner, and it will be saved in your 'Explore' hub for easy access later.
From here, you can continue to customize it. For example, drag 'Session default channel group' into the Columns box to see a detailed matrix of traffic source by device.
Putting Your Data into Action
Finding the data is only the first step. The real value comes from what you do with it. As you review your reports, ask yourself critical questions to guide your strategy:
Is there a big difference in engagement rate? If mobile users have a significantly lower engagement rate, it’s a strong sign that your website isn't mobile-friendly. View your site on your own phone to identify potential issues.
Where do conversions happen? If 80% of your revenue comes from desktop users, focus your retargeting campaigns on that segment. Or, dig deeper to understand why mobile users aren't converting. Is the checkout process cumbersome on a small screen?
Do ad results match website behavior? You might be spending a lot on Instagram ads that drive clicks from mobile users, but if those users never convert, that traffic isn't valuable. This disconnect tells you either your ad targeting is off or your landing page isn't optimized for the audience you're attracting.
Final Thoughts
Once you know where to look, comparing mobile vs. desktop performance in Google Analytics 4 is straightforward. By regularly monitoring this data, you can uncover critical insights that help you create a better user experience, optimize your marketing spend, and ultimately grow your business.
Pulling these reports in GA4 is a great starting place, but the real power comes from combining these website signals with data from your ads, email, and sales platforms to see the full customer journey. This is precisely why we built our tool, Graphed. It connects to all your tools - from Google Analytics and Facebook Ads to Shopify and Salesforce - and lets you build real-time, cross-platform dashboards just by describing what you want to see in simple English. You can go from question to insight in seconds, without ever getting lost in menus or exporting another CSV.