What is Exit Rate?
Exit rate is the percentage of all pageviews to a specific page that were the last in the session. This indicates how often users exit from a particular page relative to the number of views the page received.
Unlike bounce rate, which only counts single-page sessions, exit rate includes all sessions that end on a particular page—regardless of how many pages the visitor viewed beforehand.
How to Calculate Exit Rate
Calculating exit rate is simply a matter of dividing the number of exits from a page by the total pageviews for that page.
Formula
Exit Rate = (Exits from Page / Total Pageviews) × 100
For example, if a particular page on your site received 1,000 total views and 200 of those views were the last action users took before leaving the site, the exit rate for that page would be:
(200 / 1,000) × 100 = 20%
This means that 20% of the pageviews for that page ended in users exiting the site.
Bounce Rate vs. Exit Rate
Although bounce rate and exit rate are similar in nature, they vary in how they're calculated and what each metric represents.
| Metric | What It Measures | Calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Bounce Rate | Single-page sessions only | Bounces / Entrances |
| Exit Rate | All sessions ending on that page | Exits / Total Pageviews |
While exit rate provides insight into where users are leaving after visiting multiple pages, bounce rate only measures the percentage of visitors who leave after a single page session.
Here's a practical example: Imagine Page A receives 100 visitors who enter the site and immediately leave (bounces), plus 200 visitors who arrived from Page B, and 50 of them exit from Page A.
For Page A, the bounce rate would be 100% (100 bounces out of 100 entrances), but the exit rate would only be 50% (150 exits out of 300 total pageviews). A page can have a 100% bounce rate but a much lower exit rate if it also receives internal traffic that continues browsing.
When Exit Rate Matters Most
Exit rate is particularly useful for identifying friction in your conversion funnel. Pay close attention to exit rates on checkout pages, form pages, and pricing pages—places where you expect users to continue toward a conversion.
High exit rates on cart pages often signal unexpected shipping costs or a confusing interface. High exit rates on payment pages may indicate trust concerns or missing payment options. And high exit rates on signup forms usually mean the form is too long or asks for information users aren't comfortable providing.
On the other hand, some pages naturally have high exit rates. Thank you pages, contact pages (after users get your phone number), and PDF download pages are all expected to be final destinations.
How to Use Exit Rate
To make exit rate actionable, compare similar page types against each other. A 70% exit rate on a blog post is probably fine, but 70% on a checkout page is a red flag.
When you identify a page with an unexpectedly high exit rate, ask yourself: "What question might visitors have that we're not answering?" Often, adding FAQ sections, social proof, or clearer pricing information can reduce exits.
For multi-step processes like checkout, tracking exit rate at each step helps you pinpoint exactly where users are dropping off. If your shipping page has a 25% exit rate but your payment page jumps to 60%, that tells you exactly where to focus your optimization efforts.